From chlor-alkali and fertilizer lines to desalination and flue-gas treatment, today’s process plants run hotter, cleaner, and stricter than ever. Aggressive media, higher uptime targets, and tighter safety rules are exposing the limits of traditional stainless steels. As a result, engineering teams are moving key equipment zones to titanium and zirconium, using them not as luxury options, but as cost-of-failure insurance.
Global studies on corrosion-resistant alloys show steady growth driven by chemical processing, water treatment, and energy projects, where unplanned shutdowns far outweigh the premium of advanced materials. Within this landscape, titanium and zirconium stand out: both form stable oxide films, deliver long-term resistance in harsh media, and are available in product forms that match modern plant designs.
1. Where Stainless Steels Struggle
Common 300-series and duplex stainless steels are widely used—but in several environments they face:
- Localized corrosion in chloride-rich seawater and brine
- Rapid attack in concentrated hydrochloric and sulfuric acids
- Stress corrosion cracking under combined stress + halides + temperature
- Heavy metal contamination concerns in high-purity or pharma-grade lines
In these conditions, repeated repairs, internal rubber linings, or overspec’d alloys can quietly erode lifecycle economics. That’s where titanium and zirconium become strategic.
2. Titanium in Seawater, Brine, and Wet Chlorine Service
2.1 Heat Exchangers and Condensers
Commercially pure titanium (e.g. Grade 2) is widely used for:
- Seawater-cooled heat exchangers and condensers
- Desalination plant tubing and plates
- Offshore cooling and ballast systems
Titanium’s passive film delivers near-zero corrosion rates in natural seawater, including under continuous chlorination, with excellent resistance to crevice and stress corrosion cracking. For project owners, this translates to:
- Long service life with minimal tube failures
- Higher allowable velocities (reduced fouling risk)
- Lower risk of unplanned outages compared with Cu-Ni or standard stainless tubes
2.2 Chemical and Environmental Systems
Titanium Grades 2, 7, 12 are also selected for:
- Wet chlorine, hypochlorite, and chlorine dioxide service
- Flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) absorption towers and mist eliminators
- Organic acid duties where stainless steels pit or crevice
Here, titanium’s balance of strength, weight and corrosion resistance enables thinner sections and compact designs without sacrificing safety.
3. Zirconium: The Specialist for Strong Acids
Where environments move beyond titanium’s comfort zone—especially strong reducing acids at high temperature—zirconium becomes one of the most reliable options.
3.1 Hydrochloric and Sulfuric Acid Equipment
Zirconium’s oxide film is exceptionally stable in:
- All concentrations of HCl and many H₂SO₄ conditions, even near boiling, where stainless steels and many nickel alloys fail rapidly.
Typical applications include:
- Reactor vessels and linings
- Acid cooling and distribution systems
- Transfer piping, pumps, valves and agitator shafts
- Reboilers and condensers in acid recovery units
The result is a significant reduction in maintenance interventions, leaks, and contamination, especially for high-throughput acid plants.
3.2 High-Purity and Nuclear-Adjacent Services
Zirconium’s ultra-low corrosion rates and low impurity release make it suitable for:
- High-purity process media in pharma, specialty chemicals and electronics
- Nuclear-related systems (separate from fuel cladding), where its performance is well documented.
4. Titanium vs. Zirconium: How Engineers Choose
Rather than competing, titanium and zirconium occupy complementary windows. A simplified selection logic:
- Medium
- Seawater, brine, wet chlorine, FGD, organic acids → start with Titanium
- Concentrated HCl / H₂SO₄ / mixed acids at elevated temperatures → evaluate Zirconium
- Temperature & Chlorides
- Moderate temperatures with chlorides → Titanium often sufficient
- Hot, strongly reducing media where Ti risks active corrosion → Zirconium
- Design & Lifecycle Cost
- When tube leaks or lining failures would shut down a large unit, the additional alloy cost is quickly offset.
- Both materials allow thinner walls in some cases, improving heat transfer and reducing overall equipment weight.
By offering both metals—and engineering support for grade selection—you help buyers optimize total cost of ownership, not just purchase price.
5. How a Titanium & Zirconium Supplier Creates Value
A capable supplier for modern plants does more than ship base metal. Key capabilities include:
- Complete Product Range
- Titanium: tube/pipe, sheet/plate, bar/rod, foil/strip, wire, custom parts
- Zirconium: tube/pipe, sheet/plate, bar/rod, wire, fittings and clad solutions
- Application-Driven Support
- Material pairing based on medium, temperature, pressure, chloride/fluoride level
- Wall-thickness, allowable stress and corrosion allowance suggestions for designers
- Advice on transitioning from lined carbon steel or exotic stainless to Ti/Zr
- Fabrication Expertise
- Qualified GTAW/TIG welding for titanium and zirconium equipment
- Precision machining, bending and forming to maintain corrosion resistance
- Clean handling, pickling, and contamination control
- Quality & Documentation
- Heat-by-heat chemical analysis
- Mechanical property reports and NDT records as requested
- Traceability aligned with international project requirements
Positioned this way, titanium and zirconium are not just metals on a stock list—they are enablers of reliable, low-maintenance plants in chemicals, desalination, environmental protection and high-purity industries.