The development of ultra-high temperature experimental capabilities for the electrolytic extraction of titanium from New Zealand steel’s iron slag.

While titanium exhibits excellent mechanical and corrosion resistant properties, its high price severely limits its applications. The inefficiency of the Kroll process, the predominant production method for titanium, has contributed to titanium’s high price. There is ongoing research dedicated to the development of a more efficient/cost effective method of titanium production. The most significant development is the Fray, Farthing, Chen (FFC) Cambridge process which demonstrated that high-purity titanium can be extracted directly from its oxide through an electrolytic process, without the need of a metallothermic reduction step. For this research, it was hypothesised that titanium could be electrolytically extracted from New Zealand Steel iron slag as it is rich in TiO₂ (34 wt.%), and the composition of the slag indicates it could form a viable electrolyte. This would transform a low value secondary product, currently used as roadfill aggregate, to a prized material. This research forms the basis of a larger project as it focuses on the development of ultra-high temperature experimental capabilities for electrolysis experiments and in the performance of preliminary electrolysis experiments to guide future research. Overall, a support structure was designed and produced for a MTI GSL-1700X-100VTUL vertical tube furnace to allow for ultra-high temperature electrolysis experiments. The thermal profile of the furnace was examined through direct experiments and software modelling to ensure the long-term usage of the furnace. Preliminary electrolysis experiments showed a layered structure of partially reduced Ti/Si directly on the cathode and pockets of partially reduced Ti/Si in the surrounding electrolyte. The electrolytic process had a low current efficiency of 1.1% which was theorised to be due to the electrolytes high electrical conductivity