For many chemical applications, Zirconium is a cost-effective material of construction in protecting process equipment systems from damaging corrosive leaks. With extremely high resistance to corrosion, Zirconium Heat Exchangers can withstand some of the harshest environments. This translates to reduced maintenance expense, with downtime kept to a minimum.
Life Cycle Benefits of Zirconium Heat Exchangers
Zirconium Heat Exchangers are highly cost-effective over the entire life cycle of the equipment. Properly maintained, Zirconium Heat Exchangers can operate for decades, making them a very economical choice.
Zirconium Heat Exchangers can:
- Provide an extended service life compared to other materials of construction
- Eliminate expensive downtime due to equipment failure
- Do away with requirement for spare parts inventory
- Provide superior corrosion resistance
- Deliver high heat transfer efficiency
- Accommodate high steam pressure to reduce required surface area
- Eliminate breakage during handling, installation and operation due to fully-welded metal construction
Zirconium the Metal
Zirconium is one of several metals which fall into the category of reactive metals or corrosion resistant alloys (CRAs). One of the major applications for Zirconium is as a corrosion-resistant material of construction for 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. Some of the more important areas in the chemical processing industry where Zirconium is being used include Reboilers, Evaporators, Pressure Vessels, Tanks, Packing Trays, Reactors, Pumps, Valves and Piping.
Please see Applications of Zirconium for a more in depth look at additional uses for Zirconium that includes some comparative corrosion resistance data, media, concentrations and temperatures.
Our Technical Resources area also has a complete section on properties and corrosion resistance for Zirconium.
Zirconium Heat Exchanger Designs
TITAN offers a full range of TEMA-type Zirconium Heat Exchangers. Utilizing both HTRI and AspenTech thermal design software, we can custom design a Heat Exchanger to fit your application. TITAN’s Heat Exchanger designs take advantage of loose-lined, solid, and explosive clad tube sheet options based on the mechanical demands of the application.
TITAN manufactures pressure equipment in accordance with all major international design standards and pressure vessel codes.
Manufacturing capacities include up to 120″ in diameter, 300’ in length and weights up to 200 tons.
Zirconium Corrosion Resistance
TITAN Zirconium Heat Exchangers are used in a wide variety of environments. To view a list of materials where Zirconium is commonly used, please visit Applications of Zirconium.
For a general guide on corrosion resistance, temperatures and concentrations please see TITAN’s publication “Corrosion Resistance of Metals in Various Chemical Media” for additional information.*
*Note: Final selection of material must be based on actual evaluation of the metal in the corrosive medium.
Zirconium Fabrications
In addition to Zirconium Heat Exchangers, TITAN regularly designs, engineers and fabricates the following types of Zirconium custom process equipment:
- Zirconium Columns and Towers
- Zirconium Condensers
- Zirconium Pipe
- Zirconium Piping
- Zirconium Reactors
- Zirconium Spargers
- Zirconium Vessels
Contact us by phone if you have need for unique Zirconium equipment at (805) 487-5050 or toll-free (877) 487-5050 or email info@titanmf.com. Our experts can also let you know if a different reactive alloy might be a better fit your application.