A New Approach to Processing Rutile from Ilmenite Ore Utilizing the Instability of Pseudobrookite

Rutile (TiO₂) is a vital industrial material used in pigments and in many other valuable chemicals. A new production process to synthesize rutile from natural ilmenite ore and therefore overcome the environmental problems associated with conventional rutile extraction processes was developed. Because the simple phase separation of ilmenite (FeTiO₃) into Fe₂O₃ and TiO₂ occurs due to air oxidation, extracting TiO₂ by removing Fe₂O₃ may be possible if pseudobrookite (Fe₂TiO₅), known as a stable compound in the Fe₂O₃-TiO₂ system at higher temperatures, is of unstable phase in the lower-temperature range. In order to clarify the potential of this new approach, the phase stability of pseudobrookite in the lower-temperature range is discussed. The free energy of formation of pseudobrookite from the respective pure oxides was measured at temperatures ranging from 1073 K to 1473 K by the chemical equilibrium technique using Al₂O₃ as the reference oxide. The observed free energy is given as a function of temperature: ∆G⁰ = 7715 − 7.7T (J/mol). The results indicate that pseudobrookite has an unstable phase below 929 K. This has important industrial implications as a new approach to producing synthetic rutile from ilmenite ore by oxidation at low temperatures and acid leaching.