Metal Titanium Production Method and Metal Titanium Electrodeposit

Abstract

Provided is a method for producing metal titanium by molten salt electrolysis using a conductive material containing titanium, aluminum, oxygen and other impurities. A method for producing metal titanium, wherein a refining process includes: a rough electrodeposition step of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing a TiAlO conductive material in a chloride bath Bf to obtain a titanium-containing electrodeposit TC; and one or more refinement electrodeposition steps of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing the titanium-containing electrodeposit TC in a chloride bath Bf, and wherein at least one of the chloride bath Bf used for the rough electrodeposition step and the chloride bath Bf used for the refinement electrodeposition step contains 30 mol % or more of magnesium chloride.

1 . A method for producing metal titanium, comprising: a refining process of refining a TiAlO conductive material containing titanium, aluminum, and oxygen,
 wherein the refining process comprises:   a rough electrodeposition step of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing the TiAlO conductive material in a chloride bath to obtain a titanium-containing electrodeposit; and   after the rough electrodeposition step, one or more refinement electrodeposition steps of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing the titanium-containing electrodeposit in a chloride bath, and   wherein at least one of the chloride bath used for the rough electrodeposition step and the chloride bath used for the refinement electrodeposition step contains 30 mol % or more of magnesium chloride.   
     
     
         2 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the chloride bath used for the rough electrodeposition step and the chloride bath used for the refinement electrodeposition step contains 50 mol % or more of magnesium chloride. 
     
     
         3 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein each of the chloride bath used for the rough electrodeposition step and at least one chloride bath used for the refinement electrodeposition steps contains 30 mol % or more of magnesium chloride.   
     
     
         4 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the chloride bath used for the rough electrodeposition step and at least one chloride bath used for the refinement electrodeposition steps contains 50 mol % or more of magnesium chloride. 
     
     
         5 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 1 , further comprising an extracting process of heating a chemical blend comprising a titanium ore containing titanium oxide, aluminum, and a separating agent to obtain the TiAlO conductive material, before the refining process. 
     
     
         6 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 5 , wherein a molar ratio of the titanium oxide, the aluminum, and the separating agent contained in the chemical blend is 3:4-7:2-6. 
     
     
         7 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 5 , wherein the separating agent comprises one or more selected from calcium fluoride, calcium oxide, and sodium fluoride. 
     
     
         8 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 1 , wherein the metal titanium has an aluminum content of 100 ppm by mass or less and an oxygen content of 500 ppm by mass or less. 
     
     
         9 . The method for producing metal titanium according to  claim 8 , wherein the metal titanium has a nitrogen content of 0.03% by mass or less, a carbon content of 0.01% by mass or less, an iron content of 0.010% by mass or less, a magnesium content of 0.05% by mass or less, a nickel content of 0.01% by mass or less, a chromium content of 0.005% by mass or less, a silicon content of 0.001% by mass or less, a manganese content of 0.05% by mass or less, and a tin content of 0.01% by mass or less. 
     
     
         10 . A metal titanium electrodeposit, wherein the metal titanium electrodeposit has an aluminum content of 5 ppm by mass or more and 100 ppm by mass or less, and an oxygen content of 100 ppm by mass or more and 500 ppm by mass or less. 
     
     
         11 . The metal titanium electrodeposit according to  claim 10 , wherein the metal titanium electrodeposit has a nitrogen content of 0.001% by mass or more and 0.03% by mass or less, a carbon content of 0.0004% by mass or more and 0.01% by mass or less, an iron content of 0.010% by mass or less, a magnesium content of 0.05% by mass or less, a nickel content of 0.01% by mass or less, a chromium content of 0.005% by mass or less, a silicon content of 0.001% by mass or less, a manganese content of 0.05% by mass or less, and a tin content of 0.01% by mass or less.