Titanium 

A compound of titanium and oxygen was discovered in 1791 by the English chemist and mineralogist William Gregor and rediscovered and named independently in 1795 by the German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth.

The metal was not isolated in its pure form until 1910 by New Zealand metallurgist Matthew A. Hunter through the reduction of titanium tetrachloride with sodium in an airtight steel cylinder. However, the process known as the Hunter process proved to be very inefficient, which is why the element was not used industrially for a long time and was only used in laboratories.

In 1938, Luxembourg metallurgist William Justin Kroll revolutionized titanium production by reducing titanium(IV) chloride with magnesium. The Kroll process, named after him, is still used today and enabled the commercial exploitation of titanium.

The first pilot plant was built in Boulder City in the USA in 1944. The Soviet titanium industry was born in 1953 with the founding of VSMPO-AVISMA, which is now the world leader in this field.

More than 95 percent of the world's titanium ore raw materials are used to produce titanium dioxide for the manufacture of pigments, which are mainly used in paints, paper, and plastics.

The rest of the titanium ore is processed into titanium sponge, which is the starting material for titanium metal and titanium-iron alloys.
The most important industries for titanium metal and titanium alloys are aerospace, which accounts for around half of consumption. Titanium is used in NASA and SpaceX rockets, for example. Titanium alloys are also important in military jets and combat submarines.

Due to its biocompatibility, titanium is an important material for medical technology: from artificial hip and knee joints to dental implants and pacemaker housings to surgical instruments.

In the chemical industry, titanium is used in pipes and containers for aggressive chemicals due to its high corrosion resistance.
The automotive industry is another consumer of titanium materials, especially in high-performance engines and motorsports.

This lightweight but very strong material is also used in sporting goods, eyeglass frames, architecture, and jewelry.

The two most important commercial minerals are ilmenite and rutile. Natural rutile, with a 95 percent titanium dioxide content, is significantly purer than ilmenite, whose processing requires more steps and the use of environmentally harmful chemicals. Nevertheless, the extraction of ilmenite from heavy sand dominates titanium ore production, accounting for 90 percent of the total.

China is the largest producer of titanium ores from ilmenite, followed by Mozambique and South Africa.

Australia is the largest producer of rutile, followed by South Africa.

Over 95 percent of titanium mineral goes into titanium dioxide production. The rest is used for the production of alloys and titanium metal.

The production of pure titanium is difficult due to its reactivity. Titanium cannot be obtained by the usual method of reducing the oxide with carbon, as this easily produces a very stable carbide and the metal also reacts strongly with oxygen and nitrogen at elevated temperatures. Therefore, special processes were developed that transformed titanium from a laboratory curiosity into an important commercially produced structural metal after 1950.

Global annual production of titanium sponge, the precursor to titanium metal, amounts to around 320,000 tons, while annual titanium dioxide production reaches almost 10 million tons. China is the leader in titanium sponge production, accounting for 60 percent of the world market, followed by Russia, Japan, and Kazakhstan.

The largest single producer of titanium sponge is Pangang from Sichuan, China. The Japanese manufacturer Toho Titanium and the Kazakh company Ust-Kamnogorsk are other important players.

Saudi Arabia and India are not yet significant producers, but have plans to significantly expand their titanium sponge production.

Few materials offer the strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance of titanium metal. In high-strength applications, titanium competes with aluminum, composite materials, intermetallic compounds, steel, and superalloys. Aluminum, nickel, special steels, and zirconium alloys can replace titanium in applications that require corrosion resistance.
Ground calcium carbonate, precipitated calcium carbonate, kaolin, and talc compete with titanium dioxide as white pigments.