Processing aqueous titanium chloride solutions to ultrafine titanium dioxide

摘要

A hydrometallurgical process is provided for producing ultrafine or nano-sized titanium dioxide from titanium containing solutions, particularly titanium chloride solutions. The process is conducted by total evaporation of the solution, above the boiling point of the solution and below the temperature where there is significant crystal growth. Chemical control additives may be added to control particle size. Nano-sized elemental particles are formed after calcination. The titanium dioxide can be either anatase or rutile. Following calcination, the titanium dioxide is milled to liberate the elemental particles and provide a high quality nano-sized TiO2 with a narrow particle size distribution.