Preparation and application of titanium metal: The diverse roles of titanium sponge

First, let us have a deeper understanding of how titanium metal was produced from nature into human society. Due to its extremely high chemical activity, titanium metal mainly exists in the form of titanium dioxide and titanates in nature, and is often symbiotic with elements such as iron, calcium, magnesium, silicon, aluminum, manganese and rare earths. In order to extract pure titanium from these complex minerals, we need to go through a series of elaborate processes. In the process of preparing titanium sponge, magnesium reduction-vacuum distillation method occupies a dominant position. This method first requires enriching titanium minerals and then converting them into titanium tetrachloride through a chlorination process. Next, under the protection of argon, titanium tetrachloride is reduced with magnesium to produce titanium sponge. Through vacuum distillation, magnesium and magnesium chloride can be further separated and removed, and a pure titanium sponge product can be finally obtained. Sponge titanium, as the basic material of all finished titanium products and titanium powder, its quality is crucial to the performance of titanium products. In China, sponge titanium is divided into 7 grades based on standards such as chemical composition and Brinell hardness, ranging from Grade 0A to Grade 5. Among them, grade 0A and grade 0 sponge titanium have the highest purity and are mainly used in high-end industrial fields and military fields. These fields have extremely high performance requirements for materials, especially in the aerospace industry, where high-quality titanium sponge must be used for precision parts to ensure their safety and reliability. In the medical field, high-quality titanium sponge also plays an important role, such as human implants and surgical equipment. The biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of these titanium products need to meet extremely high standards. Grade 1 sponge titanium is widely used in aerospace, medical, sports and leisure fields. In the aerospace field, it is used to manufacture key parts such as engine parts and fuselage structural parts for aircraft and rockets. In the medical field, level 1 sponge titanium is used to make medical materials and equipment such as artificial joints and surgical instruments. In the sports and leisure industry, it is used to manufacture high-performance sports equipment and outdoor equipment.

For fields with low purity requirements, such as chemical industry, salt making and metallurgy, grade 2 and grade 3 titanium sponge are mainly used. Although these titanium sponge is slightly lower in purity, the price is more people-friendly and can meet the basic needs for titanium materials in these fields. The price of grade 4 sponge titanium is more affordable and is suitable for large-scale application in the chemical industry. Although the purity of grade 5 titanium sponge is only 98.5%, this does not mean that it has no application value. In some fields where purity requirements are not high, such as the construction field, grade 5 titanium sponge has become a good choice for reducing costs and increasing efficiency due to its relatively low price and sufficient performance. By rational application of grade 5 titanium sponge, construction costs can be effectively reduced without affecting building quality. To sum up, sponge titanium plays a vital role in the titanium metal industry. From high-end industrial fields to daily life applications, different grades of titanium sponge are playing their unique role and value.