Niobium - Import export

The grey shiny niobium is not unlike tantalum, which also has a very high melting temperature. A striking difference to tantalum is its much lower density. The pure metal is easy to process due to its low hardness. However, it becomes much harder and more brittle due to minor carbon impurities. Niobium is a relatively base element. When exposed to air, a protective oxide layer forms around the metal, which protects it from further corrosion and provides additional resistance. These wafer-thin oxide layers on the metal surface cause the coloured iridescence that occurs when heating a compact piece with a burner. Niobium powder is pyrophoric and can therefore ignite by itself. Glowing niobium powder reacts with oxygen to form niobium(V)-oxide. The compact metal resists most acids at room temperature. After heating, however, almost all acids are able to decompose the metal.

Plansee supplies sintering and annealing boats made of molybdenum, tantalum, niobium, tungsten and various alloys such as ML or TZM. They are dimensionally stable, corrosion resistant against many chemicals and have a very good creep resistance. Whether is is continuous or batch furnaces - Plansee has the right solution at hand. For best quality surfaces we supply sintering and annealing boats with coatings made of aluminum and zirconium. Plansee produces its boats according to the customer's drawing in different sizes and shapes.

HPM® 625 is a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy with niobium which is well suited for a wide range of severe corrosive environments. The alloy composition provides a product which performs well at elevated temperatures up to 1800°F. The strength can be increased by cold working. The alloy is readily formed in the annealed temper, and can be joined by the standard welding and brazing processes. Available Sizes: HPM® 625 is available from Hamilton Precision Metals as strip product in thicknesses from 0.001” to 0.025” (0.0254 mm to 0.635 mm) in widths up to 12.0” (304.8 mm). The material conforms to ASTM B443, AMS 5599 and UNS N06625.** **Hamilton Precision Metals can also supply product to AMS 5879 (UNS N06626) for demanding fatigue applications, which incorporates double melting, and restrictive limits for Carbon and Nitrogen.

Niobium-titanium is the most frequently employed alloy for superconductors. It is also used in medical diagnostics, for example in Magnetic Resonance Imaging tomography. With MRI, cross-sectional images of the body can be made which often permit outstanding clinical assessment of the organs and many pathological organ changes. MRI employs magnetic fields, not x-rays. Magnets of niobium-titanium generate extremely strong magnetic fields when cooled to temperatures near absolute zero. They act as superconductors; current flows without resistance.

Tantalum and niobium combine high corrosion resistance with good mechanical properties. We supply them as is-materials or as semi-finished goods – e.g. sheets and plates, bars, wires and billets. Without superconductive niobium-titanium, the most modern medical diagnostic instrument – the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scanner – would not be possible. Niobium-tantalum plays a major role in modern material analytics. Further application areas for niobium-titanium and niobium-tantalum are magnets in particle physics research centres, as well as energy generation. Molybdenum is an important raw material in the photovoltaic industry.