Direct smelting process

1. A direct smelting process that comprises supplying

(a) a metalliferous feed material that contains iron oxides and at least 3 wt. % titanium oxides,

(b) a solid carbonaceous feed material, and

(c) an oxygen-containing gas

into a direct smelting vessel containing a molten bath of iron and slag and direct smelting the metalliferous feed material in the vessel and producing process outputs of molten iron, molten slag containing titanium oxides, and an off-gas, the process further comprising

injecting the metalliferous feed material at a rate so that FeO content in the slag is at least 3 to less than 10 wt. %, and

injecting the metalliferous feed material, solid carbonaceous feed materials, and oxygen-containing gas into the vessel and operating the direct smelting vessel at a temperature and pressure so that the molten slag is a slurry of a solid material and a liquid phase and the solid material is a solid oxide phase at the slag temperature in the process and has a viscosity in a range of 0.5-5 poise when the slag temperature is in a range of 1400-1550° C. in the molten bath in the direct smelting vessel; the solid material in the molten slag is at least 5 wt % and less than 30 wt. % of the molten slag; and the molten slag has an oxygen potential that is sufficiently high to minimize reduction of titanium oxides in the slag from a +4 valence state to a lower valence state;

wherein the metalliferous feed material and solid carbonaceous feed materials are injected to cause molten iron and slag to be projected into a gas space above the surface of the molten bath to provide heating by the post-combustion of smelting reaction gases.

2. The process defined in claim 1 comprising adjusting the slag composition and the temperature of the molten bath to be below the liquidus temperature of the slag so that the solid oxide phase precipitates from the liquid phase, thereby controlling the viscosity of the slag.

3. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the solid material in the molten slag is at least 10 wt. % of the molten slag and less than 30 wt % of the molten slag.

4. The process defined in claim 1 wherein solid material in the molten slag is 15-25 wt. % of the molten slag.

5. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the metalliferous feed material comprises any one or more than one of titanomagnetite and ilmenite.

6. The process defined in claim 5 wherein, when the metalliferous feed material consists of titanomagnetite, the titanium oxides are less than 40 wt. % of the metalliferous feed material.

7. The process defined in claim 5 or claim 6 wherein, when the metalliferous feed material consists of titanomagnetite, the titanium oxides are less than 30 wt. % of the metalliferous feed material.

8. The process defined in claim 5 wherein, when the metalliferous feed material comprises titanomagetite and ilmenite, the titanium oxides are less than 50 wt. % of the metalliferous feed material.

9. The process defined in claim 1 wherein the metalliferous feed material also comprises other metal oxides.

10. The process defined in claim 9 wherein, where the metalliferous material contains vanadium oxides, the process comprises producing process outputs of molten iron and vanadium, molten slag containing titanium oxides and vanadium oxides, and an off-gas.

11. The process defined in claim 1 comprising adjusting the weight ratio of the concentrations of iron in the slag to carbon in the molten iron to be less than 2:1.

12. The process defined in claim 1 comprising adjusting the weight ratio of the concentrations of iron in the slag to carbon in the molten iron to be less than 1.5:1.

13. The process defined in claim 1 comprising adjusting the weight ratio of the concentrations of iron in the slag to carbon in the molten iron to be 1:1 to 1.3:1.