Patent Application

App. No. 11/983,345

Abstract

Claims (10)

1 . A process for manufacturing a titanium dioxide pigment, comprising the steps of:

a) preparing an aqueous, high solids slurry by gathering materials including crude titanium dioxide from the oxidation of titanium tetrachloride, a dispersant and water and then mixing the gathered materials to form an about 50 to about 70 weight percent slurry of crude titanium dioxide in water;

b) diluting the aqueous, high solids slurry by adding a further amount of water to the high solids slurry with mixing, the resultant aqueous, lesser solids slurry still having a concentration of at least about 50 percent by weight of crude titanium dioxide solids;

c) media-milling the resultant aqueous, lesser solids slurry;

d) recovering the media-milled, crude titanium dioxide product; and

e) finishing the media-milled, crude titanium dioxide product to produce a finished titanium dioxide pigment product.

2 . A process as defined in claim 1 , wherein the preparation of the aqueous, high solids slurry and its dilution are done continuously, for providing a crude titanium dioxide slurry continuously to be media-milled.

3 . A process as defined in claim 1 , wherein the initial aqueous, high solids slurry is diluted to provide a lesser solids concentration of the crude titanium dioxide in the slurry to be media-milled that is 2 percent or more less than the initial, high solids concentration.

4 . A process as defined in claim 1 , wherein the initial aqueous, high solids slurry comprises at least about 60 percent by weight of crude titanium dioxide.

5 . A process as defined in claim 4 , wherein the lesser solids slurry to be media-milled still contains at least about 60 percent by weight of crude titanium dioxide.

Assignments (11)