Titanium, a metal of the future: production, resources, reserves, properties, application, and recyclability

U završnom radu je prikazan kratak pregled povijesti i otkrića titanija. Navedena su najvažnija svojstva metala titanija i njegovih legura, kao i usporedba sa sličnim materijalima. Krollov proces trenutno se najviše komercijalno primjenjuje za proizvodnju titanija iz njegovih minerala, ilmenita i rutila. Uz Krollov proces, opisane su još neke termokemijske i elektrokemijske metode, primjerice Hunterov proces. Također, u radu je prikazana klasifikacija legura titanija, njihova svojstva i mikrostrukture po kojima se međusobno razlikuju. Zbog izvrsne kombinacije mehaničkih i fizikalnih svojstava, titanij se primjenjuje u mnogim granama industrije, medicini i stomatologiji, arhitekturi te proizvodima za svakodnevnu upotrebu. Zrakoplovna industrija istaknuta je kao najveće tržište materijala i proizvoda na bazi titanija, dok se automobilska industrija, pogotovo u pogledu serijske proizvodnje automobila, suočava s problemom velikih troškova primjene titanija. Zbog intenzivnijeg promicanja kružnog gospodarstva te problema ograničenosti resursa i zagađenja, u radu je istaknuta važnost recikliranja materijala. Recikliranje titanija, osim zbog ekoloških problema i potencijalnog nedostataka resursa, potaknuto je i visokom cijenom materijala. Razmatrajući problem visoke cijene titanija, koja je posljedica poprilično velikih troškova u procesima prerade i proizvodnje, ukazano je na potrebu razvoja novih, ekonomičnijih proizvodnih procesa i metoda recikliranja.The Bachelor thesis presents a brief overview of the history and discovery of titanium. The most important properties of titanium metal and its alloys are presented, as well as the comparison with similar materials. Kroll process, currently the most common commercially employed method, is used to obtain titanium from its minerals, ilmenite and rutile. Along with the Kroll process, some other thermochemical and electrochemical methods have been described, such as the Hunter process. The thesis also presents the classification of titanium alloys, their properties, and microstructures by which they differ from each other. Due to the excellent combination of mechanical and physical properties, titanium is applied in many branches of industry, medicine and stomatology, architecture, and consumer products. The aerospace industry is pointed out as the largest market of titanium-based materials and products. Meanwhile, automotive industry is facing the problem of high costs that come with titanium application, especially in terms of serial car production. Due to the growing encouragement of circular economy and problems related to limited amounts of resources and pollution, attention has been called to the importance of material recycling. Apart from environmental concerns and potential lack of resources, recycling of titanium is promoted by the expensiveness of titanium. Considering the cost problems, which are mainly caused by rather expensive production processes, the necessity to develop new, more economical production processes and recycling methods has been pointed out