Niobium is one of the important strategic mineral resources, the metal niobium density of 8.57 g/m3, melting point is 2477 ℃, boiling point is 4744 ℃, is a blond, texture is soft and has a high melting point of rare metal ductility. Niobium does not react with inorganic acids or bases, and is insoluble in aqua regia.
It is known that niobium is widely used in iron and steel industry, aerospace industry, superconducting materials and other fields. About 85% ~ 90% of niobium in the world is used in iron and steel production in the form of ferrocolumbium. Niobium-containing steel is widely used in automobiles, Bridges, oil pipelines, natural gas pipelines, oil drilling, offshore oil drilling platforms, railway tracks, civil and construction steel reinforcement, etc.
High-purity niobium is used in a wide range of aerospace applications, mainly in the production of engines and heat-resistant components for rockets and spaceships, and in almost all jet fighter engines.
Some niobium compounds and alloys have high superconducting transition temperature, so they are widely used in the manufacturing of various industrial superconductors. At present, almost all industrial superconducting devices use NbTi and Nb3Sn as superconductors, such as superconducting generators, accelerators, high-power magnets, superconducting magnetic energy storage devices, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging equipment, etc.