5 Uses of Chromium

Chromium is a silver-white metal with a high melting point. Thanks to its hardness and resistance to corrosion, it has become one of the most important and indispensable industrial metals and is widely used in everyday life. In this article, we'll take a look at the 5 primary uses of chromium.

Uses of Chromium

1. The Uses of Chromium in the Metallurgical Industry

Chromium is hard, often mixed into steel to make a hard and corrosion-resistant alloy, mainly used for refining stainless steel, heat-resistant steel, and various electric heating element materials.

When stainless steel encounters corrosive substances, a fine and solid chromium oxide film will be formed on the surface to protect the internal metal from corrosion. Some stainless steels can maintain their excellent performance even at a high temperature of 800 ° C. Chrome steel is a good material for manufacturing machinery, tanks, and armored vehicles.

2. The Uses of Chromium in the Chemical Industry

Various chromium salts processed from chromite are the main raw materials in the chemical industry. Chromium salt is one of the main varieties of inorganic salts. It is mainly used in electroplating, tanning, printing, and dyeing, medicine, fuel, catalysts, oxidants, matches, and metal corrosion inhibitors.

At the same time, metallic chromium has become one of the most important electroplated metals. Without the physical properties provided by the chrome layer, the service life of most parts will be greatly shortened due to wear, corrosion and other reasons, and must be replaced or repaired frequently. Therefore, chrome plating is more and more widely used in industrial manufacturing.

3. The Uses of Chromium in the Refractory Materials 

Because the melting point of chromite is as high as 1900 ℃ to 2050 ℃, it can keep the volume unchanged at high temperature and it does not react with any slag. Therefore, it can be used as a kind of refractory material for the lining of steel-making furnaces and non-ferrous metal smelting furnaces.

Uses of Chromium

Therefore, in terms of refractory materials, chromite is used to make chrome bricks, chrome magnesium bricks, and other special refractory materials.

4. The Uses of Chromium in the Field of Cast Iron

Chromium cast iron refers to adding chromium element to iron element, in order to change the physical structure and chemical properties of iron, making its application field wider.

The amount of added chromium element is different, and the formed chromium cast iron has different chemical properties. According to the content of chromium element, it can be divided into low chromium cast iron, medium chromium cast iron, and high chromium cast iron.

5. The Uses of Chromium in the Automobile Industry

Car brake pads refer to the friction material fixed on the brake drum or brake disc rotating with the wheel. In the automotive industry, chromium is involved in the production of car brake pads.

Conclusion 

Thank you for reading our article and we hope it can be helpful to you. If you want to know more about the uses of chromium and other refractory metals, you can visit Advanced Refractory Metals (ARM) for more information.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, Advanced Refractory Metals (ARM) is a top manufacturer and supplier of refractory metal products. We provide our customers with high-quality refractory metal products at a very competitive price.