Cheap and environmentally friendly titanium dioxide extraction method

From medicine to cosmetics, plastics to paper, almost a day goes by without us using titanium dioxide. Now researchers at Leeds University have developed a simpler, cheaper and cleaner method to extract higher yields of this useful and versatile antibiotic. Titanium dioxide (TiO ₂ ) in powder form is widely used as a powerful white dye to brighten everyday products such as paint, paper, plastic, food, medicine, ceramics, cosmetics and even toothpaste. Extremely good ultraviolet absorption properties make it a perfect material to make sunscreens.

Titanium dioxide is the all-natural form of titanium oxide, the ninth most abundant element on the earth's surface and the seventh most abundant alloy on the earth's surface. About 95% of the earth's ore is refined into titanium dioxide and about 5.7 million tons of titanium dioxide is sold each year.

TiO ₂ is also a material in the production of titanium alloy. In alloy form it is very hard and light so it is used in space and in the electronics industry as well as it is used to harden golf clubs and fishing rods. It has inertity and biological compatibility so it is also a suitable material for making medical devices and artificial implants.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the world market consumes about £ 7 billion of this important mineral every year. Unfortunately, although it is abundant in nature, it is not pure because it contains other polluting elements such as iron, aluminum and other radioactive elements.

High-grade TiO ₂ dyes are produced from mineral ores by melting, then treated with slag chlorine, or produced by placing it in a sulfuric acid solution. Both of these processes produce toxic and dangerous emissions. Handling these wastes is expensive and complex.

Professor Jha's patented processing process at Leeds University's mechanical department includes heating titanium ore with alkali to remove contaminants. These contaminants will be washed and filtered with acid to create valuable by-products for the electronics industry. Much of the rest is then reacted with 20 times less chlorine than is normally used to produce titanium dioxide powder .

The University of Leeds treatment process achieves up to 97% TiO _{2 performance} compared to current technology of about 85%. This ratio will reduce production costs to produce high-grade dye materials and waste disposal costs. In addition, this process also recycles CO2 emissions and thermal energy. Moreover, Professor Jha is confident that the process can be improved to produce 99 parts of pure titanium dioxide.

Professor Animesh Jha said: 'For years researchers have been looking for sustainable processes to replace current processes. Our aim is to develop new technology to process complex minerals to produce low-quality titanium dioxide and while still suitable for the world market, it is still not extracted in a way that benefits economic benefits. high. Our process is really a breakthrough in the world because it can be applied to both high-grade ore and secondary ore and it overcomes concerns about neutralization and feces. destroy waste generated during treatment that normally ends with dumping hazardous waste into the lake. '

He said excitedly: 'We are happy with the prospects of this treatment method; We believe that it will be used to handle other important minerals that have the same complexity, making it a reliable and promising process for the future. '

Professor Jha and his colleagues have established a partnership with Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, the _second largest TiO ₂ producer in the world, to develop this technology on a larger scale. The work is funded by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's program of sustainable development technology improvement in collaboration with the Institute of Mechanical and Scientific Research and Millennium Inorganic Chemicals.