Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
78 words
A reduction process for the production of a product metal, which includes the step of reacting a reducible metal compound and a reducing metal in a sealed preformed beneficial metal container contained in a sealed outer reaction vessel and spaced from and insulated from the walls of said reaction vessel by means of a relatively inert insulating material, said beneficial metal container comprising the product metal or a metal which forms a useful alloy with said product metal.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
78 words
A reduction process for the production of a product metal, which includes the step of reacting a reducible metal compound and a reducing metal in a sealed preformed beneficial metal container contained in a sealed outer reaction vessel and spaced from and insulated from the walls of said reaction vessel by means of a relatively inert insulating material, said beneficial metal container comprising the product metal or a metal which forms a useful alloy with said product metal.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
203 words
A reduction process for the production of a product metal, as in claim 1, which process includes the steps of: (a) placing a reducible metal compound of the product metal and a reducing metal capable of reducing said reducible metal compound in a metal container, said metal container comprising the product metal or a metal which is alloyable with said product metal; (b) sealing said metal container containing the reactants in a reaction vessel, the metal container being spaced from the walls of said reaction vessel by means of a relatively inert insulating material; (c) heating the reactants without any substantial agitation from a temperature below the melting point of the reducing metal to a temperature which is both above the melting point of the reducing metal and below the temperature at which a reduction reaction between the metal compound and the reducing metal will proceed spontaneously; (d) initiating a reduction reaction between the reducible metal compound and the molten reducing metal by causing the surface of the molten reducing metal to be suddenly disrupted; (e) permitting the reduction reaction to continue to thereby produce a reduced metal in a zero-valence state; and (f) thereafter removing said reduced metal from the reaction zone.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
36 words
The process of claim 2 in which the reducible metal compound is a reducible compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, uranium, vanadium, niobium, thorium, beryllium, molybdenum, and mixtures thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
The process of claim 3 in which the reducible metal compound is a reducible halide compound of a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium, beryllium, zirconium, hafnium, uranium, vanadium, niobium and thorium.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
14 words
The process of claim 4 in which the reducible metal compound is titanium tetrachloride.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The process of claim 4 in which the reducible metal compound is zirconium tetrachloride.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The process of claim 3 in which the reducing metal is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, calcium, barium, magnesium, lithium, and mixtures thereof.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
The process of claim 7 in which the reducing metal is selected from the group consisting of sodium, potassium, sodium mixed with barium, and sodium mixed with calcium.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
A process such as in claim 2 wherein the relatively inert insulating material is selected from the group consisting of high melting alkaline earth metal and alkali metal halides and oxides.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method as in claim 9 wherein the insulating material is selected from a group consisting of calcium fluoride, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and dolomite lime.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method as in claim 2 wherein the metal container comprises a container formed from the product metal.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 2 wherein a metal container is formed from aluminum.