Many of the ore deposits from which rutile and ilmenite feed stocks from which TiCl_4 is produced are nearing depletion. Also new titanium powder technology using direct electrolysis of TiO_2 may also use a different ore source. There are potential new TiCl_4 processes, some that are improvements on existing fluid bed and molten salt carbochlorinators. There are also new hydrometallurgical processes as well that are of special interest because they do not form toxic dioxins that have recently become a serious problem. These are factors usually excluded in economic evaluation of new titanium metal production processes. While their influence on mill cost may not be as great as achieving near net shape technology, they may not be trivial.
展开▼
