TITANIUM BEARING MATERIAL FLOW CONTROL IN THE MANUFACTURE OF TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE WITH SILICA CONTENT MONITORING OF THE TITANIUM PRODUCT

摘要

This disclosure relates to a process for controlling chlorination reactions in manufacturing titanium tetrachloride in a fluidized bed reactor, followed by processing to form a titanium product comprising an amount of silica, the process comprising: (a) feeding carbonaceous material, titanium bearing material comprising an amount of silica, and chlorine to the fluidized bed reactor to form a gaseous stream, and condensing the gaseous stream to form titanium tetrachloride, a non-condensed gas stream and a condensable product stream; (b) processing the titanium tetrachloride to form a titanium product comprising an amount of silica; (c) analyzing the titanium product comprising an amount of silica to determine the analyzed concentration of silica; (d) identifying a set point concentration of silica; (e) calculating the difference between the analyzed concentration of silica and the set point concentration of silica; and (f) generating a signal which corresponds to the difference calculated in step (e) which provides a feedback response that controls the flow of the titanium bearing material into the fluidized bed reactor.