Titanium dioxide supply continues to be tight, and the next few months may...

Users of TiO2 (titanium dioxide) have become accustomed to price hikes that have been going on for several months and may not be over yet
.

These were triggered by rising TiO2 feedstock costs, said consultant Reg Adams, who pointed to civil unrest that shut down the world's largest slag supplier, Rio Tinto, South Africa for two months, as well as a shortage of rutile from Iluka, Sierra Leone.
Faced with the threat of a two-year shutdown starting in November
.

Figure: Titanium dioxide supply is tightening as demand strengthens, according to industry watchers

(Image credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

On top of that, chlorine costs are rising for U.
S.
chlorination producers, while sulfuric acid suppliers, especially in Asia, have to pay more for sulfuric acid
.
Soaring ocean container rates on most routes make it worse
.

As demand strengthens, supply tends to tighten
.
For example, demand for packaging plastics has actually increased due to factors related to Covid-19 lockdowns leading to more online retailing in 2020 and has remained strong so far in 2021,” Adams said in early October
.
TiO2 and most other plastic pigments
.
"

Gerry Colamarino, managing director of TiPMC Consulting, delivered a similar message
.
"Everyone is counting on the seasonal slowdown in the fourth quarter to help with restocking," he said
.
“Is this really possible? At this stage, Chinese suppliers are already at full capacity and have been forced to cut production due to power cuts by the environmental protection department
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This stage lays the foundation for an orderly price increase
.
”

These observations were mostly corroborated by Tomaž Pevcin, Sales Manager at Slovenian TiO2 supplier Cinkarna
.
The company uses the sulfate method, and he said sulfur prices have risen 250 percent in less than a year
.
So far, those gains have been reflected in TiO2 prices, but he suspects there could be a supply disconnect in the coming months
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Most Cinkarna products are used in paints and coatings
.
"During the pandemic, people were doing more home decor, and the market went crazy," Pevcin said
.
But that's changing as companies ramp up their efforts to develop grades for use in plastics
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Currently, it has grades for non-durable goods, but he expects grades for durable goods to be ready within a year
.

Another larger supplier that relies mainly on the sulphuric acid process is LB Group, formerly known as Lomon Billions
.
It is now the third largest supplier of TiO2 pigments in the world, and its five production plants in China have an annual capacity of more than one million tons
.
It has recently simplified the branding of its TiO2 pigments: it names all of its TiO2 pigments in China and elsewhere as Snow Lotus
.
It has dropped the Lomon brand name
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The company has increased its chlorination TiO2 capacity, which is currently around 300,000 tonnes/year
.
An additional 100,000 tonnes/year will be added when the next line starts production in 2022
.
By the mid-2020s, the addition of capacity elsewhere will bring the total chlorination TiO2 production capacity to about 700,000 tons/year
.

Julie Reid, LB Group's UK-based marketing director, said the addition of chlorination capacity has enabled LB Group to expand its chlorination product range
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The most recent additions are aimed at coatings and paper laminates, but plastic grades are in the pipeline, including a new weathering pigment expected to hit the market within the next two years
.

One thing that TiO2 suppliers may be monitoring is how much TiO2 demand will be affected as new EU legislation comes into force (as of October 2021), which requires regulation of various products containing more than 1% TiO2 such as masterbatch ( But oddly, not a bag full of TiO2) a warning label is mandatory because it is classified as a probable (category 2) carcinogen
.
Industry body TDMA strongly disputed this: "This classification is irrelevant to the overwhelming scientific evidence that TiO2 does not cause cancer in humans
.
"

The EU may ban TiO2 as a food additive by 2022, unless the European Council or European Parliament object by the end of the year
.

TiO2 alternatives

For companies considering alternatives to TiO2, there are other minerals available
.
Omya recently launched OmyaPET, a family of functionalized calcium carbonate products, cost-effective sunscreens for use in white opaque PET bottles or BOPET films
.
According to Karsten Schulz, director of business development for polymers, OmyaPET can achieve high opacity, but if 100% light blocking is required, such as in UHT milk bottles, some titanium dioxide needs to be added
.
“It is common to use 10% TiO2 in single-layer PET milk bottles, and Omya has shown that 70% TiO2 can be replaced by OmyaPET
.

Figure: Dairy packaging is a potential end-use market for TiO2 alternatives such as Omya's OmyaPET opacifer

(Image credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

Another calcium carbonate supplier, Reverté, also offers TiO2 supplements
.
It recently launched a new grade for the production of white masterbatches
.
Calcipore 80T AL is designed to increase masterbatch productivity and filler levels, with an opportunity to reduce TiO2 content in white masterbatches, the company said
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Finnish company FP-Pigments says it uses proprietary technology to produce its FP opaque pigments, which encapsulate TiO2 pigments in high-purity precipitated calcium carbonate
.
It recently completed a study investigating the potential of using its FP-550 opaque pigment to improve the optical properties of TiO2 masterbatches
.

In the study, the pigment was used to produce a 60% TiO2 masterbatch with 55% 'normal' TiO2 content, 20% LDPE content and the remaining 25% FP-550 (which contained 20%' 'optimal spacing' encapsulation of titanium dioxide)
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This was compared with a conventional masterbatch containing 60% TiO2, 40% LDPE and a third masterbatch in which half of the LDPE was replaced by calcium carbonate (and therefore also 60% TiO2)
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The three color and opacity results were compared on blown film and injection molded panels containing 5% and 2% LDPE masterbatch, respectively
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In films, masterbatches containing FP-550 are said to give results that are at least comparable to standard masterbatches and significantly better than CaCO3/TiO2 masterbatches (over two units of contrast)
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The L* value results were consistent with the opacity measurements, with the FP-550 masterbatch showing excellent performance
.
The b* values ​​show a slight bluish cast for FP-550, while the a* values ​​remain similar
.

For injection molded panels, the masterbatch containing the FP-550 opaque pigment gave better results than the standard masterbatch, while the CaCO3/TiO2 masterbatch gave poorer L* results
.

"What makes this substitution possible is the unique spacing of the TiO2 within the FP pigment particle substrate," said Andy White, Director of the Coatings and Plastics business unit
.