| Applications of Zirconium | |||
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| One of the major applications for zirconium is as a corrosion resistant material of construction in the chemical processing industry. Zirconium exhibits excellent resistance to corrosive attack in most organic and inorganic acids, salt solutions, strong alkalis, and some molten salts. In certain applications, the unique corrosion resistance of zirconium can extend its useful life beyond that of the remainder of the plant. Consequently, maintenance costs are reduced and downtime is minimized. Furthermore, an increasingly important advantage is that zirconium appears to be non-toxic and bio-compatible. Some of the more important areas in the chemical processing industry where zirconium is being used include reboilers, evaporators, tanks, packings, trays, reactor vessels, pumps, valves and piping. Zirconium is commonly used for corrosion resistance when dealing with the following chemicals: | |||
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| Nitric Acid | |||
| Nitric acid is one of the most
widely used acids in the Chemical Processing Industry. It is a key raw
material in the production of ammonium nitrate for fertilizer, and is
also utilized in a variety of manufacturing processes, including the
production of industrial explosives, dyes, plastics, synthetic fibers,
metal pickling and the recovery of uranium. Most nitric acid is
produced by the oxidation of ammonia with air over platinum catalysts.
The resulting nitric acid is further oxidized into nitrogen oxide and
then absorbed into water to form HNO3. This process produces
acid of up to 70% concentration, with higher concentration acid produced
by distilling the dilute acid with a dehydrating agent. Stain-less steel
has long been used in nitric acid applications; however, it has
developed certain serious problems over the years and is subject to
several limitations. The superior corrosion resistance of zirconium can
overcome some of these limitations, making it an ideal replacement
material in many specific nitric acid environments. etc. Everywhere one
turns today, we encounter products which use sulfuric acid in their
manufacturing process. Many chemical plants use sulfuric acid in
one or more process steps and this generally results in severe corrosion
problems. Each process has unique minor constituents that can change the
way metals corrode. Zirconium has been used very successfully in many
sulfuric acid applications. The advantage of zirconium is that
corrosion rate will be very small if properly applied and equipment life
of over 20 years is expected. Since there is no corrosion maintenance,
repair, downtime and replacement costs do not exist and will quickly pay
back for the slightly higher initial cost. TITAN Metal Fabricators |
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