Titanium dissolution from decomposed Ilmenite using NaOH into the aqueous sulphuric acid solutions

Abstract

At present work, the experiment to dissolve titanium from the Indonesian Ilmenite into the aqueous sulphuric acid solutions has been done through the following process: Ilmenite decomposition using NaOH at temperature 800°C for 5 hours to produced decomposed Ilmenite, followed with titanium dissolution from the decomposed Ilmenite into the aqueous sulphuric acid solutions in the glass reactor. The variables used for dissolution process were covering: dissolution temperature from 30°C to 70°C, sulphuric acid concentrations from 5% to 15%, and dissolution time from 30 minutes up to 180 minutes. The influence of those all variables were observed on the titanium dissolution from the decomposed Ilmenite. Result of the dissolution experiment show that the dissolved titanium in the aqueous sulphuric acid solutions increased when the dissolution temperature was increased from 30°C to 60°C, sulphuric acid concentration were increased from 5% to 15% and dissolution time were extended from 30 minutes to 180 minutes.