Desiliconization of Leucoxene Concentrate with Vacuum Silicothermal Reduction

A new approach is presented for processing leucoxene concentrate through vacuum silicothermal reduction of titanium and silicon oxides using commercial-grade silicon as a reducing agent. It is shown that reactions occurring during a high-temperature process are accompanied by formation of SiO gas resulting in desiliconization of leucoxene concentrate. The best desiliconization degree of 82% is achieved when the content of silicon in the reaction mixture is 29 wt.%.