China titanium dioxide industry 2020 development status

In 2020, the titanium dioxide industry has endured a severe test. At the beginning of the year, the market for titanium dioxide was relatively depressed due to the severe impact of the new crown epidemic. But with the effective domestic control of the epidemic, in addition to the influence of raw material market changes factors, the overall titanium dioxide market after the second half of the year is running normally.

Upstream raw materials

Sulfuric acid: In the first half of the year, the market performance was also on a downward trend. Influenced by factors such as epidemic and environmental protection, the fertilizer industry, the most important downstream area of sulfuric acid, continued to decline; the release of several new production capacities added to the market pressure, which led to a general downturn in sulfuric acid prices across the country. After the third quarter, the situation has improved, and the market situation has shown a stable upward trend.

Titanium ore: in the first half of the year, imported ore due to the origin of mining and transportation costs rose, the price is a small and sustained upward trend; while domestic ore is a small oscillation situation, the price rose continuously after the middle of the market supply is tight, after August-September more and more nervous.

In the chloride method, due to the import of high-grade titanium raw material prices have been rising trend, increasing the pressure on production costs.

Relatively speaking, the first 10 months of 2020, the titanium raw material market on the impact of the chlorinated titanium dioxide is relatively greater.

Titanium dioxide

The overall situation of the titanium dioxide industry in the first 10 months of 2020 was as expected. In addition to the severe impact of the global epidemic, the downward trend of China's GDP growth has become more evident in the complex globalized economic environment in recent years. Titanium dioxide is a multi-purpose chemical products, its development is not only affected by raw materials, environmental protection, but also by the impact of downstream and related fields.

In the first half of 2020, titanium dioxide product prices continued to continue the downward trend from the end of the previous year, the market also synchronized into the cold winter. From the beginning of the year, product prices continued to fall, and by the middle of the year the overall decline reached about 2,000 yuan / t, falling to the lowest level in the past two years. After the second half of the year, there were a number of price increases, many companies followed the trend, a response, to achieve a rare industry-wide concerted action. At the same time, the downstream market has improved greatly with the positive changes in the economic situation, and the industry has shown the most prosperous market since this year, with all enterprises enjoying strong production and sales and rising profit levels.

In the domestic market gradually improve at the same time, export data also maintain good momentum. It is expected that exports to the international market is still a fairly important factor in supporting the boom of titanium dioxide later this year and for some time to come.

High-quality development has become the main theme of the future development of the titanium dioxide industry

The main product of sulfuric acid method to the middle and high-end development.

As we all know, after more than 20 years of rapid development from 1998 to 2019, the scale and quality of the titanium dioxide industry has also seen an overall improvement. The application fields of sulfuric acid process products have achieved full coverage, and the quality and application performance are improving continuously.

Nevertheless, compared with large international companies, there is still a considerable gap in both product brand awareness or in terms of quality connotation.

In the domestic market, although the products of large enterprises have a certain degree of popularity, but this is only compared to the past or small and micro enterprises, and most of them can only be applied to the mid-range or mid-to-high end of the field. High-grade cars, high-speed trains, ocean-going containers and other top areas with high gloss, high weathering, high dispersion, high coverage of titanium dioxide must still use imported high-end products.

In the international market, China's exports of titanium dioxide products for end-users are still mainly used in the low-end areas, part of which can be allocated to the medium and high-end areas.

Since 2009, the overall scale of China's titanium dioxide has been high in the world. In today's open era of global economic integration, high quality is the main theme of future development, here refers specifically to the quality of the product and brand, the traditional concept of relying on quantity and low prices alone to play the world has long since become history.

Breakthrough and deepening of the chlorination process

China's chlorinated titanium dioxide industry started in the late 1990s, and there was no difference in the time period with the later fast-developing sulfate titanium dioxide industry, but the two have performed very differently since then. However, the shift of production process to chlorination is one of the international trends of titanium dioxide industry in the past 30 years. This is because the excellent quality is the fundamental feature compared to the sulfuric acid method.

Production scale is the fundamental and foundation of industrial development, I believe that China's chlorination process in the premise of achieving a breakthrough in scale, from point to point and to the depth of development, which is another important symbol of the industry's high-quality development.

Titanium raw materials for chlorination process

In the domestic titanium ore preparation boiling chlorination with high-grade titanium raw materials have not been industrialized, titanium raw materials can only rely on foreign imports. But in recent years, the international market, high-grade (TiO2 ≥ 92%) titanium raw materials or the production of the discovery of non-negligible progress, but also a declining trend, the future supply and demand tension will be an indisputable fact.

Therefore, new on the chlorination project, the basic conditions in addition to high investment and high-end technology, but also a stable source of titanium raw materials.

Environmental protection and clean production issues/sulfuric acid method

By 2020, China's sulfate method titanium dioxide industry has a history of 65 years, and after more than 20 years of rapid development from 1998 to 2019, it has made great achievements, and its next stage of development goals should include the following aspects.

(1) on the basis of the achievements already made, to further enhance and improve.

(2) In particular, we should focus on environmental protection and clean production, and work toward comprehensive utilization of waste by-products and low and zero emissions. At present, we should pay more attention to the purification treatment and reuse of acidic wastewater with low concentration (2%~5%) and waste acid with medium to low concentration (15%~22%); and the resource utilization of sludge (commonly known as red gypsum or titanium gypsum) produced by neutralizing treatment with alkaline substances such as lime/calcium carbide slag only before the purification treatment and reuse of this part of wastewater and waste acid are realized, which is a crucial part of realizing green industry.