Titanium or zirconium reduction process by arc heater

Claim 1

A process for reducing a metal from a chloride salt comprising the steps of: a. providing an arc heater having at least a pair of axially spaced tubular electrodes forming an elongated arc chamber communicating with a reaction chamber, which arc chamber is coextensive with the spaced tubular electrodes, b. striking an electric arc in an axial gap between the electrodes, c. introducing a pressurized gas selected from the group consisting of argon, helium hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, radially inwardly through the gap and into the arc chamber to blow the electric arc from the gap and into the interior of the elongated arc chamber to form an elongated arc jet stream comprising the pressurized gas and projecting from the arc chamber into the reaction chamber, d. feeding into the arc jet stream a quantity of one element selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal and an alkaline-earth metal, e. feeding into the arc jet stream a quantity of a chloride of a metal having a melting point higher than the boiling point of the co-product salt formed with the metal, the co-products being a liquid elemental metal and a gaseous salt, f. projecting the reaction products into the reaction chamber tangentially to cause the liquid elemental metal to separate centrifugally from the lighter, gaseous salt, and g. depositing the liquid elemental metal on a downwardly extending surface to permit the metal to flow into an associated receptacle.