NO.1 Steel Industry
Approximately 85% to 90% of the world's niobium is used in steel production in the form of ferroniobium. Adding just 0.03% to 0.05% niobium to steel can increase its yield strength by over 30%. Niobium can also regulate the toughness of steel over a wide range by inducing precipitation and controlling the cooling rate, achieving a dispersed distribution of precipitates. Therefore, adding niobium to steel not only increases its strength but also improves its toughness, high-temperature oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance, lowering its brittle transition temperature and imparting excellent weldability and formability.
NO.2 Superconducting Materials Industry
Certain niobium compounds and alloys possess high superconducting transition temperatures and are therefore widely used in the manufacture of various industrial superconductors, such as superconducting generators, high-power accelerator magnets, superconducting magnetic energy storage devices, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment. Currently, the most important superconducting materials are niobium-titanium and niobium-tin, which are widely used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for medical diagnosis and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) equipment for spectral analysis.
NO.3 Aerospace Industry
The aerospace industry is the primary application area for high-purity niobium, primarily used in the production of engines and heat-resistant components for rockets and spacecraft. Heat-resistant alloys of niobium and tantalum, with their excellent thermal strength, heat resistance, and processability, are widely used in the manufacture of aircraft engine components and gas turbine blades. Almost all US jet-fighter engines utilize niobium alloys for their hot-spot components.
NO.4 Atomic Energy Industry
Niobium has excellent thermal conductivity, a high melting point, excellent corrosion resistance, and a low neutron capture cross section, making it a highly suitable material for nuclear reactors. Niobium's primary uses in the nuclear energy industry include: as a cladding material for nuclear fuel, as a nuclear fuel alloy, and as a structural material for heat exchangers in nuclear reactors.
NO.5Electronics Industry
Niobate ceramics can be used to make capacitors. Single crystals of compounds such as lithium niobate and potassium niobate are new types of crystals for optoelectronics and electronics. They possess excellent piezoelectric, thermoelectric, and optical properties and are widely used in infrared, laser technology, and the electronics industry. Furthermore, niobium has a high melting point, strong electron emission capacity, and gas gettering properties, making it suitable for use in electron tubes and other vacuum devices.
NO.6 Medical Field
Niobium has excellent resistance to physiological corrosion and biocompatibility. It does not react with various liquid substances in the human body and is virtually harmless to biological tissues. It is resistant to all sterilization methods and is therefore commonly used in the manufacture of bone plates, skull plate screws, dental implants, and surgical instruments.
NO.7 Other Applications
In the chemical industry, niobium is an excellent material resistant to acids and liquid metal corrosion, making it useful in the manufacture of digesters, heaters, coolers, and other components. Niobium acid is also an important catalyst. Niobium is also used in the foundry industry, primarily to form hard carbides (which improve wear resistance) and to modify the morphology and size of graphite flakes. Consequently, it is often used in the manufacture of automotive cylinder heads, piston rings, and brake pads. Niobium is sometimes used in conjunction with gold and silver on commemorative coins. Niobium helps increase the light transmittance of lenses and is therefore also used in the manufacture of optical lenses. Niobium is also used in the lighting industry. For example, niobium alloys with 1% zirconium are used to create precision brackets for high-efficiency, high-intensity sodium vapor streetlights, giving these small components high thermal strength, excellent formability, and resistance to sodium vapor corrosion.
