Patent ID: 11959185
Assignee: UNIVERSAL ACHEMETAL TITANIUM, LLC
Field: Surface technology, coating (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC C | IPC C

Claim 0:
1. A process for electro-refining titanium-aluminide to produce titanium-aluminum master alloys, comprising:
a. placing titanium-aluminide comprising more than ten weight percent aluminum, and at least ten weight percent oxygen, into a reaction vessel, the reaction vessel configured with an anode, a cathode, and an electrolyte, the electrolyte including halide salts of alkali metals or alkali-earth metals or a combination thereof;
b. heating the electrolyte to a temperature of 500° C.-900° C. sufficient to create a molten electrolyte mixture;
c. directing an electrical current from the anode through the molten electrolyte mixture to the cathode;
d. monitoring an electrical differential between the anode and a reference electrode during the directing step, wherein the electrical differential is maintained between 0.2V-0.8V; and
e. dissolving the titanium-aluminide from the anode to deposit a titanium-aluminum master alloy at the cathode;, wherein the titanium-aluminum master alloy contains less than 5.0 wt % aluminum.