Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
5652675a-70e9-4d61-9a41-1e5baeee129e
Materials
Associated ID
7673090e-8297-49ac-beb3-f99467270c57
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
This process refers to the production activity of producing 1 kg of ferrotitanium by the aluminothermic process. Ferrotitanium is a ferroalloy with titanium and iron as its main components and a Ti grade of 25-35%, used as a deoxidizer, desulfurizer, degasser, and alloying agent in steelmaking. The production activity of this product includes processes in auxiliary stages such as raw-material handling and batching, smelting, finished-product processing, and the dust-collection system. The dataset includes raw and auxiliary materials such as titanium concentrate, aluminum granules, iron ore fines, ferrosilicon powder, and lime, and energy inputs such as electricity; the outputs include the product ferrotitanium, the wastes dust-collection ash and smelting slag (which can be recovered and comprehensively utilized), as well as emissions to the atmosphere. Infrastructure such as the manufacturing of production equipment and the construction of plants is not included within the dataset boundary. The data inventory is formed by merging data from multiple sources, and the data representativeness is optimized using industry standards such as the 3140 Ferroalloy Industry Coefficient Handbook.
Activity Description
This process uses the thermite method to produce ferrotitanium. The main steps involve drying and dehydrating the raw materials, titanium concentrate and iron ore powder, in a rotary kiln. Then the titanium concentrate, ferrosilicon powder, lime, etc., are mixed in a hopper in specified proportions and smelted in a furnace shell. Aluminum particles are used to aid combustion. After combustion is complete, the materials naturally separate to yield finished ferrotitanium. The specific process includes the following steps: (1) pre-treatment (drying); (2) batching; (3) smelting; (4) iron removal and cooling; (5) finishing and packaging; (6) warehousing.
Process Description
Ferrotitanium is a ferroalloy whose main components are titanium and iron. It also contains impurities such as aluminum, silicon, carbon, sulfur, phosphorus, and manganese. It is used as a deoxidizer, desulfurizer, degassing agent, and alloying agent for steelmaking. The Ti grade of this ferrotitanium product is 25-35%.
Time period
2019
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The principle of thermite smelting of ferrotitanium is to use aluminum as a reducing agent, which reduces TiO₂ to metallic Ti at high temperatures and combines with molten iron to form high-titanium ferrotitanium, while releasing a large amount of heat. From a thermodynamic perspective, when Al is used to reduce TiO₂ to metallic Ti under high-temperature conditions, a portion of TiO₂ is also reduced to TiO. The reduction of TiO by Al can only proceed when the concentration of Al in the alloy and the concentration of TiO in the slag are high. TiO is a strongly basic oxide that readily forms a complex with Al₂O₃ in the slag, driving the reduction of TiO₂ toward TiO. To prevent this reaction from occurring, a stronger basic oxide (CaO) is added to replace TiO in binding with Al₂O₃, thereby directing the reaction toward the generation of Ti.