Metallothermic Reduction of Metal Zirconium

Zirconium products can be widely used in many areas, and zirconium is widely distributed in nature, with a content of about 0.025% in the earth's crust, exceeding Cu, Pa, and Zn, but its distribution is relatively scattered, and it is classified as a rare metal due to the difficulty of refining and processing. Zirconium and its alloys have outstanding nuclear properties, excellent corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties. In addition to being used as medium-temperature nuclear materials and weapons industry additives, zirconium and its alloys have also been used in civil fields such as energy, petroleum, chemical, pharmaceutical, medical equipment, and light industry. It is widely used and is known as "one of the most promising materials in the 21st century".

Since the discovery of zirconium by the German chemist Klaproz in 1789, it was not until the mid-1940s that the metal zirconium for industrial applications was obtained by magnesia thermal reduction. At present, the global annual output of zirconium minerals is about 1 million tons, of which 5% is used for the production of metal zirconium. The total production capacity of metal zirconium in the world exceeds 7,000t/a. France, the United States, and Russia are the main producers of metal zirconium.

The traditional production method of metal zirconium is mainly the metallothermic reduction method, which plays an important role in the production of rare metals. Almost all rare metals can be prepared by the metallothermic reduction method. It produces Ti, Zr, Hf, Ta. , Nb, V, and other high melting point metals. The metal thermal reduction method utilizes the reaction of a metal reducing agent (R) with a metal oxide or chloride (MX) to prepare the metal (M). Because the chemical affinity of R to X is greater than the chemical affinity of M to X, the reaction can proceed. Its reaction formula is:

MX+R→M+RX

In zirconium metallurgy, zirconium compounds commonly used in metal thermal reduction include ZrO2, ZrCl4, ZrF4, and K2ZrF6, and commonly used metal reducing agents are Mg, Na, Ca, and other metal elements. The industrialized metal zirconium production processes include the magnesium reduction method (Kroll method), sodium reduction method (Hunter method), calcium reduction method, and calcium hydride reduction method.

Due to space reasons, we will introduce the relevant metal thermal reduction methods in detail in the following articles. If you want to know more, you can pay attention to the update of our industry knowledge about zirconium. If you want to purchase related zirconium products, I believe our company is a good choice. We can provide you with first-class zirconium products and high-quality services. If you have any questions about our products or company, please feel free to contact us.