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The largest application area of niobium is the steel industry. In the 1980s, 11 000 to 13 000 tons of niobium were sold around the world every year, about 87% of which was used in this field, and only about 8% of steel contained niobium. In the late 1990s, the world’s annual crude steel output was approximately 800 million tons, with my country ranking first.

The main function of niobium (in the form of ferroniobium, NbFe) in steel is to refine the grains of steel, improve the hardness of steel, and increase the high-temperature strength and corrosion resistance of steel. High-strength low-alloy steel is the main body of niobium steel. The niobium used accounts for 90% of the total niobium used in steel. It is widely used in automobiles, bridges, oil pipelines, natural gas pipelines, oil drilling, offshore oil drilling platforms, railway tracks, etc. In terms of steel bars for civil construction, the automotive industry and oil and gas transmission pipelines are its most important markets. In recent years, the development of some new products in steel production may also broaden the application of niobium in steel, such as niobium-added interstitial impurity-free steel (i.e. IF steel), stainless steel for automobile exhaust systems, and micro-alloy forged steel containing niobium. wait. my country is a big steel country, and the level of niobium consumption is still very low, with an average consumption of 3 to 4 grams per ton of crude steel. Therefore, the application of niobium in the steel industry in my country has great market space and development prospects.

The first application of niobium in the steel industry began around 1925, as an additive in tool steel to partially replace the original tungsten. After decades of slow development, by the late 1950s, with the large-scale mining of niobium ore, niobium began to be used in carbon steel, bringing niobium production into a period of adjustment and growth.