Synthesis of titanium dioxide precursor by the hydrolysis of titanium oxychloride solution

This communication focuses on the development of an approach to improve the synthesis of [Ti8O12(H2O)24]Cl8.HCl.7H2O crystals which is one of the precursor for titanium dioxide TiO2 particles. This study provides a significant improvement in crystallization kinetics with a production rate increased by a factor nineteen by intensifying heat and mass transfers compared to the process in a close vessel. This enhancement was made possible by the development of a new reactor to control the heat and mass transfers involved. In parallel with the experimental set-up, a numerical model representative of the transfer phenomena was initiated. The first numerical results are encouraging and present a good agreement with the measurements.