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3D-Printed NbTi Alloy Desulfurization Nozzles: Comparison with Rare Metals for Waste Gas Treatment
Precision atomizing nozzles, high-pressure spray components, and anti-clogging spray structures in industrial flue gas desulfurization, denitrification, and waste gas purification equipment serve long-term applications under conditions of acidic sulfurized flue gas, alternating wet and dry corrosion, high-speed fluid scouring, and high-temperature waste gas alternating environments. Materials must be resistant to acid and alkali corrosion, wear-resistant, non-scaling, free of metal ion precipitation, and maintain their shape even after long-term spraying. Traditional stainless steel and silicon carbide nozzles are prone to corrosion and clogging, and wear quickly. Conventional titanium alloys have limited corrosion resistance, and expensive rare metals are too costly for widespread industrial application. SLM 3D-printed NbTi niobium-titanium alloy can be integrally molded with irregularly shaped micropores and anti-clogging streamlined spray structures. With its excellent sulfur corrosion resistance, scouring resistance, and temperature uniformity, it comprehensively outperforms ordinary metals and various rare refractory metals in the field of environmental industrial corrosion spray equipment.
Conventional 3D-printed metal desulfurization nozzles have significant service defects. 316L and duplex steel nozzles experience rapid intergranular corrosion in sulfuric acid-containing flue gas, leading to nozzle orifice wear and enlargement, loss of atomization accuracy, and precipitation of iron-nickel ions that pollute wastewater. Aluminum and copper alloys corrode extremely quickly, resulting in damage and scrapping after a short period of use. TA2 pure titanium exhibits excellent corrosion resistance but weak resistance to high-speed fluid erosion, leading to long-term deformation and scaling/clogging of the spray orifice. Ti6Al4V titanium alloy boasts high strength, but its alloy phase is prone to selective corrosion in sulfidation environments, causing nozzle surface peeling and reduced atomization performance. Ordinary metal nozzles generally have short lifespans, poor accuracy, and require frequent maintenance, significantly increasing the operation and maintenance costs of environmental protection equipment.
Multiple horizontal comparisons were conducted to assess the suitability of Ti6Al4V, pure tantalum, molybdenum, C103, and rhenium (rare metals) for desulfurization conditions. Ti6Al4V and pure titanium have limited resistance to sulfur corrosion, suffer severe wear from long-term flue gas erosion, and have short nozzle lifespans. Pure tantalum is corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant, and exhibits zero precipitation, boasting top-tier performance, but its high price makes it impractical for large-scale spraying consumables. Molybdenum metal readily forms a loose molybdenum sulfide layer in sulfurized flue gas, leading to continuous peeling and wear, and rapid nozzle failure. C103 niobium alloy has excellent high-temperature resistance, but its resistance to sulfur corrosion is relatively weak, and it is prone to surface pulverization in flue gas media. Rhenium metal offers exceptional performance but is extremely expensive, used only in aerospace testing, and has no industrial environmental application value. In summary, NbTi niobium-titanium alloy, with its resistance to sulfur corrosion, erosion, non-scaling, and moderate cost, is the most ideal additive rare metal material for environmental desulfurization nozzles.
Within the niobium-titanium alloy system, industrial-grade corrosion-resistant NbTi nozzles exhibit the best performance. Medical-grade NbTi suffers from insufficient wear resistance, making it unsuitable for high-speed fluid scouring; superconducting Ti-Nb exhibits weak structural strength and is prone to deformation; pure niobium and pure titanium, as single materials, both have shortcomings in corrosion resistance or wear resistance. SLM-printed NbTi boasts a dense and uniform microstructure, high micropore forming precision, and the ability to design self-cleaning, anti-clogging channels. Its fluid scouring wear rate is significantly lower than that of titanium alloys, exhibiting extremely low annual corrosion rates in acidic sulfidation environments. Long-term spraying shows no pore deformation, no scaling or clogging, and no metal precipitation.
Currently, 3D-printed NbTi desulfurization atomizing nozzles have been applied in thermal power and chemical waste gas purification production lines, replacing traditional titanium alloy and stainless steel nozzles. This extends equipment maintenance cycles by five times, maintains stable atomization efficiency, and significantly reduces the heavy metal impurity content in wastewater. Its shortcomings include lower ultra-high temperature creep resistance compared to molybdenum, rhenium, and C103, requiring protective coatings under extreme high-temperature flue gas conditions. Future development will focus on improving surface wear-resistant strengthening processes to extend scouring life, further reducing mass production costs, and establishing it as a standardized additive material for industrial environmental corrosion spraying equipment.
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