[Problem]

To provide a method for producing a metal ingot, which makes it possible to inhibit impurities contained in molten metal in a hearth from being mixed into the ingot.

[Solution]

A method for producing a metal ingot by using an electron-beam melting furnace having an electron gun and a hearth that accumulates a molten metal of a metal raw material, wherein the metal raw material is supplied to the position on a supply line disposed along a second side wall of the hearth that accumulates the molten metal of the metal raw material. A first electron beam is radiated along a first irradiation line that is disposed along the supply line and is closer to a central part of the hearth relative to the supply line on the surface of the molten metal. By this means, a surface temperature (T2) of the molten metal at the first irradiation line is made higher than an average surface temperature (T0) of the entire surface of the molten metal in the hearth, and in an outer layer of the molten metal, a first molten metal flow is formed from the first irradiation line toward the supply line.

Methods of removing oxygen from a metal are described. In one example, a method (100) can include forming a mixture (110) including a metal, a calcium de-oxygenation agent, and a salt. The mixture can be heated (120) at a de-oxygenation temperature for a period of time to reduce an oxygen content of the metal, thus forming a de-oxygenated metal. The de-oxygenation temperature can be above a melting point of the salt and below a melting point of the calcium de-oxygenation agent. The de-oxygenated metal can then be cooled (130). The de-oxygenated metal can then be leached with water and acid to remove by-products and obtain a product (140).

A smelting apparatus that includes (a) a smelting vessel (4) that is adapted to contain a bath of molten metal and slag and (b) a smelt cyclone (2) for pre-treating a metalliferous feed material positioned above and communicating directly with the smelting vessel The apparatus also includes an oft-gas duct (9) extending from the smelt, cyclone for discharging an off-gas from the smelt cyclone. The off-gas duct has an inlet section (18) that extends upwardly from the smelt cyclone and is formed to cause off-gas to undergo a substantial change of direction as it flows through the inlet section of the off-gas duct.

Liquid metal degassing device comprising a chamber containing a liquid metal bath, a device for circulating a gas through a purification chamber and in that the purification chamber comprises a getter material configured to trap dihydrogen from the circulating gas. Method for degassing a liquid metal bath to reduce the hydrogen concentration of the liquid metal comprising the following steps a) Preparing a liquid metal bath, preferably an aluminum alloy b) Circulating a gas, c) Exchanging hydrogen from the circulating gas with the liquid metal such that the hydrogen dissolved in the liquid metal bath diffuses into the circulating gas and enriches the circulating gas with dihydrogen, d) Purifying the circulating gas enriched with dihydrogen in a purification chamber comprising a getter material configured to trap dihydrogen from the circulating gas.

The titanium-containing oxide slag, low-purity silicon and slagging fluxes are subject to reduction smelting together, and a bulk SiTi intermediate alloy is obtained by slag-metal separation; the obtained bulk SiTi intermediate alloy is crushed into SiTi intermediate alloy particles; and the obtained SiTi intermediate alloy particles are used as an anode, metallic molybdenum or metallic nickel as a cathode, metallic titanium as a reference electrode, and NaClKClNaF together with small amounts of Na.sub.3TiF.sub.6 or K.sub.3TiF.sub.6 as a molten salt, to carry out the electrolysis under a high-purity argon atmosphere at a temperature of 973 K. Ti in the SiTi intermediate alloy particles dissolved at the anode and deposited at the cathode, while Si in the SiTi intermediate alloy particles fell off from the anode as metallic silicon powder.

Provided is a method for preparing a reduced titanium powder by a multistage deep reduction, including the following steps of: uniformly mixing a dried titanium dioxide powder with a magnesium powder to obtain a mixture, adding the mixture in a self-propagating reaction furnace, triggering a self-propagating reaction, obtaining an intermediate product of which low-valence titanium oxides Ti.sub.xO are dispersed in an MgO matrix, leaching the intermediate product with a hydrochloric acid as a leaching solution, performing filtering, washing and vacuum drying to obtain a low-valence titanium oxide Ti.sub.xO precursor, uniformly mixing the low-valence titanium oxide Ti.sub.xO precursor with a calcium powder, performing a pressing to obtain semi-finished products, placing the semi-finished products in a vacuum reduction furnace for a second-time deep reduction, and leaching a deep reduction product with a hydrochloric acid as a leaching solution so as to obtain the reduced titanium powder.

The invention relates to a method for preparing titanium alloys based on aluminothermic self-propagating gradient reduction and slag-washing refining, and belongs to the technical field of titanium-aluminum alloys. The method comprises the following steps of pre-treating raw materials, weighing the raw materials in the mass ratio of rutile or high-titanium slags or titanium dioxide to aluminum powder to V.sub.2O.sub.5 powder to CaO to KClO.sub.3 being 1.0:(0.60-0.24):(0.042-0.048):(0.12-0.26):(0.22-0.30), performing an aluminothermic self-propagating reaction in a gradient feeding manner to obtain high-temperature melt, performing a gradient reduction melting, performing heat insulation and separating the melt after the feeding is completed, then adding CaF.sub.2CaOTiO.sub.2V.sub.2O.sub.5 based refining slags into the high-temperature melt, performing slag washing refining, and finally removing slags to obtain titanium alloys. This method has the advantages including short flow, low energy consumption, easy operation, easy control on Al and V contained in alloys, and so on.

Provided is a titanium cast product made of commercially pure titanium, the titanium cast product being produced by electron-beam remelting or plasma arc melting, comprising: a melted and resolidified layer in a range of 1 mm or more in depth at a surface serving as a surface to be rolled, the melted and resolidified layer being obtained by adding one or more kinds of stabilizer elements to the surface and melting and resolidifying the surface. An average value of stabilizer element(s) concentration in a range of within 1 mm in depth is higher than stabilizer element(s) concentration in a base material by, in mass %, equal to or more than 0.08 mass % and equal to or less than 1.50 mass %. As the material containing the stabilizer element, powder, a chip, wire, or foil is used. As means for melting a surface layer, electron-beam heating and plasma arc heating are used.

A system for the recovery of titanium, titanium alloys, zirconium and zirconium alloys is disclosed. The system is fed with a mixture of chips including titanium chips, titanium alloy chips, zirconium chips and zirconium alloy chips, ferromagnetic chips and electrically conductive non-ferromagnetic chips. The system has at least one magnetic separator, a drying device and an Eddy current separator.

Provided is a method for producing metal titanium by molten salt electrolysis using a conductive material containing titanium, aluminum, oxygen and other impurities. A method for producing metal titanium, wherein a refining process includes: a rough electrodeposition step of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing a TiAlO conductive material in a chloride bath Bf to obtain a titanium-containing electrodeposit TC; and one or more refinement electrodeposition steps of performing a molten salt electrolysis using an electrode containing the titanium-containing electrodeposit TC in a chloride bath Bf, and wherein at least one of the chloride bath Bf used for the rough electrodeposition step and the chloride bath Bf used for the refinement electrodeposition step contains 30 mol % or more of magnesium chloride.