How is titanium tetrachloride made from titanium ore?

Titanium tetrachloride (${\text{TiCl}}_4$) is produced from titanium-bearing ores through a process known as carbo-chlorination.1

To ensure high efficiency, the ore feedstock—typically rutile, ilmenite, or synthetic rutile—is processed to contain more than 90 percent titanium dioxide (${\text{TiO}}_2$). In this procedure, the oxide ore is reacted with chlorine gas within a fluidized bed of petroleum coke at temperatures ranging from 850 to 1,000 °C (1,550 to 1,800 °F). During this reaction, the carbon in the coke combines with oxygen from the ore to form carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, while the titanium reacts with the chlorine to produce gaseous ${\text{TiCl}}_4$.12

The resulting raw ${\text{TiCl}}_4$ contains impurities that must be removed to achieve the high purity required for metal production. The gas is cleaned of entrained solid particles, liquefied, and subjected to fractional distillation. Specific impurities, such as vanadium oxychloride, are removed through chemical treatment with mineral oil, followed by further redistillation to ensure a final product purity exceeding 99.9 percent.12