Patent ID: 8372179

Claim:
A process for producing separable iron and titanium oxides from an ore comprising titanium oxide and iron oxide, comprising: (a) forming agglomerates comprising a quantity of carbon-based material and the ore, the quantity of carbon of the agglomerates being at least sufficient for forming a ferrous oxide-containing molten slag, at an elevated temperature (b) introducing the agglomerates onto a bed of carbon-based material in a moving hearth furnace, wherein the carbon-based material used for both the agglomerates and the bed have a low sulfur content that is less than about 1 wt. %, based on the total weight of the carbon based material; (c) heating the agglomerates in a moving hearth furnace to a temperature sufficient for liquefying the agglomerates to produce a liquid comprising ferrous oxide-containing slag; (d) metallizing the ferrous oxide of the slag by reaction of the ferrous oxide and the carbon of the carbon bed at a furnace temperature sufficient for maintaining the slag in a liquid state; (e) solidifying the slag after metallization of the ferrous oxide to form a matrix of titanium oxide-rich slag having a plurality of metallic iron granules distributed there through; and (f) separating the metallic iron granules from the slag, the slag comprising greater than 85% titanium dioxide based on the entire weight of the matrix after separation of the metallic iron; wherein sulfur is stripped off the bed of the carbon-based material in step (c) and forming a sulfur-stripped bed of carbon-based material that is recycled to the bed of carbon-based material onto which the agglomerated are introduced in step (b).