Beryllium Extraction and Utilisation— Prospects and Constraints

Beryllium and beryllium compounds find wide variety of applications in diverse industries. Low density, high strength, and attractive nuclear properties like low neutron absorption cross section and high scattering cross section have created great interest in the metal for space, aeronautical, and nuclear applications. The extraction technology of beryllium is now fairly well established and significant progress has also been made in the powder metallurgy fabrication of the metal. Conventional fabrication methods like rolling, wire drawing, extrusion etc. have not been found quite suitable for beryllium because of its low ductility. This paper presents an overview of the extraction processes and the fabrication methods presently employed for beryllium metal and alloys. The various applications are described and the prospects and constraints in the large scale utilization of beryllium in industry are analysed.