| Abstract Scope |
Titanium, renowned for its material properties, is a significant resource for several industries, specifically aerospace and medical. However, with rising concerns about the availability and sustainability of titanium arising from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, recycling has gained importance for securing the supply of this critical metal. The EURO-TITAN project unlocks sustainable titanium resources through the valorization of bauxite residues and titanium dioxide production waste, while decarbonizing the process, via the use of green-hydrogen technologies. The resulting slag, containing up-concentrated titanium, is further treated using physical, physicochemical, and hydrometallurgical processes.
In this study, titanium-bearing phases were up-concentrated via density separation techniques, such as falcon concentrator and wet shaking table, to separate the titanium-bearing heavy and the silicon-bearing light phases. Integrating physical enrichment processes enhance the recovery rates while decreasing the chemical consumption significantly due to the separation of the reactive portion of the material, thus contributing to circular economy principles. |