Titaniumis obtained by reduction of the oxide ores rutile and brookite, and from ilmenite (titaniferous iron ore). According to the process used, the metal may be obtained in compact form, as a powder for sintering (as in the case of tungsten), as ferro-titanium (Chapter 72) or as titanium carbide.
Titanium is white and shiny when compact, dark grey when a powder; it is resistant to corrosion, hard and brittle unless very pure. Ferro-titanium and ferro-silicon-titanium (Chapter 72) are used in steel manufacture; the metal is also alloyed with aluminium, copper, nickel, etc. Titanium is principally used in the aircraft industry, in shipbuilding, for making, e.g., vats, agitators, heat exchangers, valves and pumps for the chemical industry, for the desalination of sea-water and for the construction of nuclear power stations. This heading covers titanium in all forms : in particular, sponge, ingots, powder, anodes, bars and rods, sheets and plates, waste and scrap, and products other than those articles covered by other Chapters of the Nomenclature (generally Section XVI or XVII), such as helicopter rotors, propeller blades, pumps or valves. The classification of the carbide follows that of tungsten carbide (see the Explanatory Note to heading 81.01).
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