TITANIUM DIOXIDE | PIGMENTS PHOTO: VENATOR
Where next for the white stuff?
The titanium dioxide industry has seen some significant ups and downs in recent months: numerous Chinese production sites have been shut down, either temporarily or for good, as government comes down hard on polluters; prices are not going the way compounders would like, as demand outstrips supply; and now, in Europe, the white pigment looks likely to be tainted as a potential carcinogen (see box story on page 32). This article takes a look at these challenges and digs deep to find out what lies behind them and how the industry is responding. Prices, at least in Europe, took off in the autumn, with several big suppliers advising customers of hikes of around €200/tonne – that is in the region of 5%. In August, spot prices of Chinese exports rose on shortages of supply caused by stricter enforcement of environmental protection measures (prices had fallen earlier in the year). These price rises are now working their way
downstream. In late September, for example, Clariant announced a global price increase of between 5 and 10% for all products containing titanium dioxide (depending on the grade, concentration and quality of the TiO2
The titanium dioxide industry has faced tightening supply, rising prices, and new regulatory threats over the past year. Peter Mapleston takes a closer look man (as it was at the time – its TiO2
business has
since been spun off as Venator) facility in Pori, Finland. Huntsman said the plant represented approximately 15% of its TiO2
capacity and
approximately 2% of global demand. Production will resume over the coming months, but the plant is not expected to be fully operational before the end of 2018. Another Huntsman TiO2
). The com-
pany attributed the increase to the sustained rise in prices of TiO2
and other key raw materials “driven
by several factors including force majeure declara- tions, supply-demand dynamics and capacity related issues.” Around 130,000 tonnes of capacity were wiped off the market in January when a fire hit a Hunts-
www.compoundingworld.com
Main image: Users of titanium dioxide
operation, the
“white end” (finishing and packaging) of a facility in Calais, France, has also just closed – the black end of the facility closed in 2015. On a more positive note, Chemours added a 200,000 tonne/yr line in Altamira, Mexico, last year and most of the output of that is destined for plastics. The plant is scheduled to reach full capacity soon, and it is understood that the company will soon begin to add further capacity (at an unspecified location).
pigments have faced supply and pricing issues in recent months
� October 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 23
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