Environmental Impact Assessment of Reconditioning Titanium Alloy Powder

Abstract

The environmental impact was assessed for the spheroidisation process to compare its advantages versus mining titanium from the ground. Energy consumption was used to compare the environmental impact. With the introduction of spheroidisation at Necsa, there was a need to investigate the environmental impact of the process. The environmental impact of plasma spheroidisation making use of the 15 kW Tekna plasma system was investigated. Environmental impact assessment is part of a bigger study to investigate the holistic impact of the spheroidisation of titanium powder at Necsa. The study was carried out using ASTM standards, ensuring that the results from the experiments are acceptable. The primary focus of the paper was the 15-kW spheroidisation system. The energy consumption of the reconditioning of titanium alloys was compared to conventionally producing titanium. The role spheroidisation plays in the additive manufacturing lifecycle was also assessed. This life cycle assessment also included the other processes in additive manufacturing to give an overview of how the spheroidisation process can fit in and improve the additive manufacturing value stream.