Method of producing refractory metal

Claim 1

A METHOD FOR PRODUCING A HIGH-PURITY REFRACTORY METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF TITANIUM, ZIRCONIUM, HAFNIUM, VANADIUM, NIOBIUM, AND TANTALUM COMPRISING INTRODUCING A VAPOROUS MIXTURE OF A HALIDE OF SAID REFRACTORY METAL IN WHICH THE HALOGEN COMPONENT HAS AN ATOMIC NUMBER GREATER THAN 9 AND A REDUCING METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF ALKALI AND ALKALINE EARTH METALS INTO A REACTION ZONE CONTAINING PLATE-LIKE BAFFLES, SAID REACTION CHAMBER BEING AT SUBATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW THE MELTING POINT OF THE REFRACTORY METAL AND ABOVE THE BOILING TEMPERATURE OF THE REDUCING METAL AS WELL AS THE CONDENSATION TEMPERATURE OF THE HALIDE OF SAID REDUCING METAL AT THE EXISTING PRESSURE OF SAID REACTION ZONE, PASSING SAID VAPOROUS MIXTURE ALONG A TORTUOUS PATH CREATED BY SAID BAFFLES, REDUCING THE REFRACTORY METAL HALIDE IN SAID VAPOROUS MIXTURE WITH THE REDUCING METAL THEREBY DEPOSITING REFRACTORY METAL IN CRYSTALLINE FORM ON THE SURFACES DEFINING SAID TORTUOUS PATH, WHILE UNCONSUMED REACTANTS AND BY-PRODUCT SALTS PASS THROUGH SAID REACTION ZONE AND INTO A CONDENSING ZONE MAINTAINED UNDER A SUBATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE AND AT A TEMPERATURE BELOW THE CONDENSATION TEMPERATURE OF BOTH BY-PRODUCT SALT AND UNREACTED REACTANTS AT THE PRESSURE EXISTING IN SAID CONDENSING ZONE, CONDENSING SAID BY-PRODUCT SALTS AND UNREACTED REACTANTS IN SAID CONDENSING ZONE AND RECOVERING THE DEPOSITED REFRACTORY METAL FROM THE REACTION ZONE.