Titanium Powder Production Process

The present invention relates to a crystalline Ti powder produced in a molten salt medium, said powder comprising predominantly particles of single a-Ti crystals and a continuous process for the production of titanium powder in a molten salt medium by known reaction mechanisms, said process including the steps of: reacting in a first reaction zone in a molten salt TiCl4 with reactants selected from Ti particles, a substoichiometric quantity of reducing agent, and a mixture of titanium metal and a substoichiometric amount of reducing agent, to form Ti sub-chloride; transferring Ti sub-chloride containing salts from the first reaction zone into a second reaction zone, which is electrically, ionically, or both electrically and ionically isolated from the first reaction zone; reacting in the second reaction zone the Ti sub-chloride with molten reducing metal to form dispersed Ti powder and molten salt; and withdrawing a portion of a suspension of Ti powder in molten salt from the second reaction zone to downstream processing units to separate the Ti powder from the salt and optionally recycle a portion of said Ti powder in molten salt to the first reaction zone.