Why are titanium alloys so expensive?

Do you know? The price of titanium alloy is 200 yuan per kilogram, while the price of military titanium alloy is between 500-1,000 yuan. So, what exactly is titanium? Why are alloys so expensive?
Let us understand the origin of titanium. Titanium is mainly derived from ilmenite, rutile and perovskite. It is a silver-white metal. Due to the active nature of titanium and the high requirements on the smelting process, people have been unable to produce a large amount of titanium for a long time, so it is also Classified as a "rare" metal.
In fact, humans discovered titanium in 1791, but it took more than a hundred years for pure titanium to be produced for the first time in 1910. The main reason is that titanium is very active at high temperatures and can easily combine with oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and other elements. It requires very harsh conditions to extract pure titanium. However, China's titanium production has grown from 200 tons in the last century to 150,000 tons now, ranking first in the world. So, where is titanium so expensive mainly used?

1. Titanium handicrafts. Titanium has a high density and specific gravity, is corrosion-resistant, especially can be oxidized and has excellent decorative effect. The price is much cheaper than real gold, so it is used to replace real gold in craft ceramics, Antique buildings and ancient building repairs, outdoor nameplates and plaques, etc.

2. Titanium jewelry, titanium has actually quietly entered our lives. Girls now wear some jewelry made of pure titanium. The biggest feature of this new type of jewelry is health, safety and environmental protection. It does not produce harmful substances to human skin and body. It is called "green jewelry".

3. Titanium glasses. Titanium's ability to resist deformation is higher than that of steel, but its weight is only half of the same volume of steel. Titanium glasses look no different from ordinary metal glasses, but they are actually light and comfortable, with a warm and smooth touch, without the cold feeling of other metal glasses. Titanium frames are much lighter than ordinary metal frames, will not deform after long-term use, and are of better quality.
4. In the aerospace field, a lot of steel on current aircraft carriers, rockets, and missiles have been replaced with titanium alloys. Some people have done cutting experiments with steel plates and titanium alloys because of their resistance to deformation and light weight. During the cutting process, I found that the sparks generated by titanium seemed a little different. The steel plate was golden, but the sparks from titanium alloy were white. This is mainly due to the small particles produced during the cutting process of titanium alloys. It can spontaneously ignite in the air and emit bright sparks, and the temperature of these sparks is much higher than the spark temperature of steel plates, so titanium powder is also used as rocket fuel.

According to statistics, more than 1,000 tons of titanium are used for navigation in the world every year. In addition to being used as a space material, titanium is also used to make submarines. Someone once sank titanium to the bottom of the sea. When it was taken out five years later, it was found that there was no rust at all, because titanium has a density of only 4.5 grams, and its strength per cubic centimeter is the highest among metals and can withstand 2,500 atmospheric pressures. Therefore, titanium submarines can sail in deep seas up to 4,500 meters deep, while ordinary steel submarines can dive up to 300 meters.

The applications of titanium are rich and varied, and titanium alloys are also widely used in medicine, including dentistry, plastic surgery, heart valves, medical devices, etc. However, the current price of titanium products on the market is generally high, which discourages many consumers. So, what exactly causes this situation?

一. The mining and utilization of titanium resources is very difficult. my country's ilmenite placers are scattered and the concentration of titanium resources is low. After years of mining and use, resources of good quality and large scale have been mined. However, because most of the development is based on private mining, it is difficult to achieve large-scale development and utilization.
二. The demand for titanium materials is very strong. As a new type of metal material, titanium has been widely used in aerospace, construction, marine, nuclear energy and electric power fields. With the continuous improvement of my country's comprehensive national strength, the consumption of titanium materials has also shown a rapid growth trend.
三. Insufficient production capacity of titanium materials. At present, there are only a few industrialized countries in the world that can produce titanium materials.

四. Titanium materials are difficult to process.
1. From titanium sponge to titanium ingot and then to titanium plate, dozens of processes are required. The smelting process of titanium is different from that of steel. It requires controlling the melting speed, voltage and current, and ensuring the stability of the ingredients. Due to the numerous and complex processes, it is also difficult to process.
2. Pure titanium is soft and generally not suitable for use as titanium products. Therefore, other elements need to be added to improve metal properties. For example, titanium-64, commonly used in the aviation industry, requires the addition of a large number of other elements to improve its metallic properties.
3. Titanium reacts strongly with halogen, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, nitrogen and other elements at high temperatures. Therefore, titanium smelting needs to be carried out in a vacuum or in an inert atmosphere to avoid contamination.
4. Titanium is an active metal, but its thermal conductivity is poor, making it difficult to weld with other materials.
In summary, there are many factors that affect the price of titanium alloys, including cultural value, demand, production difficulty, etc. However, with the continuous development of technology, the difficulty of production may gradually decrease in the future.