Difference Between Steel and Titanium (With Table)

In this industrialist world, the combination of multifarious metals to produce strong material has ruled the world more than we have expected. Coming up with new alloys like clockwork has been emerging since its discovery. As such, steel, brass, bronze, and so on are part of the subject alloy. Having that said, Steel is the alloy of carbon and iron, whereas titanium is an element in this chemistry world. 

Steel vs Titanium

The main difference between Steel and Titanium is that Steel is an alloy of Iron and a tinge of Carbon, whereas Titanium is a chemical element. The steel will have two elements with less than two per cent carbon, one per cent manganese, and small amounts of silicon, phosphorus, sulfur, and oxygen. On the other hand, titanium is a single natural occurring element with no such combination. 

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, with high tensile strength making it one of the crucial elements to construct a building strongly. Steel is prepared by Blast Furnace and Electric Arc Furnace. It is widely appreciated for its strength, ductility, toughness, durability, and other properties. Looking around every tall building, we can see the application of steel in it starting from near and far. 

Besides, Titanium is a chemical element. Like oxygen, Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Titanium is also from the same category. It is distinguished with its atomic number 22. Comparably, it is a silver-coloured element. Besides, it is light-weighted but also has high strength. They are found in various minerals and intermittent igneous rocks.

Comparison Table Between Steel and Titanium 

Parameters of Comparison

Steel 

Titanium 

Meaning 

Steel is a hard, strong grey alloy made of iron and carbon, with small amounts of other integral elements such as manganese,  silicon, phosphorus, Sulphur copper, oxygen, etc. It is in a Bluish-grey alloy of iron. 

Titanium is an element in the periodic table, under the atomic number 22, largely formed in minerals and ores. Titanium is a silver alloy with low density and high strength. 

Element 

The main element of steel is Iron, and auxiliary to that- Manganese, nickel, Silicon, Sulphur, Titanium, Cobalt, Chromium, Niobium, Nitrogen, Copper, Oxygen, and Phorspohous are added.  

Titanium is the sole element in the periodic table under the atomic number 22, with the symbol Ti (Titanium). It is measured that the atomic weight of Titanium is 47.867 u. 

Types

There are four types of steel- Carbon Steel, Alloy Steel, Tool Steel, and Stainless Steel. 

There are four types in Titanium- Ti 6AL-4v, Ti 6AL-4V ELI, Ti 3AL 2.5 and Ti 5AL-2.5 Sn.

Made Of

Steel is made out of Iron and Carbon as its underscore ingredient and contains 2 percent Carbon, 1 percent of manganese, and small amounts of other auxiliary elements. 

Titanium is made of ores and minerals on the earth, which subsumes- Leucoxene, Ilmenite, and Rutile.

Used in

Steel plays a vital role in fabricating large-scale investment such as producing industrial goods, vehicles, machinery, and household appliances.

Titanium is largely used in manufacturing jewelry, rackets, bicycles, watches, and other gadgets. 

What is Steel?

Taking the previous point into consideration, Steel is an alloy of ninety-eight to ninety-nine per cent of Iron, wike the remaining insignificant part is contributed by the element carbon. Furthermore, the stell can be produced in two ways Blast and Electric Arc Furnaces. A blast furnace is made up of bricks with a height of 100 feet. The hearth is where the charge is put in. Heated air, about 1000 kelvin, was introduced as a blast from the bottom of the furnace. Smelting occurs when the air from the bottom and charge from the hearth cusps.

On the other hand, the Electric Arc Furnace generates heat between the arcs formed between the carbon electrode and other metal electrodes. In addition to that, the surface is made of steel with refractory bricks. There are various alloys or Steel depending on their composition, such as mild steel, stainless steel, tungsten steel, manganese steel, Invar, etc. Coming to their astounding features, steel can be easily stretched, making it good at ductility property. They are good conductors of heat, malleable, durable, and strong tensile strength. 

What is Titanium?

However, Titanium is a unique element belonging to d-block elements from group and period four. They are initially found as black sand with a bit of information that it is a combination of oxides of iron with some other element. On the whole, it was mostly found in ore and minerals of Iron. The production of Titanium is done by reducing Titanium Chloride IV with magnesium, also by the Van Arkel process, where impure titanium is heated with iodine to convert into volatile iodine. This iodine vapour is passed over a tungsten filament.

Following that, the pure titanium is dropped by the Iodine at the filament. Also, it is found in igneous rock like gabbro, norite, and anorthosite and from minerals such as ilmenite, anatase, brookite, leucoxene, perovskite, rutile, and sphene. The properties of the element Titanium are the inclusion of high strength, light-weighted, and high corrosion resistance. For this reason, they are widely used as a material for the manufacture of air crafts. 

Main Differences Between Steel and Titanium

  1. Steel is made up of iron and carbon elements, whereas Titanium is an element in the periodic table under the atomic number 22. 
  2. Steel is made up of iron, carbon, and additional elements such as manganese, silicon, sulphur, phosphorus, etc. On the other hand, Titanium is largely made up of mineral and ores on the earth.
  3. Steel is used in constructing industrial goods, whereas Titanium is used to manufacture everyday products such as gadgets, bicycle and jewellery.
  4. Steel has four types- Carbon Steel is carbon content, Alloy Steel made up of different elements like manganese, molybdenum and boron etc., Tool Steel is a combo of carbon and alloy steel, and Stainless Steel is an alloy of iron and chromium. Furthermore, Titanium is distinct into four types- Ti 6AL-4v , Ti 6AL-4V ELI, Ti 3AL 2.5 and Ti 5AL-2.5 Sn.
  5. Steel has a melting point of 1425 to 1540 Celsius, whereas the Titanium melting point of 1668 Celsius.

Conclusion

Titanium is stronger than steel, but the weight of titanium is antithetical less than steel. Steel is made of elements Iron and Carbon. Titanium is the sole element in the periodic table with the symbol Ti. 

Titanium is generally from ores and minerals, whereas Steel is highly derived from Iron and Carbon, with additional elements presented such as manganese, silicon, phosphorus, and Sulphur. 

References

  1. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2097858
  2. https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=x3rToHWOcD8C&oi=fnd&pg=PP23&dq=meaning+of+titanium&ots=x7v-TDfqlX&sig=4wnpBy8fKJlU15RO6v1a5pK8s4Q