Becher process

The Becher process is a process to produce rutile, a form of titanium dioxide, from the ore ilmenite. Although it is competitive with the chloride process and the sulfate process, the Becher process is not used on scale. With the idealized formula FeTiO 3 , ilmenite contains 55-65% titanium dioxide, the rest being iron oxide. The Becher process, like other beneficiation processes, aims to remove iron. The Becher process exploits the conversion of the ferrous iron (FeO) to ferric iron (Fe 2 O 3 ). Ilmenite ores can be upgraded to synthetic rutile by increasing their TiO 2 content to between 90 and 96 percent.

The Becher process is a process to produce rutile, a form of titanium dioxide, from the ore ilmenite. Although it is competitive with the chloride process and the sulfate process, the Becher process is not used on scale. With the idealized formula FeTiO 3 , ilmenite contains 55-65% titanium dioxide, the rest being iron oxide. The Becher process, like other beneficiation processes, aims to remove iron. The Becher process exploits the conversion of the ferrous iron (FeO) to ferric iron (Fe 2 O 3 ). Ilmenite ores can be upgraded to synthetic rutile by increasing their TiO 2 content to between 90 and 96 percent. ===Oxidation=== Oxidation involves heating the ilmenite in a rotary kiln with air to convert iron to iron(III) oxide: 4 FeTiO 3 + O 2 → 2 Fe 2 O 3 ·TiO 2 + 2 TiO 2 This step is suitable for a range of ilmenite-containing feedstocks. ===Reduction=== Reduction is performed in a rotary kiln with pseudobrookite (Fe 2 O 3 .TiO 2 ), coal, and sulfur, then heated to a temperature greater than 1200 °C. The iron oxide in the mineral grains is reduced to metallic iron to produce reduced ilmenite: Fe 2 O 3 ·TiO 2 + 3 CO → 2 Fe + TiO 2 + 3 CO 2 The "reduced ilmenite" is separated from the char prior to the next step. ===Aeration=== Aeration involves the removal of the metallic iron created in the last step by "rusting" it out. This conversion is achieved in large tanks that contain 1% ammonium chloride solution with air being pumped through the tank. The tank is being continuously agitated, and the iron will rust and precipitate in the form of a slime. 4 Fe + 3 O 2 → 2 Fe 2 O 3 The finer iron oxide is then separated from the larger particles of synthetic rutile. ==References== ==Further reading==

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