What is niobium metal?

Niobium metal introduction

Niobium metal element, atomic number 41, group VB of the periodic table, valence 2, 3, 4, 5. There are no stable isotopes. There are 49 isotopes of niobium, ranging from NB-81 to NB-113. All elements are radioactive and manufactured, except for niobium 93, which is stable and constitutes all naturally occurring elements in the Earth's crust. Niobium is a soft gray silver-gold Chemicalbook genus that resembles freshly cut steel. Often found in minerals together with other related metals. Because of its thin coating, niobium oxide does not discolor at room temperature or oxidize in air. However, it will oxidize easily at high temperatures (above 200°C), especially by oxygen and halogens (group 17). Niobium is superconducting at 9.25 Kelvin when aluminized with tin and aluminum alloy.

Pure niobium discovery history

Habchett discovered niobium in 1801 in ore sent to England by JohnWinthroptheYounger, the first governor of Connecticut. The metal was first prepared in 1864 by Blomstrand, who reduced chloride by heating it in an atmosphere of hydrogen gas. After 100 years of debate, the name niobium was adopted in 1950 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. Most leading chemical societies and government organizations use this name for it. But some metallurgists and the commercial manufacturer of Chemicalbook still refer to the metal as "niobium."

Niobium sheet metal source

Niobium is the 33rd most abundant element in the Earth's crust and is considered rare. It does not exist in nature as a free element metal. Instead, it is found mainly in several mineral ores. Niobium is found in niobite (or cobalt-aluminite), niobite-tantalite, pyrochlorite, and hematoma. A large amount of niobium has been found as a component of chlorite associated with carbonates (carbosilicates). Rich deposits have been found in Canada, Brazil, Kinshasa in Congo, Rwanda and Australia. The metal can be separated from tantalum and can be prepared by several methods.

Niobium metal preparation

There are several methods of extracting and refining niobium from ores. The method chosen depends on the nature of the ore and the end use used for the metal. Some common steps in these recovery processes include pre-concentration of the ore, crushing or opening of the ore, obtaining pure niobium compounds, reduction of niobium compounds to niobium metal, purification or refining of the metal, and manufacturing. If niobium is extracted from niobium tantalum ore, the most important step is to separate niobium from tantalum, which are chemically very similar.

Niobium iron can be prepared from pyrochlorite by thermal reduction in refractory-lined steel or preferably in an electric furnace reactor in a batch process. Aluminum powder is used as reducing agent. Mining is the key step of niobium recovery. The separation of niobium from tantalum and impurity metals is the most important step of niobium extraction from ore. It can be achieved by several methods, including solvent extraction, ion exchange, fractional crystallization, fractional sublimation, and other techniques.

Metals of high purity grades can be produced by reducing niobium pentaoxide Nb2O5 or niobium pentachloride NbCl5 at high temperatures of 1400 to 2000°C, usually under vacuum, with various reducing agents (e.g., carbon, hydrogen, sodium, and other substances) :

N Nb2O5+7C→2NbC+5CO

Nb2O5+5NbC→7Nb+5CO

2NbCl5+5H2→2Nb+10HCl

NbCl5+5Na→Nb+5NaCl

Niobium powder is mainly prepared by reducing high-purity compounds of niobium (oxide, fluoride salts, chloride) at high temperature. The process is long, the energy consumption is high, and the environment is polluted, so the cost of niobium is high, the supply is small, and the application field of Chemicalbook is limited. Therefore, the development of a short process, low cost, environmentally friendly niobium production process has become a hot topic in recent years, among which molten salt electrodeoxidation (FFC) is widely concerned.

Toxicity of pure niobium

Niobium is not reactive at normal room temperature. However, its physical form is toxic, such as dust, powder, shavings and steam, and can cause cancer if inhaled or ingested.

Niobium metal chemical properties

Shiny, soft, silvery and metallic.

Niobium metal applications

Niobium is an important metal in both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Niobium, when used as an additive in alloys or when alloyed with other metals, can give alloys high mechanical strength, high electrical conductivity and ductility. It enhances the corrosion resistance of most alloys. This metal and several of its alloys exhibit superconductivity. Niobium can be used as an additive in the manufacture of high-strength, low-alloy carbon steel Chemicalbook and microalloy steels used in oil and gas pipelines, Bridges, buildings, concrete rods, and automobiles. It is also added to nickel-based and cobalt-based superalloys and is a component of zirconium, titanium and tungsten alloys. Other applications of niobium are in electronics and propulsion devices, electrodes; Catalytic as well as vacuum tube and high pressure sodium vapor lamps.

Mainly used for special stainless steel, high temperature alloy, superconducting alloy, super hard alloy.