UTRS forms joint venture with Achemetal for new Ti extraction process

News
December 17, 2017

December 17, 2017

Universal Technical Resource Services, Inc. (UTRS), Butte, Montana, USA, has entered into a joint venture with Achemetal, Inc., to commercialise its patented process for extracting and refining titanium. The new joint venture will go by the name Universal Achemetal Titanium, LLC (UAT).

UTRS is an established government services firm and brings to the JV a decade of experience in solutions technology. Achemetal, Inc., is a metals supplier dealing in specialty and rare earth refractory metals worldwide.

“The UTRS scientists in Montana invented a game-changing process for extracting titanium from ore that is more flexible, requires fewer steps and will significantly reduce the costs of titanium when compared to the Kroll process,” explained James Sun, owner of Achemetal. “This innovative method reduces production costs and pollution, and doesn’t require the use of any harmful chemicals.”

The extraction process in question uses two major steps that effectively combine extraction techniques, electro-refining and metal processing practices to produce titanium directly from titanium-bearing ores. According to UTRS, the technique will provide access to domestic titanium supplies not usable by other processes and will reduce reliance on foreign materials in manufacturing.

“Our goal was to replace the expensive, environmentally harmful, outdated Kroll process that is used internationally today in titanium production,” stated Jim Cox, Ph.D., UTRS Laboratory Director. “In doing so, we are able to create a more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly process to manufacture titanium, making it more accessible to industries both within and outside of aerospace and allowing us to take advantage of domestic ore supplies previously unusable.”

The formation of UAT is expected to move the process from the laboratory scale into the demonstration phase, bringing it closer to commercialisation.

www.utrs.com

www.achemetal.com

News
December 17, 2017

In the latest issue of PM Review…

Download PDF

Extensive Powder Metallurgy industry news coverage, and the following exclusive deep-dive articles and reports:

  • Powder Metallurgy: Discover innovative technologies meeting the demands of vehicle electrification
  • Gevorkyan a.s.: Europe’s fast-growing Powder Metallurgy company achieving success through a diversified customer base
  • Powder Metallurgy in Asia: A status update from the World PM2024 Congress, Yokohama

The latest news from the world of metal powders, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss any new issue of PM Review, and get the latest industry news. Sign up to our weekly newsletter.

Sign up

Join our community

Discover our magazine archive…

The free-to-access PM Review magazine archive offers unparalleled insight into the world of Powder Metallurgy from a commercial and technological perspective through:

  • Reports on visits to leading PM part manufacturers, metal powder manufacturers and industry suppliers
  • Articles on technology and application trends
  • Information on materials developments
  • Reviews of key technical presentations from the international conference circuit
  • International industry news

All past issues are available to download as free PDFs or view in your browser.

 

Browse the archive

 

Looking for PM production equipment, metal powders, R&D support and more?

Discover suppliers of these and more in our
advertisers’ index and buyer’s guide, available in the back of PM Review magazine.

  • Powders & materials
  • Powder process, classification & analysis
  • PM products
  • Atomisers & powder production technology
  • Compaction presses, tooling & ancillaries
  • Sintering equipment & ancillaries
  • Post-processing
  • Consulting & toll sintering
View online
Share via
Copy link