Hunter process

The Hunter process was the first industrial process to produce pure ductile metallic titanium. It was invented in 1910 by Matthew A. Hunter, a chemist born in New Zealand who worked in the United States.[1] The process involves reducing titanium tetrachloride (TiCl₄) with sodium (Na) in a batch reactor with an inert atmosphere at a temperature of 1,000°C. Dilute hydrochloric acid is then used to leach the salt from the product.[2]

TiCl₄ + 4 Na → 4 NaCl + Ti

Prior to the Hunter process, all efforts to produce Ti metal afforded highly impure material, often titanium nitride (which resembles a metal). The Hunter process was replaced by the more economical Kroll process in the 1940s. In the Kroll process, TiCl₄ is reduced by magnesium.[3]

References

M. A. Hunter "Metallic Titanium" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1910, pp 330–336. doi:10.1021/ja01921a006
"Hunter process - Oxford Reference". doi:10.1093/acref/9780199651450.001.0001/acref-9780199651450-e-1447. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Heinz Sibum, Volker Günther, Oskar Roidl, Fathi Habashi, Hans Uwe Wolf (2005). "Titanium, Titanium Alloys, and Titanium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a27_095.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)

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[1] M. A. Hunter "Metallic Titanium" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1910, pp 330–336. doi:10.1021/ja01921a006

[2] "Hunter process - Oxford Reference". doi:10.1093/acref/9780199651450.001.0001/acref-9780199651450-e-1447. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

[3] Heinz Sibum, Volker Günther, Oskar Roidl, Fathi Habashi, Hans Uwe Wolf (2005). "Titanium, Titanium Alloys, and Titanium Compounds". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a27_095.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)