Zirconium hydride an ore, usually a zirconium silicate, such as zircon. Zirconium is extracted from zirconium ore by removing the oxygen and silica. This process, known as the Kroll process, was first applied to titanium. The Kroll process results in an alloy containing hafnium. The hafnium and other impurities are removed in a subsequent step. Zirconium hydride is created by combining refined zirconium with hydrogen. Like titanium, solid zirconium dissolves hydrogen quite readily. The density of zirconium hydride varies based the hydrogen and ranges between 5.56 and 6.52 g cm. Even in the narrow range of concentrations which make up zirconium hydride,
Zirconium by spiral concentrators to remove lighter materials, which are then returned to the water because they are natural components of beach sand. Using magnetic separation, the titanium ores ilmenite and rutile are removed. Most zircon is used directly in commercial applications, but a small percentage is converted to the metal. Most Zr metal is produced by the reduction of the zirconium(IV) chloride with magnesium metal in the Kroll process. The resulting metal is sintered until sufficiently ductile for metalworking. Commercial zirconium metal typically contains 1–3% of hafnium, which is usually not problematic because the chemical properties of hafnium and zirconium