How Is Titanium Produced From Its Ore?

Titanium is a strong and light metal that has many uses. In medicine, it is often used to make replacement hip and knee joints, for example.

Titanium is the fourth most common metal in the crust of the Earth, after aluminium, iron and magnesium. It is mined and extracted from rocks that contain titanium ores but the processes involved are difficult and costly. So, in spite of the fact that titanium is so plentiful, its extraction is expensive, so it is rarely used because of its value.

The ore that commonly contains titanium is called rutile and this is found on some beaches, just lying on the sand. The metal titanium cannot be extracted by the same process used for making iron because it is more reactive than carbon, and it cannot be produced by electrolysis either because its compounds do not conduct electricity.

Instead, it is converted chemically to titanium chloride and the titanium is then displaced by a more reactive metal such as magnesium.

The ore rutile (impure titanium(IV) oxide) is heated with chlorine and coke at a temperature of about 900°C. Then the Titanium chloride is reduced using Magnesium and distilled to get rid of the Magnesium chloride (Magnesium atoms displaced titanium atoms). Then you get titanium.

It is a very expensive and difficult process of mining the rocks that contain the ore with titanium in it. Titanium is found in a ore called rutile. Rutile is found in a rock that is mined.