Zirconium facts at your fingertips

Thanks to the Kroll process, metallic zirconium can be produced by means of a fairly complicated reduction process. In actual fact, the ore is found as a by-product when mining titanium and tin ore. Since 2003, the price of zirconium has more than doubled. This is the result of increasing demand and also the fact that a considerable amount of energy is needed to release zirconium from its chemical bond. Chlorination is performed to convert zirconium ore into the tetravalant zirconium chloride. This compound is then reduced with magnesium to produce metallic zirconium and magnesium chloride. All in all, this is a very energy intensive process, just as with the metal titanium. 1 to 3% hafnium is also produced as a by-product. Zirconium is classed as a reactive metal because it forms a solid and compact layer of zirconium oxide on the surface without electrolyte. Zirconium is often thought to be a precious metal because it behaves very much like one but this is not the case. The oxide layer is noble and very stable, providing the underlying metal with optimum protection against all kinds of chemical reagents. In this area, zirconium is superior to its sister metal titanium, especially at increased temperatures. This is chiefly manifested in the preparation of nitric acid, in which zirconium offers extreme resistance against corrosion, even with the presence of chlorides. Zirconium also allows process temperatures to be