Titanium Troubles
Project managers shopping for titanium capital goods are sweating. The lead times are far too long and prices are way above estimates. Suppliers of Plate Heat Exchangers in titanium are quoting ridiculous deliveries of 15+ months.
Titanium has always been an expensive metal, not because it is scarce - it is actually the ninth most abundant element on earth's crust - but due to the high cost of its extraction and manufacturing.
The current problems stems from a huge demand by the aerospace industry. In the next 15 years the number of commercial aircrafts are expected to jump three-fold to 30,000. Responding to the growing fuel costs, new generation aircrafts like Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 are using more titanium than ever before to bring down the weight. Each A380 will use 65 tonnes of titanium. It is mainly used in gas turbine components like compressor blades and also in airframe structures like landing gear etc.
The increasing Russian state control over VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest producer of titanium, is also adding to the market pressures. Prices have hit a 20-year high of US$ 27/kg.
Titanium has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal. It also possesses superior corrosion resistance, making it an excellent choice of material for aggressive chemical environments. The present situation, if it continues is likely to put the metal out of reach for the non-aerospace consumers, especially the chemical industry.
Low cost techniques to extract and manufacture the metal and fabricate various components out of it are under varying stages of development. The sooner they are commercialised, the better it is for the industry.
Chemical Engineers have two challeneges before them:
1) To bring down the cost of titanium by developing alternative routes for extraction and manufacture of the metal.
2) To develop an economical alternative for titanium, for use in chemical industry applications.
Titanium has always been an expensive metal, not because it is scarce - it is actually the ninth most abundant element on earth's crust - but due to the high cost of its extraction and manufacturing.
The current problems stems from a huge demand by the aerospace industry. In the next 15 years the number of commercial aircrafts are expected to jump three-fold to 30,000. Responding to the growing fuel costs, new generation aircrafts like Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 are using more titanium than ever before to bring down the weight. Each A380 will use 65 tonnes of titanium. It is mainly used in gas turbine components like compressor blades and also in airframe structures like landing gear etc.
The increasing Russian state control over VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest producer of titanium, is also adding to the market pressures. Prices have hit a 20-year high of US$ 27/kg.
Titanium has the highest strength-to-density ratio of any metal. It also possesses superior corrosion resistance, making it an excellent choice of material for aggressive chemical environments. The present situation, if it continues is likely to put the metal out of reach for the non-aerospace consumers, especially the chemical industry.
Low cost techniques to extract and manufacture the metal and fabricate various components out of it are under varying stages of development. The sooner they are commercialised, the better it is for the industry.
Chemical Engineers have two challeneges before them:
1) To bring down the cost of titanium by developing alternative routes for extraction and manufacture of the metal.
2) To develop an economical alternative for titanium, for use in chemical industry applications.
Web Resources
The Titanium Information Group
International Titanium Association
TITAN Association
Japan Titanium Society
Titanium Metals Corporation
Titanium Industries, Inc.
Titanium Manufacturing Process & Products
posted by chemingineer @ 9:15 PM
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