The core players in the global titanium alloy recycling chain are technology companies with closed-loop processing capabilities. IPX (IperionX Limited) in the United States, located in Virginia, titanium alloy recycling plant will be completed in 2025, with an annual capacity of 1,125 tons, to become the world's first 100% use of titanium alloy recycling production of titanium powder companies. Tung Shing Precious Metals (Hong Kong) has developed a “Titanium-Alloy-Recycle” technology, which uses a nickel-plated undercoat to treat the components of a vacuum film forming device to efficiently strip off the metal film layer, significantly increasing titanium alloy recycling rates and minimizing damage to the substrate. These technologies directly reduce the aerospace and semiconductor industries' reliance on virgin titanium, such as the processing of Titanium grade 11 Coil process residues, where titanium can be fully recovered.
The titanium alloy recycling market is expanding at a CAGR of 8.4% and is expected to reach a size of $1,865 million by 2031. This growth is driven by the military and energy sectors, such as the U.S. Army's extensive use of titanium alloys in its M777 light artillery and armored vehicles, which is generating demand for scaled-up titanium alloys recycling of decommissioned equipment.
Waste Titanium grade 11 buyers
Professional titanium alloy recyclers mainly come from the chemical and offshore engineering sectors. titanium grade 11 (Ti-0.15Pd) is far more resistant to chloride corrosion than ordinary pure titanium, and is suitable for equipment such as heat exchanger tubes in desalination plants and electrolyzer liners. When this equipment is decommissioned, the titanium element becomes the core value point for recycling. Titanium alloys are melted and regenerated into Titanium grade 11 Sheet, which is used to make new corrosion-resistant titanium alloy components.
Typical sourcing criteria include Titanium grade 11 Coil residue with sheet thicknesses of 0.0254-3.175mm, requiring surfaces free of fluoride contamination; tubing needs to retain more than 80% of its original length to reduce remelting costs. Hong Kong Dongsheng Precious Metals Recycling Company's titanium alloy (i.e. Gr.11) recycled and re-rolled, the tensile strength still maintains more than 340MPa, which meets the ASTM B265 standard.
Waste Titanium grade 7 buyers
Titanium grade 7 (Ti-0.2Pd) is close in composition to Gr.11, but has a lower impurity tolerance and is mostly used in high-purity chemical containers. Titanium Alloy Recycling buyers are concentrated in the pharmaceutical and chlorate manufacturing industries, where, for example, a reactor liner plate (Titanium grade 7 Plate) needs to be replaced after 10 years of service due to micro-cracks on the surface, but the substrate can be remelted and cast for a new tank.
The Titanium Alloy recycling process requires strict oxygen control: an electron beam cold bed furnace (EBCHM) is used for melting, so that the oxygen gain in the waste material is less than 50 ppm, ensuring that the ductility (elongation at break ≥ 15%) of the reclaimed Titanium grade 7 Sheet complies with the ASME Pressure Vessel Code. ATI's re-rolled Gr.7 Coil (Titanium grade 7 Coil) is FDA approved for use in pharmaceutical piping systems.
Titanium Alloy Recycling Value
The core economics of titanium alloys recycling are reflected in the material and energy savings: each ton of recycled Titanium grade 11 Plate uses 40% less energy and costs 60% less than virgin titanium sponge. Recycling price related articles and pages: "Top Titanium Recycling Technology and Prices", "How much is titanium scrap worth?", "Titanium Scrap Prices".
The environmental benefits are also significant: IPX's Waste-Titanium Powder process reduces mining waste by 92%, and the recycled powder is suitable for 3D printing of military components (e.g., M777 artillery mounts), realizing the closed loop of “decommissioned equipment → new equipment”. The nickel-plating stripping technology of Hong Kong's Dongsheng Precious Metals Recycler reduces the amount of cleaning agent by 30%, and increases the recovery rate of titanium alloy from semiconductor sputtering components (including PGM films) to 99%.
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