Production of titanium tetrachloride

Claim 1

THE METHOD OF CONTINUOUSLY AND AUTOGENOUSLY CHLORINATING THE TITANIUM COMPONENT OF TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A CHARGE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF FINELY DIVIDED TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL AND SOLID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL, THE TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL CONTAINING AT LEAST 20% TITANIUM OXIDE CALCULATED AS TIO2 AND THE CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL CONTAINING ABOUT 50% TO 100% BY WEIGHT OF COKING COAL AND THE BALANCE ESSENTIALLY NON-COKING COAL, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SAID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL RANGING BETWEEN ABOUT 75% AND 135% BY WEIGHT OF THE TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL SO AS TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL CARBONACEOUS RESIDUE AFTER CHLORINATION OF THE TITANIUM CONTENT OF THETITANIFEROUS MATERIAL IN CONTACT THEREWITH, SIMULTANEOUSLY MIXING AND COMPRESSING THE CHARGE OF SAID TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL AND CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL TO EFFECT INTIMATE CONTACT BETWEEN THESE MATERIALS, THEREAFTER FORMING BRIQUETTES HAVING A DENSITY AT LEAST 25% HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE CHARGE, COKING THE BRIQUETTES AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 600*C., CHARGING THE COKED BRIQUETTES TO ONE END OF A CHLORINATING ZONE, PASSING CHLORINE GAS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH A BODY OF THE COKED BRIQUETTES, MAINTAINING SAID BODY OF COKED BRIQUETTES AT A CHLORINATION REACTION TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 600* TO 1000* C. BY THE EXOTHERMIC HEAT OF THE CHLORINATION REACTION RESULTING FROM THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE CHLORINE GAS AND THE HOT BRIQUETTES, THE CHLORINATION OF THE TITANIUM COMPONENT OF THE BRIQUETTES THUS BEING EFFECTED WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY DESTROYING THE COHERENT STRUCTURE OF SAID BRIQUETTES AND WHILE PERMITTING THE BRIQUETTES TO MOVE SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH THE CHLORINATING ZONE FROM THE CHARGING END THEREOF TOWARD A DISCHARGE END OF SAID ZONE AS THEIR TITANIUM CONTENT IS BEING DEPLETED BY CHLORINATION, WITHDRAWING TITANIUMDEPLETED BRIQUETTES FROM THE DISCHARGE END OF THE CHLORINATING ZONE WHILE THE CHLORINATION REACTION IS CONTINUING WHEREBY UNINTERRUPTED AUTOGENOUS REACTION IN THE CHLORINATING ZONE IS MAINTAINED, AND RECOVERING THE RESULTING TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE EVOLVED IN THE CHLORINATING ZONE.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF CONTINUOUSLY AND AUTOGENOUSLY CHLORINATING THE TITANIUM COMPONENT OF TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL WHICH COMPRISES PREPARING A CHARGE CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF FINELY DIVIDED TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL AND SOLID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL, THE TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL CONTAINING AT LEAST 20% TITANIUM OXIDE CALCULATED AS TIO2 AND THE CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL CONTAINING ABOUT 50% TO 100% BY WEIGHT OF COKING COAL AND THE BALANCE ESSENTIALLY NON-COKING COAL, THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SAID CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL RANGING BETWEEN ABOUT 75% AND 135% BY WEIGHT OF THE TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL SO AS TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL CARBONACEOUS RESIDUE AFTER CHLORINATION OF THE TITANIUM CONTENT OF THETITANIFEROUS MATERIAL IN CONTACT THEREWITH, SIMULTANEOUSLY MIXING AND COMPRESSING THE CHARGE OF SAID TITANIFEROUS MATERIAL AND CARBONACEOUS MATERIAL TO EFFECT INTIMATE CONTACT BETWEEN THESE MATERIALS, THEREAFTER FORMING BRIQUETTES HAVING A DENSITY AT LEAST 25% HIGHER THAN THAT OF THE CHARGE, COKING THE BRIQUETTES AT A TEMPERATURE OF AT LEAST ABOUT 600*C., CHARGING THE COKED BRIQUETTES TO ONE END OF A CHLORINATING ZONE, PASSING CHLORINE GAS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH A BODY OF THE COKED BRIQUETTES, MAINTAINING SAID BODY OF COKED BRIQUETTES AT A CHLORINATION REACTION TEMPERATURE WITHIN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 600* TO 1000* C. BY THE EXOTHERMIC HEAT OF THE CHLORINATION REACTION RESULTING FROM THE CONTACT BETWEEN THE CHLORINE GAS AND THE HOT BRIQUETTES, THE CHLORINATION OF THE TITANIUM COMPONENT OF THE BRIQUETTES THUS BEING EFFECTED WITHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY DESTROYING THE COHERENT STRUCTURE OF SAID BRIQUETTES AND WHILE PERMITTING THE BRIQUETTES TO MOVE SUBSTANTIALLY CONTINUOUSLY THROUGH THE CHLORINATING ZONE FROM THE CHARGING END THEREOF TOWARD A DISCHARGE END OF SAID ZONE AS THEIR TITANIUM CONTENT IS BEING DEPLETED BY CHLORINATION, WITHDRAWING TITANIUMDEPLETED BRIQUETTES FROM THE DISCHARGE END OF THE CHLORINATING ZONE WHILE THE CHLORINATION REACTION IS CONTINUING WHEREBY UNINTERRUPTED AUTOGENOUS REACTION IN THE CHLORINATING ZONE IS MAINTAINED, AND RECOVERING THE RESULTING TITANIUM TETRACHLORIDE EVOLVED IN THE CHLORINATING ZONE.