Black and White
Pigments Update
Black and white pigment producers
continue to deal with rising costs.
BY KERRY PIANOFORTE
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Black and white pigments comprise
the foundation of many coatings formulations. Titanium dioxide (TiO2)
is by far the most important and widely used
white pigment in the coatings industry. It
imparts whiteness, brightness and opacity to
coating formulations. Black pigments help to
protect both the coating and the underlying
substrate from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light. They are used in a wide variety of
applications including automotive, decorative
and industrial applications.
“TiO2 has the greatest scattering
potential of all white pigments and it
delivers the most cost effective opacity of
any white pigment,” said Carlos Verdejo,
global offering manager for coatings,
DuPont Titanium Technologies.
The key to using TiO2 as efficiently
as possible is choosing the correct
grade. “The market for long-lasting
products continues to grow, and with it
the importance of using the right grade
of TiO2,” said Verdejo. “TiO2 plays a
complex role in paint durability. TiO2
itself is extremely durable, but the
organic resin of the paint is not. One of
the greatest threats to organic resin is
UV light, which has enough energy to
break chemical bonds in the resin polymer. The primary role of TiO2 is beneficial, it absorbs virtually all of the UV
light it encounters, protecting the
underlying resin in the process.”
Carbon black also works to absorb
UV light and impart durability to a
coating. “Carbon black has been used in
coatings for many years to provide color,
UV protection and in some specialized
applications, conductivity,” said David
Reynolds, global market manager,
Cabot Corp. “These basic functional
requirements have not changed in
many years and probably will not
change in the near future.
“Of course, consumers preferences
are constantly changing and performance requirements are increasing,”
Reynolds continued. “As a pigment supplier, we are constantly working to
understand what problems these
changes create for coatings formulators
and how we can modify our products to
work in their new formulations. Once
we develop new solutions, our global
reach allows us to deliver these solutions around the world.”
BASF offers a range of organic and
inorganic black pigments that perform
in unique ways to reduce heat build-up
in all coated surfaces.
“BASF’s functional black pigments
play a key role in extending the life of
many products,” said Thierry Chevrier,
director, BASF performance chemicals-coating and plastic chemicals, North
America. “Sicopla and Meteor IR reflective black pigments and Lumogen IR
transparent black pigments are used to
reduce the external heat build-up of
coatings, thereby reducing the rate of
oxidation thermal degradation of the
paint film. This delivers multiple benefits, including the extension of the life of
the paint film and reduced need to recoat or perhaps protect the material
underneath the paint, for example,
applications such as sensitive electronic
components. These pigments are also
used in applications such as roofing,
marine and automotive.”
While black and white pigment producers enjoy widespread use, they continue to feel the pressure from rising
costs of feedstocks. The cost of raw
materials and utilities have been escalating at an unprecedented rate.
“In the past costs of key raw materials like TiO2 feedstock, as well as secondary ones like petroleum, coke, caustic, sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid,
would increase by factors of percentages,” said Verdejo. “Currently, the costs
of these raw materials are increasing by
factors of double, triple or even quadruple. The underlying factors for these rising costs are increased energy prices, as
well as strong demand for these raw
materials in industries other than pig-mentary TiO2, like Ti-metal for TiO2
feedstock, or biofuels for sulfuric acid
and phosphoric acid.”
To offset escalating raw material
prices, DuPont continues to focus on productivity, energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives. “For example, we have
managed to cut our energy consumption
per pound of products by thirty percent,
saving over $100 million,” said Verdejo.
“In addition, to these internal efforts, several price increases have been announced
in 2008 around the global. The rate of
change in raw material far exceeds the
rate of change in TiO2 prices and the gap
