1. TITANIUM DIOXIDE
1. PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS
Appearance White pigment
Grades Anatase and rutile grade
Specifications
Specification of Anatase TiO2 pigment
Titanium dioxide / 97.5% max.Moisture max. / 0.5%
Soluble salts / 0.5%
Sb2O3 / 0.04%
Iron / 0.01%
Copper / 0.002%
V2O5 / 0.001%
Cr4O3 / 0.001%
Silica / 0.75%
Oil absorption / 22.2%
Residue on 325 mesh / 0.05%
Dispersion / Fairly dispersible in water
Relative tinting strength / 1400 max.
Specifications of Rutile TiO2 pigment (surface coated)
TiO2 content / % / 92.5Volatiles / % / 1 max.
Water soluble salts / % / 1 max.
P2O5 / % / 0.3 max.
Fe / % / 0.01 max.
Moisture (105 Deg C) / % / 0.8 max.
Rutile content / % / 98.0
Specific resistance / phm, cm-1 / 9000
Tint-reducing power / 1850
Oil absorption / g/100 g pigment / 24
Whitness / % / 96.5
Sieve residue-0.045 mm net (ASTM 325 mesh) / % / 0.02
Zinc content / % / 0.1
pH (water extract) / 6.0
Dispersity (red devil) / 210 min. microns / 12
Chalk resistance / Very good
Surface treatment / Al2O3, SiO2
Bulk density / kg/m3,cca / 710
Tamped density / kg/m3,cca / 1020
Refractive index / 2.7
2. PRODUCT APPLICATIONS
Pigment grade Anatase Pigment grade Rutile
Paint industry Paint industry
Printing ink industry Printing ink industry
Paper industry
Rubber industry
Textile industry
Polyester fibre industry
Rayon industry
Plastic industry
Leather industry
Detergent industry
Electronic industry
Refractories
Pharmaceutical industry and others
3. IMPORTS
Present import levels
Anatase grade : Around 3000 tonnes per annum
Rutile grade : Around 10000 tonnes per annum
4. EXPORTS Nil
5. INDIAN MANUFACTURERS
S.No. / Name of the Unit / Production level in tonnes per annum1. / Travancore Titanium Products Ltd., Trivandrum / 15000 (anatase grade)
2. / Kolmak Chemicals Ltd., Calcutta / 2000 (anatase grade)
3. / Kilburn Chemicals Ltd.3000 / (anatase grade)
4. / Kerala Minerals & Metals Ltd.,Quilon / 22000 (rutile grade)
6. DEMAND SUPPLY TRENDS
Demand
Pigment grade Anatase TiO2: 22000 tonnes per annum
Pigment grade Rutile TiO2 : 30000 tonnes per annum
The gap in supply is met by imports.
Estimated growth rate in demand : 8 to 9% per annum.
7. MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
There are two routes for the production of TiO2 pigments namely, sulphate and chloride route.
Sulphate Process : In the sulphate process, Ilmenite is directly reacted with sulphuric acid to produce titanium sulphate and iron sulphate. The Titanium sulphate is subjected to selective thermal hydrolysis to produce hydrated titanium dioxide. This is further washed and calcined to produce titanium dioxide pigment.
In the sulphate process, both anatase and rutile grade TiO2 can be produced.
Chloride Process : In the chloride process, Ilmenite is leached with hydrochloric acid or selectively chlorinated to produce synthetic rutile. Synthetic rutile would be chlorinated to produce titanium tetra chloride, which is oxidised to produce titanium dioxide pigment.
By chloride process, only rutile grade TiO2 can be produced.
Technology development
Titanium dioxide is produced from either ilmenite, synthetic rutile or titanium slag.
Titanium dioxide pigment is extracted by using either sulphuric acid (sulphate process) or chlorine (Chloride route). The sulphate route is perceived to be less environmentally friendly but acid recycling or neutralisation, combined with other byproduct developments, can make it as clean as the chloride route.
The sulphate route generally has higher production costs, due to the need to build acid treatment facilities. It is more expensive to build than a chloride plant, but the latter may require the construction of a chlor-alkali unit to meet the requirement of Chlorine for the project.
The chloride route produces a more pure product with a tighter range of particle size, but anatase pigments can only be produced by the sulphate process.
Millennium estimates that 57% of world production uses the chloride route but among the seven top producers, the figure rises to 66%.
8. GLOBAL SCENARIO
Global consumption pattern: (in '000 tonnes)
By Region / North America 1487Western Europe 1000
Asia/Pacific 854
Eastern Europe 273
Latin America 217
Africa & Mideast 109
World Total 3940
By Market / Paints & Coating 2305
Plastics 723
Paper 528
Other 384
DuPont's ability to chlorinate relatively low-cost ilmenite gives it a cost advantage.
Supply/demand
Titanium dioxide is a $7 bn per year global industry.
Worldwide demand in 1999 stood at 3.82 million tonne, according to consultancy organisation Artikol.
Global capacity is estimated at 4.47 million tonnes per annum in 2000. The US and Western Europe account for a third of the market each with Asia consuming nearly 25%. Producers report very tight markets in Western Europe as a result of high demand and a number of ownership changes have occurred in recent years leading to some industry consolidation.
By end 2000, five players account for close to 75% of global Titanium dioxide production. DuPont with 22% is the largest.
In Europe HICI (Huntsman 70%, ICI 30%) is the largest producer. Huntsman bought Tioxide from ICI last year following FTC objections to the deal with DuPont. Kerr-McGee has bought the remaining 20% of its 80% owned plant from Bayer and completed the purchase of Kemira's US and Dutch assets. Kemira retains Pori of Finland.
Outlook
Global demand has been picking up steadily since the second half of 1999, especially in Asia.
In Europe, one producer talked of experiencing double digit growth in 2001. However, in the long term, consultants estimate the West European demand growth at 3 to 4% per annum. For the rest of 2001, global demand is set to grow at around 4.5%, according to Millennium.
Prices are below reinvestment levels but a number of debottlenecks worldwide will add an extra 200,000 tonnes per annum of capacity by 2003. Of this, around 90,000 tonnes per annum is in Europe. This includes production at the chloride route unit at Greatham, UK, rising to its rated 100,000 tonnes per year Kemira hike at Pori, Finland, and the 15,000 tonne per year increase at Sachtleben's Duisberg, Germany, plant.
Expansion at DuPont's plant at New Johnsonville, Tennessee, US, will add 65,000 tonnes per annum, bringing it to 395,000 tonnes per annum. Upgrades in China should add 20,000 to 30,000 tonnes per annum.
Productwise consumption pattern
Coatings / 59%Paper / 13%
Plastics / 20%
Other / 8%
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
India has vast deposits of ilmenite which is the raw material for TiO2 production. Indian deposits is estimated to exceed 14% of the total world reserves.
The project is extremely relevant to Indian conditions and additional capacities should be urgently created.
Tamil Nadu has vast deposits of Ilmenite and Tamil Nadu is suitable location for setting up TiO2 project of global standards.
Recommended Capacity & Estimated Project cost
1. Anatase Grade TiO2 : 4500 tonnes per annum
Process : Sulphate Route.
Project Cost : Rs.300 million
2. Rutile Grade TiO2 : 15000 tonnes per annum
Process : Sulphate Route
Project Cost : Rs. 1800 million
3. Rutile grade TiO2 : 30000 tonnes per annum
Process : Chloride route.
Project cost : Rs.3500 million