The study results were published in the Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology (Q1; IF:3,174). The journalists of the RIA news agency spoke in more detail about the development of polytechnics.
Today, Russia is one of the leaders in the manufacturing of titanium metal and owns 15% of its world reserves. In particular, large reserves of titanium ores are concentrated in the Yaregskoye field (Komi Republic) and the Tuganskoye field (Tomsk region). At the same time, concentrates for the industrial manufacture of titanium-containing materials are imported. This is due to the low quality of domestic raw materials, which is determined by the high content of silicon dioxide in them. Its cleaning, in turn, is a complex and time-consuming procedure.
TPU scientists have proposed an efficient method for removing silicon dioxide using an aqueous solution of ammonium hydrofluoride in order to obtain a titanium-containing concentrate suitable for use in existing industrial enterprises. In this case, the main reagent is regenerated in the course of the technological process, obtaining as a by-product pure silicon dioxide, which has a wide range of applications.
“The resulting rutile concentrate can be used to produce metallic titanium and alloys based on it, as well as welding electrodes, titanic electrocorundum, and other materials in demand. The silicon dioxide leaching occurs in aqueous solutions at temperatures below 100 °C and atmospheric pressure, which makes it possible to be carried out on standard industrial equipment,” Andrey Smorokov, senior lecturer of the TPU Division for Nuclear-Fuel Cycle, says.“Silicon dioxide has a high chemical resistance and a high melting point (over 1600 °C), which requires high energy consumption for its separation from the concentrate. Our method makes it possible to obtain demanded products from inappropriate raw materials through relatively simple and safe processing.
The method’s peculiarity is that it is used to remove silicon dioxide from other types of mineral raw materials."Our silicon leaching scheme eliminates the use of volatile compounds at high temperatures and elevated pressures. The industrial implementation proposed by us does not permit the technological difficulties that are typical of other approaches to this problem,"
At this stage, scientists are finalizing and improving the schemes for the regeneration of the main leaching reagent and preparing a sample of a pilot device. The researchers plan to develop new methods for processing mineral and technogenic raw materials with a high silicon dioxide content.