Corrosion protection application of titanium alloy in electric power industry

Titanium exhibits excellent stability in highly corrosive hot waters containing chlorides and sulfides. Consequently, titanium is extensively used in thermal power plants as cooling tubes in heat exchangers. Replacing copper-nickel alloy tubes with thin-walled titanium tubes not only significantly extends service life but also greatly reduces maintenance time, resulting in substantial economic benefits.

Titanium and titanium alloys have good corrosion resistance and are used as corrosion-resistant liners in steel chimneys. For instance, in the Houshi Power Plant in Zhangzhou, Fujian, a seawater desulfurization system without GGH and bypass uses titanium plates as corrosion-resistant liners for the steel chimney.

Although industrial pure titanium is thermodynamically unstable, and its standard electrode potential for ionization is -1.63 V, making it easily soluble in water and releasing hydrogen, it exhibits strong corrosion resistance in various corrosive media due to its high passivation ability. This passivation surpasses that of cobalt, nickel, and stainless steel, making titanium highly resistant to corrosion in many active media, especially oxidizing and chloride-containing media. However, its stability in sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid is relatively poor.

To address the weak corrosion resistance of conventional titanium and titanium alloys in reducing media like sulfuric and hydrochloric acids, molybdenum (10%-32%) is added to titanium alloys, significantly enhancing their corrosion resistance in reducing media. Higher molybdenum content improves corrosion resistance but also increases the difficulty of smelting and processing due to alloy strengthening, which can affect the alloy's applications. Titanium-molybdenum alloys, such as Ti-20Mo and above, are particularly suitable as corrosion-resistant materials for steel chimneys and seawater desulfurization power plants due to their strong resistance to chloride corrosion.

In coastal power plants, thin-walled titanium tubes are used for condensers. Before the 1960s, aluminum brass or B30 white copper tubes were used, but their service life decreased significantly due to increasing seawater pollution. By the 1960s, the UK started using all-titanium condensers, and in the 1970s, Japan introduced thin-walled (0.3-0.5mm) welded Titanium Tube condensers, significantly reducing costs. By 1987, 30% of condensers in industrialized countries used titanium. Due to the high reliability and safety requirements of nuclear power plants, thin-walled welded titanium tubes and seamless titanium tubes are predominantly used. In China, trials of domestic titanium tubes began in the late 1970s. Since 1983, 18 all-titanium condensers have been used in nine power plants, including Taizhou Power Plant in Zhejiang, Jinshan Thermal Power Plant in Shanghai, and Zhenhai Power Plant in Zhejiang, with a total of 700 tons of titanium tubes, achieving very satisfactory results.

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