Removal of Fe from Ilmenite Ore Powders Through Selective Chlorination Using CO and Cl₂ Gas Mixture at 1073–1173 K in a Static Bed

To develop a selective chlorination process for ilmenite ores with the aim of attaining a high chlorination ratio of Fe and minimal Ti loss with low activation energy, the kinetics of the selective chlorination of Fe from ilmenite ore powders using a mixture of CO and Cl₂ gases in a static bed reactor was investigated. Experiments were conducted using ilmenite ore powders in the ranges of 45–75 µm and 180–212 µm at 1073–1173 K. When the chlorination reactions proceeded at 1173 K for 60 min, 94.12% of the Fe and 2.18% of the Ti were removed from the ore. After the selective chlorination reactions, TiO₂ with a porous microstructure was generated owing to the selective removal of Fe from the ore. The generated pores allowed the CO–Cl₂ gas mixture to easily penetrate into the reaction interface. As a result, when the unreacted shrinking-core model was utilized, the rate-controlling step was chemical reaction at the interface. In addition, the activation energy was 49.879 kJ · mol⁻¹ for the selective chlorination of ilmenite ore powders using the CO–Cl₂ gas mixture at 1073–1173 K. The results demonstrate that minimal Ti loss and a high chlorination ratio of Fe are feasible when the selective chlorination of ilmenite ore powders is performed at 1173 K using a CO–Cl₂ gas mixture in a static bed reactor. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]