A Novel Process for Lowering the Cost of Titanium

Titanium and titanium alloys are the materials of choice for many industrial applications because of their attractive combination of low density, good mechanical properties, and high corrosion resistance, and titanium is the fourth most abundant metal in the earth crust (0.86 % by weight) behind aluminum, iron, and magnesium. However, titanium and titanium alloys are not widely. The reason for this is the high cost of titanium and titanium alloys! The cost gap for titanium and titanium alloys widens when they are used for fabricating components and structures. Consequently, much effort has been expended to reduce the cost of titanium and titanium alloys. In conjunction with the University of Waikato, Titanox Development Limited-New Zealand has been successful in creating a modified novel process to produce TiAl based alloy powders with different particle sizes and compositions at low cost. The process offers several benefits to the titanium industry the most significant one of which is that it displays the potential to significantly reduce the commercial production costs of Ti-Al based alloys. This paper describes the Titanox Development Limited technology in brief, and shows how it can economically produce titanium alloy powders for different industrial applications and making titanium alloys affordable. The process has been disclosed in a PCT (Patent Corporation Treaty) application which was approved in 2004 [1], and the related patent applications either have been approved or are being filed in different countries.