Titanium

It is an element that occurs in several minerals, and its main sources are rutile and ilmenite. It is present in numerous applications, such as light alloy metal in the aeronautical, aerospace and other industries.

 

History

Titanium (called by the Titans, sons of Uranus and Gaia of Greek mythology) was discovered in England by William Justin Gregor (English amateur geologist) in 1791 when he investigated magnetic sand (menachanite) existing in Menachan, Cornwall. He called it "menachin."

 

This element was again discovered later by the German chemist, Martin Heinrich Klaproth, this time in the rutile mineral (TiO2), which called it "titanium" (from the Latin titans, the children of the Earth) in 1795.

 

Matthew A. Hunter first prepared pure metal titanium (with a purity of 99.9%), heating titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) with sodium 700-800 °C in a steel reactor.

 

Titanium as metal was not used outside the laboratory until 1946, when William J. Kroll developed a method to produce it commercially. The Kroll process consists of reducing titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) with magnesium, a method that continues to be used today.

 

Main features

Titanium is a metal element well known for its excellent corrosion resistance (almost as resistant as platinum) and its great mechanical strength. It has low thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity. It is a lightweight, strong and easy to manufacture metal with low density (40% of steel density). When pure is very ductile and easy to work. The relatively high melting point makes it useful as a refractory metal. He's as strong as steel, but 45% lighter. It is 60% heavier than aluminum, but twice as strong. These characteristics make titanium very resistant against the usual types of fatigue. This metal forms a passive layer of oxide when exposed to air, but when it is in an oxygen-free environment it is ductile. It burns when heated and can burn immersed in gaseous nitrogen. It is resistant to dissolution in sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, as well as to most organic acids.

 

In the form of metal and its alloys, about 60% of titanium is used in the aeronautical and aerospace industries, being applied in the manufacture of parts for engines and turbines, fuselage of aircraft and rockets.

 

Abundance and achievement

Titanium as metal is not found free in nature, but it is the ninth in abundance in the earth's crust and is present in most igneous rocks and sediments derived from them. It is found mainly in the minerals anatasa (TiO2), brookite (TiO2), ilmenite (FeTiO3), leukoxene, perovskita (CaTiO3), rutile (TiO2) and titanite (CaTiSiO5); also as titanate in iron mines. Of these minerals, only ilmenite, leukoxene and rutile have economic importance. Important deposits of ilmenite are found in Australia, South Africa, Finland, the United States, Canada and Norway. The largest reserves of rutile are in South Africa, India, Sri Lanka,
Australia and Sierra Leone.

 

Applications

• Chemical industry - due to its corrosion resistance and chemical attack;
• Naval industry - metal titanium is used in underwater equipment and desalination of sea water;
• Nuclear industry - is used in the manufacture of heat recovery plants;
• War industry - metal titanium is always used in the manufacture of missiles and parts
  artillery;
• Metallurgical industry- metal titanium, bonded with copper, aluminium, vanadium, nickel and others, provides superior qualities to products. Another application, which occurs only with the rutile, is in the coating of welding electrodes.

Other Applications

• Approximately 95% of titanium is consumed as titanium dioxide (TiO2), an intensely white permanent pigment. Inks made with titanium dioxide are excellent infrared radiation reflectors, thus being widely used
  by astronomers;
• Applications in consumer products such as bicycles, glasses and computers are becoming very common. The most common alloys are aluminum, iron, manganese, molybdenum and other metals;
• Titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), a colourless liquid, is used to irradiate glass;
• Titanium dioxide is also used in sunscreens due to its ability to protect the skin;
• Titanium dioxide is extensively used in paints by the high fixation power;
• Because metal is considered physiologically inert, it is used in bone prostheses, dental implants and also in surgical instruments.