Recent Changes and Developments in Titanium Extraction

Titanium extraction technology has been the focus of a great deal of publicized research around the world as OEM's and titanium producers seek to reduce costs and meet rising demand and resource rich countries seek to better exploit local mineral resource. However no one technology has emerged as a clear alternative to the metallothermic batch processes using magnesium for the reduction of titanium tetrachloride (The Kroll Process). In parallel, conventional titanium extraction capacity has increased significantly in anticipation of demand from the new generation of composite and titanium intensive wide body aircraft. This paper will discuss the expansion of conventional capacity over the last four years and the impact and implications for emerging technologies. Certain emerging technologies will be discussed. This paper is not intended to provide an exhaustive or rigorous comparison of emerging technologies since much of the critical information required for such a review is company confidential