The characteristics of tantalum make it widely used in many fields. Tantalum can be used to replace stainless steel in the equipment of making various inorganic acids, and its service life can be increased by dozens of times. In addition, tantalum can take the place of platinum, a precious metal, in chemical, electronic, electrical and other industries, so that the cost is greatly reduced. Tantalum is made into capacitors for military equipment. The United States has a highly developed military industry and is the world's largest arms exporter. Half of the world's production of tantalum is used in the production of tantalum capacitors, and the U.S. Department of Defense Logistics is the largest owner of tantalum, at one point buying up one-third of the world's tantalum powder.
Tantalum forms a stable anodic oxidation film in acidic electrolyte. Electrolytic capacitors made of tantalum have the advantages of large capacity, small volume and good reliability. The production of capacitors is the most important application of tantalum, and the amount used in the late 1970s accounted for more than 2/3 of the total amount of tantalum. Tantalum is also used to make electronic transmitters and high-power electronic tubes. Tantalum corrosion resistant equipment is used in the production of strong acid, bromine, ammonia and other chemical industries. Tantalum can be used as structural material in the combustion chamber of aircraft engines. The tantalum tungsten, tantalum tungsten and tantalum hafnium alloys are used as heat resistant and high strength materials for rockets, missiles and jet engines, as well as parts for control and regulation equipment, etc. Tantalum is easily machined and used in high temperature vacuum furnaces as supporting accessories, thermal shielding, heaters and heat sinks. Tantalum can be used as orthopedic and surgical materials. Tantalum carbide is used in the manufacture of cemented carbide. Borides, silicides and nitrides of tantalum and their alloys are used as heat release elements and liquid metal cladding materials in the atomic energy industry. Tantalum oxide is used in the manufacture of advanced optical glass and catalysts. In 1981, the percentage of tantalum consumption in the United States was approximately 73% for electronic components, 19% for machinery, 6% for transportation, and 2% for other sectors.
