Titanium is a non-magnetic, low-density metal with a high strength-to-weight ratio. It is corrosion-resistant and can burn in the absence of oxygen. Titanium dioxide is used as a pigment in various products, and the metal is used in airframe structures. Purification is expensive, and global demand is lower than steel, leading to price fluctuations. Japan, China, Russia, and the United States are the top titanium refiners.
The primary physical properties of titanium as a metallic chemical element include its non-magnetic property, low density, and strength-to-weight ratio. It was first discovered in England in 1791 by the Reverend William Gregor, who was also a mineralogist, who originally named the metal manaccanite after the parish of Mannaccan in Cornwall, England, where he discovered it. Titanium ore is common in the earth’s crust in minerals such as ilmenite or iron titanate, FeTiO3 and rutile, more commonly known as titanium dioxide, TiO2.
The chemical properties of titanium include its corrosion resistant nature which makes it suitable for medical instruments, as it does not chemically interact with human tissue. Its resistance to many forms of acid makes it useful in industrial applications where caustic chemicals are processed. Titanium is also one of the few elements that can burn in the absence of oxygen. In an atmosphere of pure nitrogen, it will react at a temperature of 1,470° Fahrenheit (800° Celsius) to form titanium nitride, TiN.
Titanium dioxide is a widely used compound of the metal, applied as a form of pigment in paints, suntan lotions, and food dyes. The vast majority of titanium ore mined worldwide is converted into a pure form of TiO2, with the rest being alloyed with metals such as vanadium and aluminum for use in structural surfaces, where it weighs 40% less than steel carbon reinforced.
The oxide mineral properties of titanium compounds led to purification difficulties after its discovery. Pure titanium at a level of 99.9% of the metal was not isolated until 119 years later by Matthew Hunter in 1910, a New Zealand metallurgist who called the purification method the Hunter process. Further methods of purifying the metal were discovered in 1936 and, by 1948, its worldwide production had risen to three tons per year. This number would soon skyrocket due to titanium’s unique properties, and 2011 global production is estimated at 223,000 tons.
Titanium’s strong mechanical properties make it essential in airframe structures that make extensive use of the metal, and as of 2006, aircraft manufacturing has seen global titanium prices begin to rise rapidly. This is in part because it is expensive to purify the metal and costs five times as much to refine as aluminum. It costs 10 times more to create titanium metal ingots and finished metal products than aluminum. The world market demand for pure titanium is also 10,000 times lower than that of the steel market, which contributes to price fluctuations. As of 2005, the nations poised to become top titanium refiners were Japan and China, followed closely by Russia and the United States.
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