Continue reading to learn some interesting facts about titanium metal and discover the important role it plays in our country’s many industries.
You would be surprised to learn all the places that titanium metal can be found, even just around your house. Items like dental implants, jewelry, eye wear, watches, and electronic protective cases are common items made with titanium. Other common items include drill bits, wrenches, bolts, and other tools. It is also a common element in motorcycle parts, like brake components, exhausts, clutch levers, and even handlebars.
When titanium is manufactured, it produces a large amount of waste material known as “new scrap titanium.” This titanium scrap is often generated from aluminum manufacturers using titanium scrap to enhance casting and decrease cracking in aluminum alloys. In contrast, “old scrap titanium” is recycled titanium that comes from used components, like heat exchangers.
When titanium is recycled, old scrap material is melted down at high levels of heat using vacuum arc reduction or cold-hearth melting. This produces titanium ingots, which are basically just small slabs or nuggets of titanium. From titanium manufacturing, a large amount of scrap is generated. Since titanium metal is 100% recyclable, it is vital to continue reusing and reprocessed titanium scrap, old or new.