Process for recovery of titania values

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR RECOVERING TITANIA FROM MATERIALS SELECTED FROM THE GROPU CONSISTING OF TITANIA-BEARING ORES, SLAGS, AND RESIDUES, THAT COMPRISES LEACHING SAID MATERIAL IN GROUND FORM WITH CONCENTRATED SULFURIC ACID OF AT LEAST 80 PERCENT CONCENTRATION AT AN ELEVATED TEMPERATURE NO HIGHER THAN THE BOILING POINT OF SAID ACID, SAID ACID BEING PRESENT IN AN AMOUNT SUFFICIENT TO REACT WITH THE TOTAL TITANIA CONTENT OF SAID MATERIAL AND PRODUCE A READILY FILTERABLE ACID SLURRY OF SULFATES OF THE CONTAINED TITANIUM OF SAID MATERIAL, SEPARATING SAID SULFATES FROM THE ACID, THEREAFTER LEACHING SAID SULFATES IN A DILUTE SULFURIC ACID SOLUTION OF NO MORE THAN ABOUT 20 PERCENT CONCENTRATION CAPABLE OF DISSOLVING SAID TITANIUM SULFATES AND LEAVING INSOLUBLE MATERIALS AS A SOLID RESIDUE, SAID DILUTE SOLUTION BEING SO CONSTITUTED SO AS TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN AN ACID:TITANIA RATIO OF AT LEAST TOW PARTS BY WEIGHT OF ACID TO EACH PART BY WEIGHT OF TITANIA AND SAID LEACH BEING CARRIED OUT BELOW THE BOILING POINT OF THE SOLUTION, THEREAFTER SEPARATING SAID SOLUTION FROM SAID SOLID RESIDUE, AND FURTHER TREATING SAID SOLUTION FOR THE PRODUCTION AND RECOVERY OF TITANIA.