Flotation behaviour of Ti2CO from simulated carbon-thermal reduced titanium ores by oleic acid

Extraction of titanium from its ores by carbon-thermal reduction followed with hydrometallurgical treatment is a traditional process that is costly due to the huge consumption of acid for the complete dissolving of oxide slag. In this work, a new proposal was put forward to separate the slag by flotation process. The feasibility of selective separation of titanium oxycarbide (Ti2CO) by flotation process from the MOx (M = Ca, Mg, Si, Al) was investigated by using the simulated slag with single and mixed components. The flotation products were analysed by X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectrum. It was found that in the case of single Ti2CO or its mixing sample with MOx, the Ti2CO will float up effectively at the pH range of 1–5 to separate from the slag with oleic acid as the main floating reagent, and the results are beneficial to the design of a new process for titanium extraction from the complex ore at much lower cost.