Niobium

Niobium was first discovered in 1801 in an ore sample from Connecticut, USA, by the English chemist Charles Hatchett. He named the element “Columbium” in honor of its place of discovery — Columbia being a poetic name for the United States.

In 1802, the Swedish chemist Anders Gustaf Ekeberg discovered tantalum in a similar mineral (tantalite) and initially believed it to be the same element as Hatchett’s columbium. The British chemist William Hyde Wollaston also claimed that columbium and tantalum were identical.

In 1844, the German chemist Heinrich Rose disproved this assumption and demonstrated that the mineral columbitecontained two distinct elements: the already known tantalum and a new one, which he named niobium, after Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus in Greek mythology.

Because of the great chemical similarity between niobium and tantalum, distinguishing them as separate elements proved very difficult. Their distinct identities were finally confirmed by the Swiss chemist Jean Charles Galissard de Marignac.

Further naming disputes followed and lasted until 1950, when the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) officially adopted the name niobium. However, in the United States, the older name columbiumand the symbol Cb are still occasionally used in some industrial sectors.

Initially, niobium saw little practical use, as tantalum was preferred, for example, in light bulb filaments. The discovery of niobium’s superconductivity in the 1950s made it valuable for particle accelerators and MRI magnets.

Since the 1960s, niobium has become indispensable as an alloying element in high-strength steels for pipelines, automobiles, and aircraft, as well as in superalloys used in aerospace applications.

About three quarters of all niobium produced are used in the steel industry in the form of ferroniobium to manufacture high-strength steel. Ferroniobium increases the strength and corrosion resistance of steel, which is especially important for pipelines, bridges, and automobile bodies.

Niobium is also used in superconductors, as it conducts electricity without resistance at extremely low temperatures (below 9.2 K). The particle accelerator at CERN uses magnets made from niobium–titanium (NbTi) or niobium–tin (Nb₃Sn) alloys. In medical MRI scanners, the magnet coils are made of niobium–titanium.

About one fifth of the world’s niobium production is used in superalloys for the aerospace industry. Niobium-containing alloys are employed in turbine blades for jet and rocket engines, as well as in spacecraft components such as nozzles and heat shields.

Niobium is also an interesting material for capacitors. Niobium electrolytic capacitors are a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to tantalum capacitors. In electronics, niobium is used in smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles.

Niche applications for niobium include nuclear technology, jewelry (due to its hypoallergenic properties), and quantum computers.

Columbite and tantalite are the most important commercially mineable sources of niobium.

The leading producer is Brazil, which also possesses the largest and most economically viable deposits. With a global market share of about 80 percent, the Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) is by far the world market leader. Most of Brazil’s exports go to China.

Canada is the second-largest niobium producer, followed by Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Globally, around 100,000 tonnes of niobium are mined each year. The known reserves are more than sufficient to meet the projected future demand.

The following materials can substitute for niobium, although this may result in reduced performance or increased costs:

Ceramic matrix composites, molybdenum, tantalum, and tungsten in high-temperature applications(superalloys).

Molybdenum, tantalum, and titanium as alloying elements in stainless and high-strength steels.

Molybdenum and vanadium as alloying elements in high-strength low-alloy steels (HSLA steels).