Paint giants look for titanium dioxide alternatives

The continued increase in the price of titanium dioxide has caused greater pressure on paint companies. To cope with this challenge, international coatings giants such as US Sherwin-Williams Coatings, PPG Industries of the United States, and Akzo Nobel of the Netherlands have recently stated that they will take measures to minimize the use of titanium dioxide and at the same time reduce the cost of raw materials by finding alternatives.

According to Deutsche Bank analyst David Begret predicted that the global titanium concentrate prices will increase significantly this year, and titanium concentrate is the raw material for the production of titanium dioxide, so the global titanium dioxide will continue to maintain high prices.

Christopher Conner, chief executive of Sherwin-Williams Coatings, expects that the continued rise in titanium dioxide prices will increase the company's raw material costs by 10% this year. PPG also pointed out that the price of titanium dioxide increased by 35% last year, and the price of chlorinated titanium dioxide will continue to rise this year. From January to February, DuPont's price of titanium dioxide in Asia increased by US$200 (t price, the same below), with a price increase of US$330 in North America, US$250 in Latin America, and US$200 in Western Europe.

Faced with this situation, AkzoNobel CEO Wei Sihan said in an interview with the media that in the next 10 years, the company will significantly reduce the consumption of high energy-consuming raw materials such as titanium dioxide.

In order to resolve the cost pressure caused by higher titanium dioxide prices, PPG Industries has adopted the same strategy. The company’s chief executive Charles Bonzi stated that he hopes to reduce the use of titanium dioxide in paint by 4% to 6% this year, and to strive for a reduction of 10% or more in 2013.

It is understood that PPG Industries previously used chlorinated titanium dioxide in North American and Western European markets, and has now begun trials of TiO2. **Titanium dioxide is cheaply available from ilmenite and ** as raw materials, and investment is often much less than chlorination. Charles Bonzi said that

In Asia Pacific and developing countries, the production of titanium dioxide by the ** process is very common. At present, PPG purchased more than 10% of the titanium dioxide. Sherwin-Williams Paint also turned its attention to TiO2. The company's goal is to reduce the amount of titanium dioxide used in coating formulations by 5% to 10% in the next few years by using TiO2. According to industry experts, titanium dioxide accounts for 26% to 27% of the company's raw material expenditure.

Paint manufacturers such as Dow Chemical and Arkema in France are trying to find alternatives to titanium dioxide. Last year, Dow Chemical introduced a latex polymer that increased the opacity of titanium dioxide in coatings and reduced the use of titanium dioxide in paint formulations by 20%.

In January this year, Arkema successfully developed an opaque polymer called Clococor that can partially replace titanium dioxide. It is said that the use of this polymer can significantly reduce the cost of raw materials. Erik Caesar, global marketing director for Arkema Coatings Resins, stated: “The cost and availability of titanium dioxide are the two most important factors for coating formulations. If you can maintain good product performance, customers will use titanium dioxide. Alternatives will be very interesting."

In addition, due to the large proportion of titanium dioxide in the raw material cost of coatings, the cost of titanium dioxide continues to rise, and paint and coating manufacturers have to pass on the cost through price increase.

Market sources said that there are signs that demand for titanium dioxide has improved in Europe since January, but the ordering level is still far less than last year. Only by the end of March will the paint and coating industry enter the production season, when the demand for titanium dioxide may recover significantly.