Why must titanium be protected from air and moisture during extraction?

During the extraction and processing of titanium, the metal must be protected from air and moisture because of its high reactivity at elevated temperatures.12

When heated, titanium reacts readily with oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen present in the air. If these elements contaminate the metal during production, they can compromise its mechanical properties. To prevent this, industrial extraction methods—such as the Kroll process or the Hunter process—are conducted within sealed vessels filled with an inert atmosphere, typically argon or helium. Maintaining this inert environment is essential to ensure the purity and quality of the resulting titanium sponge.123