Raw material melting

Reduction to Solid Metal. Metals having very high melting points caimot be reduced in the Hquid state. Because the separation of a soHd metallic product from a residue is usually difficult, the raw material must be purified before reduction. Tungsten and molybdenum, for instance, are prepared by reduction of a purified oxide (WO, MoO ) or a salt, eg, (NH2 2 G4, using hydrogen. A reaction such as... 

Phenol. This is the monomer or raw material used in the largest quantity to make phenoHc resins (Table 1). As a soHd having a low melting point, phenol, C H OH, is usually stored, handled in Hquid form at 50—60°C, and stored under nitrogen blanket to prevent the formation of pink quinones. Iron contamination results in a black color. 

Titanium slag and synthetic mtile are also used as raw materials in the production of titanium whites. Titanium slag results from a metaHurgical process during which iron (qv) is removed from ilmenite by reduction with coke in an electric arc furnace at 1200—1600°C. Under these conditions, iron oxide is reduced to metal, melts, and separates from the formed titanium slag. Titanium slag contains 70—75% Ti02 and only 5—8% iron. 

In the glass (qv) and ceramic industry (see Ceramics), barite can be used both as a flux, to promote melting at a lower temperature or to increase the production rate, and as an additive to increase the refractive index of glass. The viscosity of barite-containing glass often needs to be raised. Alumina in the form of feldspar is sometimes used. To offset any color produced by iron from the barite addition, more decolorizer may be needed. When properly used, barytes help reduce seed, increase toughness and brilliancy, and reduce annealing time. Barite is also a raw material for the manufacture of other barium chemicals. 

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