The Global Titanium Industry Is Competing To Develop New Technologies.

There are currently six titanium sponge production plants abroad. With the exception of Timet in the United States, which has an annual production capacity of 8,000 tons, the others all have annual production capacities exceeding 10,000 tons. Japan's titanium sponge production consumes 0.9 tons of chlorine per ton of titanium sponge and 2,500 kWh of electricity per ton of titanium sponge, both of which are lower than similar domestic companies.

 

The fundamental challenge in promoting the application of titanium lies in reducing costs. To achieve this goal, Timet in the United States is actively investing in industrial trials of this method, based on the electrolytic TiO2 method used to produce titanium metal in Cambridge, UK. Japan is also conducting industrial trials of a modified Cambridge method, which could potentially enter initial industrial production within five years. This new method could reduce the cost of titanium metal by one-third to one-half, potentially revolutionizing the titanium industry.

Titanium processed materials in the United States, Europe, and Russia are primarily used in large civil aircraft, military aircraft, space rockets, missiles, ships, armored artillery, power generation, chemical engineering, and automotive applications. Typical products include aircraft structural parts, titanium brake components, compressor blades and bases, hydrofoils, propellers and shafts, brackets, floats, torpedo launchers, high-pressure gas cylinders, and all-titanium condensers. To this end, they have developed large electron beam or plasma cooling furnaces, large profile production lines, large forging production lines (Verkhovy Salda Company in Russia boasts the world's largest 75,000-ton hydraulic press, capable of producing titanium forgings weighing up to 3.2 tons), and large casting production lines with single-piece weights exceeding 770 kg. Regarding new titanium alloys, they have developed high-temperature titanium alloys capable of 600°C (IMI834 alloy from the UK and Ti-1100 titanium alloy from the US), high-strength titanium alloys (such as Ti-1023, Ti-15-3, and β21S from the US), flame-retardant titanium alloys such as Al-loyC (Ti-35V-15Cr), TiAl alloys, and low-cost titanium alloys (such as Ti-4.5Fe-6.8Mo-1.5Al from the US).

Japan's titanium industry leads the world in civilian technology, with examples such as titanium sponge enterprises boasting top economic indicators and large-volume heavy titanium strip production lines that combine both steel and titanium. Its civilian titanium products are used in a wide range of sectors, including chemical, petrochemical, construction, metallurgy, healthcare (human implants, wheelchairs, etc.), transportation (automobiles, motorcycles), sports (golf equipment, tennis rackets, fishing gear, fishing boats, etc.), consumer electronics (cameras, watches, copiers, typewriters, mobile phones, laptops, etc.), and cooking utensils (knives, guns, pots, spatulas, etc.).

Looking at the current state of global titanium technology, its development trends can be summarized as follows:

1. Low-cost titanium preparation and processing technologies, including titanium sponge production, titanium alloy material design, and processing, are prerequisites for further expansion of titanium applications.

2. Large-scale, high-quality titanium alloy billet preparation technologies, including new electron beam and plasma cold hearth furnace melting technologies.

 

3. High-efficiency, short-process titanium alloy processing technologies, including single-pass cooling furnace melting and direct rolling, and continuous titanium strip processing.

 

4. Near-net-shape forming technologies, including laser forming, precision casting, precision die forging, superplastic forming/diffusion bonding, powder metallurgy, and spray forming.

 

5. Promotion and application of titanium, including biomedical, automotive, and architectural applications.