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Interesting article about titanium manufacturing processes, looks likely to get alot cheaper soon 🙂
except there is not that much Ti in the world I believe.
isnt titanium actually one of the most abundant metals, but is just damn hard/expensive to get at?
[i]This will require a far bigger factory, so Metalysis is on the lookout for a redundant aluminium smelter to convert.[/i]
The old Alcan Lynemouth Smelter would be a good start, and its also got a power station (and coal mine) on site.
Mackem is right. It's very abundant but because it is so inert it's energy intensive to extract from its ore.
http://www.chemicool.com/elements/titanium.html
http://www.chemicool.com/elements/iron.html
Ti about 0.5% in earths crust by weight (0.25% by Moles)
Iron 5.6% by weight & 2.5% by moles
A bit but a lot less than iron.
'Soon' being 5 to 10 years time.
This one has been doing the rounds for quite a few years, not saying it won't happen just don't hold your breathe.
b r - I have a vague professional interest in that site and a new metal producing enterprise there would be an excellent idea.
Titusrider - interesting article but I don't see this making much difference to the cost of ti bike frames. I used to work in the metals industry and a new cheaper refining technology will alter the margins that refiners are able to earn but this is unlikely to tempt new production to come on stream, increasing supply and lowering price. Also (I could be talking out my aris here) I think some of the cost of ti frames is down to the fact that the material is quite difficult to work with.