Effect of Reaction Temperature on the Synthesis of TiO2 from Titanium Slag and Sodium Hydroxide via Heat Treatment

Abstract

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is important in many industrial fields. Industrial TiO₂ is mainly produced from ilmenite and rutile ore, two abundant global resources. Studies have shown that the calcination method with NaOH can help prepare TiO₂ from titanium slag. In this study, the effect of reaction temperature between titanium slag and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was investigated in the process of separating TiO₂ from titanium slag. The formed product was evaluated for TiO₂ content, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy to evaluate the properties. The results showed that the reaction temperature had a significant effect on the TiO₂ content of the product after separation. The TiO₂ content decreased with increasing reaction temperature. The decrease in content is due to increased hydroxyl groups in the product. At a reaction temperature of 700 °C, the product had the highest TiO₂ content of 96.78 wt.%. The results also indicated that the product's main allotropic form of TiO₂ is rutile.