Toward Decarbonization of the Titanium Industry via Hydrogen Plasma Smelting Reduction

Abstract

Surging global demand for titanium, driven by its essential role in aerospace, transportation, chemical industries, and as a white pigment, is intensifying pressure on scarce high-grade ores, like rutile, leading to their rapid depletion. As a result, ilmenite (FeTiO3) mineral sands are emerging as the cornerstone of future titanium supply. However, conventional ilmenite processing routes are energy-intensive, carbon-emissive, and require multiple reduction and refining stages. Here, a single-step hydrogen plasma reduction process is introduced that simultaneously produces two critical materials for a sustainable economy, high-purity iron and a Titania-rich compound, directly from low-grade ilmenite concentrates, without fossil fuels and direct CO2 emissions. This process unifies smelting, reduction, and refining (of both iron and Titania oxide mixture) in one operation, at rapid kinetics and selective impurity removal. Silica, an impurity usually removed in a separate chemical step, is reduced by ≈75% within the proposed plasma-based operation, enabling direct downstream use of the Titania-rich compound. The resulting iron achieves purity high enough for direct use in steel production, while the Titania-rich compound serves as an upgraded CO2-free precursor for titanium metal or pigment production. This work introduces a zero-carbon metallurgical route for maximizing value from low-grade ilmenite while advancing decarbonized industrial metals processing.