History of Titanium

           
Even though titanium is in abundance in nature it was not until the 18^th century that it was discovered. This can be explained based on the fact that titanium does not exist by itself but it is found in conjunction with other elements. It is found in the minerals ilmenite (FeTiO₃) and rutile (TiO₂) at quantities that it has proven economically profitable to produce them in large quantities while it is also extracted from minerals such as leucoxene, perovskite, brookite, sphene, and anatase.

Titanium is all around us,  including in the human body, but it was not known to exist until 1791 when William Gregor, an English priest who found a strong hobby in chemistry, had discovered titanium. William Gregor had found titanium when experimenting with the mineral menachanite, where he discovered a red-brown constituent that it was not yet classified. The term “titanium” was coined in 1795 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth who also discovered this element to exist in the ore rutile.

By the late 19^th century several scientists had managed to develop methods to isolate titanium to a purity of 95% by Lars Nilson and Otto Pettersson. Subsequently, Henry Moissan produced a 98% pure titanium in an electric furnace, before a joint venture between Rensselaer Polytechnic and General Electric led by Matthew Hunter achieved a 99.9% purity using TiCl4.

The work of Hunter got significant publicity and was a boost to the industry. Still, there is a historical distortion of which very few scientists in the west are aware. Titanium was first produced in pure form by the Russian scientist D. K. Kirillov who in 1875 published his work and tried to convince the Tsarist regime to support him. The lack of interest and the inadequate bridges between the scientific community of Russia and those of the US and Europe prevented the commercialization of the technology at the time. Nonetheless, the scientific community of Russia had built upon the Kirillov and other findings to advance its titanium industry by the mid-20^th century to a far greater degree than is yet disclosed or acknowledged.

Still, being able to produce titanium in a laboratory did not give much of an incentive to produce it for industrial applications unless if a relatively low cost of production method would be developed. As such, the father of the titanium industry is considered William Justin Kroll from Luxembourg who in the mid 1940s developed the Kroll method that is still in use today at many titanium production facilities.

Other methods of production have been developing in parallel as well as a scientific pursue on how to fabricate and use titanium. But, given the important applications that titanium has in defense and other strategic industries, the two key research schools of the United States and Russia, have remained relatively closed and pursued their own paths. As the two former foes are coming closer together it becomes evident that much can be gained for both, as well as for their strategic allies, if they cooperate; i.e. given the applicability of titanium in the production of nuclear energy as well as the disposal of nuclear waste.

The new methods of producing titanium, such as the Vacuum Distillation Process (VDP), help reduce the costs of producing this precious but abundant metal. New developments point to further efficiencies; i.e. if British Titanium Plc with its patent in 2002 and the grant from the US Office of Naval Research proves itself right on the FFC-Cambridge process.

More openness in the industry would accommodate the construction of even more price competitive facilities in countries such as Russia, where the raw materials can be found in concentrations that provide for a lower cost of producing titanium. Given the unique qualities of titanium, if we can induce significantly its production it will provide a boost in productivity to numerous manufacturing sectors as well as help preserve other more perishable and more scarce resources.

Titanium has been one of the key materials used in all space launchers, spacecrafts, and the space station. The ubiquitous existence of titanium on the moon could one day prove to be of pivotal importance for humanity’s endeavors in outer space.

September 11^th was a blow to the industry, given the reduction of orders by aviation companies, who is the core buyer of high-grade titanium. Still, the reduced prices have attracted the interest to accelerate its use in other applications. At the dawn of the 21^st century the prospects for titanium are bright and should not be underestimated. Its proper use is at the interest of both the United States as well as of the world at large. At Titanium Technologies LLC we help build bridges across the globe and intend to play a catalytic role in the industry’s development.