When titanium was first brought into widespread usage, it was lauded for its strong and weathering-resistant properties. Due to energy costs, production declined over the past 10 years; however, a new process established by the UK’s Dstl has reduced titanium processing time by 50%. The result – Cheap, low-energy titanium production.
Titanium is used in a startlingly diverse array of applications, too. From paint, to bikes, to eco friendly party glitter, you will likely encounter titanium in your day-to-day life more frequently than you’d notice. It’s good news, then, that titanium is being used to support positive environmental change in numerous ways.
Titanium taking over plastic
One of the foremost ways in which titanium is helping to improve our natural environment is through offering alternatives to polluting items. A great example of this is plastic replacement.
According to clean ocean advocates The Ocean Cleanup, there’s over 80m tonnes of plastic in the oceans. A large contributor to this is the plastic straw, which features at 11th in the list of Get Green’s most commonly littered plastics. Many manufacturers, by utilizing the non-rusting and sturdy quality of titanium tubes, have opted to replace drinking straws with titanium. Given the possibility of cheap, low energy tubes, this means ocean cleanliness can be improved and carbon emissions mitigated.
Taking titanium to the next level
The material properties of titanium are being taken to the next level by modern science. Another huge cause of carbon emissions and pollution is the plastic bottle. A key target for environmental plans, the reusable bottle industry grew to $7.6bn last year, according to Nielson.
Titanium has entered the market through a clever flexible bottle, with titanium a key component. The metal has again been chosen due to its resistant quality and the improving environmental impact of producing it.
Tackling the oxides
Oxides have been the main use of titanium for a while. Paint, ink, sunscreen, medicines, paper – there are countless products that use titanium oxide. Historically, the process for oxide extraction has been environmentally damaging, as has the product itself; for example, the USA’s National Park Service states that various sunscreens with Ti oxide will damage coral.
Now, Titanium Oxide is likely to be brought into the green sphere, too. A novel new study published in the Journal for Pharmaceutical Sciences found that titanium oxide can be synthesized using bacteria, and that this could spell a much brighter future for the historically damaging extraction.
Titanium is a versatile and well renowned metal used in a huge range of applications. As such it’s not an easy proposition to remove it from the market on the grounds of environmentalism. However, through determined scientific study and consumer action, it’s becoming a figurehead in helping the public to use its quality and simultaneously protect the planet.