Direct reduction processes for titanium oxide in molten salt

Molten salt electrolysis using CaCl2 is employed to produce pure Ti and its alloys directly from TiO2 and a mixture of elemental oxides, respectively, as an alternate of Kroll process. This is because CaO, which is a reduction by-product, is highly soluble in CaCl2. Good-quality Ti containing only a small amount of residual oxygen has been successfully produced and scaled to industrial levels. Thermochemical and electrochemical bases are reviewed to optimize the process conditions. Several processes using molten salt are being examined for future progress in Ti processing