Titanium

Ryan Graves

November 23, 2007

Natural Resource Paper

Titanium

Found on six of the worlds seven continents and known to be the ninth-most abundant element located in the Earth’s crust is Titanium. Titanium is a metal notorious for its strength, light weight, and high market price. But how do we get this metal? What is it used for? And what are the economical and social issues that surround our highly valuable titanium?

There has been uncertainty about the exact date Titanium was discovered but one thing is known for sure, the first time it was found in a combined form was in 1791. This discovery was found by an English geologist named William Gregor. It was not until 1795 that is was given its named Ti, by scientist Heinrich Klaphroth. Titanium when found in the Earth’s crust is mostly always bonded with another element and never in its pure form. It is important to also note that only 5% of pure Titanium found is used in its metal form.

Titanium is mostly known for its high strength to weight ratio. It is found that Ti is just a strong as steel and weighs 45% less. It has a relatively high melting point of over 3000 degrees F. This combination makes Ti corrosion resistant and the best material choice for many applications. Titanium is resistant to most strong acids including sulfuric and hydrochloric. Also we must note that it is immune to carbon and chlorine gases.

As noted above Titanium is found in the Earth’s crust bonded with elements such as aluminum, magnesium, and iron. All titanium humans’ use comes from the Earth itself. After satellites were established in orbit and space we discovered that an extremely large amount exists on meteorites, stars, moons, and even the sun.

The first commercial use of titanium came in the 1950’s by NASA. Architects believed that the newly established space shuttle should be made of the efficient Titanium. After its completion the use of Ti it quickly spread throughout the world. The United States Military began its research into constructing fighter jets, tanks, battleships, and missiles from titanium. Since the early 1990’s Titanium has found its way into our society. Whether it is in our automobiles, gas turbine engines, heat exchangers, turbines, or sporting goods we can find Titanium. Therefore, next time you find yourself seated on a Boeing 787 flying Southwest airlines, take a few seconds to appreciate the mass amounts of Titanium you are surrounded by.

Because of its corrosion resistance, Titanium can be found in many hospital operating rooms. Doctors have found it as a use for artificial hearts pumps, pacemakers, heart valves, hip and joint replacements, and dental applications. Since the human body has a pH of around 7 or below Titanium is exposed to some organic acids. It is able to resist the acids potency and maintain it high strength.

Titanium is occasionally used in architectural buildings. Since it is very smooth and lustrous it provides a more pleasing view than other metals. After all every metal has a lifetime and longevity of strength and power. Since the 1950’s when titanium was first used we still have not had a malfunction with the metal. It has been place inside engines and support systems and we still see it functioning properly. Therefore, we do not have a time limit on the lifespan of this highly durable metal.

Since only 5% of the titanium mined is extracted is used in pure form the other large percentage of Titanium that is used is instead manufactured to make titanium dioxide (TiO2) which is found in paper, paint, plastics, and food coloring. Another by product is titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) which is used to make smoke screens for the military. Since supplies of pure titanium are so rare we also see a great deal of titanium ores that are extracted from the earth.

There is an estimated 600 million tons of titanium or more in the Earth’s crust. Annually, over 90,000 tons are extracted and this number is expected to increase 2 to 3% every year. The world’s main producer is Australia who nearly makes up 31% of the annual market. Following Australia in production is the mineral efficient South Africa with 20%. Other countries such as Canada, Norway, and Ukraine help with the large amounts of production.

Here at home we can see Ti mining facilities in Florida, Virginia, and Alabama. Some companies that produce titanium concentrates include DuPont, Kerr-McGee, and Illuka Resources. These three companies were valued at producing nearly 3.1 Billion dollars of Titanium in one year. The future outlook for Titanium looks fairly well. Although we do see an inflation rate of nearly 3% there is estimated that Ti reserves