Zirconium

About Zirconium Metal (ZR) and Zirconium Alloys

Zirconium (ZR) is a highly corrosion resistant metal that is us used for many products for specialized chemical environments (primarily acetic and hydrochloric acids). Some include pumps, ngaahi valves, fakaʻaongaʻi ʻo e ivi fakaʻatomi, ngāue ki he kemikalé, Seinopolo vaka, ʻea vela mo ha ngaahi meʻa lahi ange. The nuclear power industry uses nearly 90% ʻo e zirconium naʻe faʻu ʻi he taʻu kotoa pe. Zirconium is also used as an alloying agent in steel, to make some types of surgical equipment and as a getter, a material that combines with and removes trace gases form vacuum tubes. Zirconium metal is weldable and formable.

Zirconium 702 offers excellent corrosion protection with resistance to stress-corrosion cracking and crevice corrosion. It’s often used for chemical processing. Alloyed with 2 ke 3 percent Columbium, zirconium 705 is significantly stronger and more ductile than zirconium 702 with almost equal corrosion resistance, making it the alloy of choice for most zirconium fasteners. In addition to resisting HCl at all concentrations and at temperatures above the boiling temperature, zirconium and its alloys also have excellent resistance in sulfuric acid at temperatures above boiling and concentrations to 70%. Corrosion rate in nitric acid is less than 1 mil/year at temperatures above boiling and concentrations to 90%. The metals also resist most organics such as acetic acid and acetic anhydride as well as citric, lactic, tartaric, oxalic, tannic, and chlorinated organic acids. ʻOku siʻisiʻi ha ngaahi ukamea makehe mei zirconium ʻe lava ke fakaʻaongaʻi ʻi he ngaahi founga ʻo e kemikale ʻoku fie maʻu ki ai ha fetuʻutaki ʻe taha mo ha ʻesiti malohi mo e alkalis. Ka neongo ia, ʻOku ʻikai ha fakafepaki zirconium ki hydrofluoric ʻesiti pea ʻoku vave hono ʻohofi, naʻa mo e ngaahi kumí ʻoku māʻulalo ʻaupito. ʻOku ʻi ai ha ngaahi 4 faʻahinga ʻo e pehe ʻoku ne matuʻuaki alloyed zirconium ʻi he ngaahi kautaha kemikale: Zr702, Zr704, Zr705 mo e Zr706, fakaʻaongaʻi ki he kemikale mo e tuʻunga kehekehe. ʻOku meimei tatau pe ʻa e fakafepaki zirconium alloy ko ʻeni ʻe fa, ka ʻoku kehekehe ʻaupito ʻenau koloa fakamisini. Ko e malohi tensile ʻo Zr705 ko e liunga ua ia ʻo Zr702. ʻOku meimei ke faʻa fakaʻaongaʻi ʻa e Zr705 ʻi he meʻangāue ki he kemikalé ʻa ia ʻoku ʻi ai ha ngaahi fie maʻu māʻolunga ange ki he mālohí. Ka ʻi sulfuric ʻesiti ʻoku ʻi ai FeCl3, ʻOku lelei ange ʻa e ngaahi koloa Zr702 mo Zr704 ʻi Zr705 mo Zr706. ʻOku maʻu ʻe Zr706 ha ivi feʻunga mo ha elongation maʻolunga pea ʻoku faʻa fakaʻaongaʻi ia ʻi hono ngaohi ʻo e ʻea vela exchanger.

Zirconium is also highly resistant to heat and corrosion, and it also forms many useful compounds and alloys. These strengths make it an ideal component for nuclear reactions, and it is also used in laboratory equipment, metallurgy and surgical appliances. Jet engines and gas turbines may also use zirconium and zirconium alloys to prevent metals from warping due to high heat exposure. Zirconium (atomic symbol: ZR, atomic number: 40) is a Block D, Group 4, Period 5 element with an atomic weight of 91.224. Zirconium Bohr ModelThe number of electrons in each of Zirconium’s shells is 2, 8, 18, 10, 2 and its electron configuration is [Kr] 4d2 5s2. The zirconium atom has a radius of 160 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 186 pm. Zirconium was discovered by Martin Heinrich Klaproth in 1789 and first isolated by Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1824. In its elemental form, zirconium has a silvery white appearance that is similar to titanium.

Zirconium’s principal mineral is zircon (zirconium silicate). Elemental Zirconium is commercially produced as a byproduct of titanium and tin mining and has many applications as a opacifier and a refractory material. It is not found in nature as a free element. The name of zirconium comes from the mineral zircon, the most important source of zirconium, and from the Persian wordzargun, meaning gold-like.