Coatings World - September 2016

U.S. demand for solvents is fore- cast to rise 1.1 percent per year through 2020 to 9. 6 billion pounds, reflecting continued economic growth and, in particular, ongoing healthy increases in construction activity. Strength in both residential and nonresidential building construction will stimulate demand for related materials, such as paint and coatings and adhesives and sealants. These and other trends are presented in “Solvents,” a new study from The Freedonia Group.

Environmental regulations will continue to drive a shift toward less hazardous solvents with reduced emissions and lower toxicity. Public perception and consumer preference will also favor green products derived from renewable resources such as plant-based alcohols, soy methyl ester, and terpenes. Changes in the oil and natural gas industry will also impact demand, with reduced drilling rates in the near term holding back solvent consumption, and relatively low crude oil and natural gas prices providing a more competitive position for conventional solvents.

Demand for green solvents that avoid any of a number of potential environmental pitfalls will advance at an above average pace, offering growth opportunities in many otherwise mature applications. In particular, green solvent demand will outpace conventional solvent demand in food production, chemical processing, cosmetics and toiletries, cleaning products and printing inks. In many cases solvent users will turn to products with lower emissions or better toxicity profiles to address tightening volatile organic compound (VOC) and hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulations.

Beyond the greater use of biodegrad-
able green solvents, the rapid expansion
of U.S. petroleum and natural gas produc-
tion from 2010 to 2015 also helped drive
solvent demand overall. Though solvent
consumption in the oil and gas market
was impacted in 2015 by the sharp de-
cline in crude oil prices, which in turn
caused the industry to significantly curtail
well drilling and completion activity, a re-
covery is expected to begin by 2020 as
global oil supply and demand rebalance,
and prices begin to recover. Rising crude
oil and natural gas prices will also impact
the competitiveness of conventional sol-
vents, which had benefited from a better
cost position compared to green solvents.

‘Bright Future’ Predicted
for Titanium Minerals

In its latest report on the titanium min-
erals industry, Roskill is forecasting that
longer term the industries’ prospects are
improving. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) pig-
ment production is the most important
consumer of titanium dioxide feedstocks
accounting for 83 percent of production
in 2015 – and annual average growth
in demand for feedstocks from the TiO2
pigment industry is forecast at 4.2 per-
cent py going forward to 2025.
Feedstock production levels will be
slightly higher in 2016, over the 2015
total of 7. 56 Mt worldwide. Overall,
feedstock production has increased by an
average of 3 percent py since 2005, but
within this figure synrutile and slag pro-
duction has fallen, while rutile and ilmen-
ite for direct use have grown faster.
One of the key trends over the last ten
years has been the influence of China,
especially on ilmenite production levels.
Consumption of ilmenite for sulphate-
route TiO2 pigment manufacture has in-
creased by 80 percent between 2005 and
2015, largely attributable to the rapid
expansion of China’s TiO2 manufactur-
ing industry. Most of the expansion has
been based on indigenous ilmenite pro-
duction, but China has also been a ma-
jor importer of ilmenite over the last ten
years. Imports reached a peak in 2012
U.S. Demand for Solvents
to Reach 9. 6 Billion Pounds