1.

Rutile seed preparation:

b. Starting pigment for rutile seed production was 100 g (Since the post bleach cake
has both free and crystalline water, first the sample was heated to 1000 oC

This step was to determine the %H2O in the post bleach cake. Is that correct?

2. Then cake was repulped for salt treatment. The slurry had high concentration to eliminate
the need for filtration after Doping. 0.3 % Al2O3 was added as Al2(SO4)3. 0.3 % k2O was
added as k2CO3.

Do you have the chemical analysis to confirm that the calcined TiO 2 contained 0.3% Al2O3
and 0.3% K2O? Also, can you confirm the %P2O5? This information is important to
understand the calcination process.

Then rutile seed loaded cake was prepared for calcining.

How was it prepared? Was it dried first before calcining? This would be usual in a laboratory
process, with the TiO2 ground in a pestle and mortar after drying and before calcining.

3. Samples were heated based on following firing curve

From 100oC to the first hold temperature in three hours is OK. Although I would normally
advise going to 850oC as the first hold, then 900oC. But it doesn’t look as though there
would have been much rutilisation at 850oC.

Rutile seed XRD

There is no evidence of any anatase from the XRD peaks. Do you agree? So it looks like the
TiO2 seed process has been successful. Have you made any attempt to estimate the
crystallite size using Scherrer’s formula? Crystallite size can effect seed effectiveness (if too
large)

Calcination test results

I would not recommend adding more than 10% seeds; it would not be a practical process
option.

The seeds have been able to promote the conversion of anatase to rutile but the
temperatures seem high. Without the chemical analysis requested it is difficult to determine
if the high temperature is due to the seeds or to the composition. P (and Al) makes
rutilisation more difficult, so could be making a contribution.

Some of the results (950-60-5, 1000-45-5, 950-60-10) look to have lower rutile than would
be expected (from other results in the sequence)