rockwood raises iron & chromium oxide pigment prices by 5–10%

(of DuPont) described an avant-gardemethod of employing software basedon an artificial neural network topredict, graph and compare theperformance of two differentarchitectural paints. The ANN wastrained using as inputs key propertiesof TiO2 and two formulationparameters (pigment volumeconcentration and TiO2 content). Dr John Connolly (of DuPont)discussed the evaluation of differentTiO2 pigment grades that could beused for “cool-roofing” applications, iegrades that maximise solarreflectance in order to minimise thecosts of cooling and air-conditioningfor maintaining comfortable conditionswithin the building interior. In theposter session on Tuesday afternoon,the influence of pigments on solarreflectance was followed up by Dr Thomas Sowade (of Heubach). Hispaper dealt with “cool” applications forautomotive paints. In particular, herecommended the substitution ofcarbon black by complex inorganiccoloured pigments where dark coloursare required by the customer.

Dr Romesh Kumar and Dr WolfgangWinter (of Clariant) presented a paperoutlining the benefits of easily-dispersible colour pigments,specifically their company’s range ofED pigments. These benefits,achieved thanks to the presence of aspecial additive on the pigmentparticle surface, include: improvedpigment wetting-out, reduceddispersion time and the prevention offlocculation. Dr Michael Klinar (ofKärntner Montanindustrie) discussedthe use of micaceous iron oxides asfunctional fillers, especially in heavy-duty anti-corrosion paints. Kärntnerhas now developed a range of highlamellar micronised grades ofmicaceous iron oxides, which shouldopen up a new range of applicationsin standard paint formulations. Dr BrijMohal (of Evonik Degussa) describedhis company’s range of universalpoint-of-sale machine tintingcolorants. His colleague, Dr ThomasPapasso (also of Evonik Degussa)discussed a new type of pigmentencapsulation technology with theobjective of producing wood stainswith a VOC level of less than 50grams per litre.

Reviews of some of the otherpapers from the Charlotte conferenceby my colleagues will appear in

forthcoming issues of our sisterpublications ‘Focus on Surfactants’and ‘Focus on Powder Coatings.’Although Charlotte proved to be anexcellent venue for both the first andsecond American Coatings Shows &Conferences, Vincentz has decidedthat it will hold the third event in thisseries in Indianapolis in May 2012.Meanwhile, Vincentz has alreadyissued its first call for papers for thenext European Coatings Congress,with a September 2010 deadline forsubmission. The venue will be inNuremberg as usual and the eventwill be staged at the end of March2011.

Reg Adams

For further details on the American CoatingsConference at Charlotte, NC, USA (12-14 April 2010),including copies of the conference papers, pleasecontact: Ms Friederike Plasswich, Vincentz Network,PO Box 6247, D-30062 Hannover, Germany. Tel: +49(0)511 9910274. Fax: +49 (0)511 9910279. E-mail:friederike.plasswich@coatings.de

MARKETSRockwood raises iron & chromiumoxide pigment prices by 5-10%

Rockwood has announced worldwideprice increases of 5-10%, effective asfrom 1 June 2010, on its full portfolioof coloured inorganic pigments,including natural and synthetic ironoxides, chromium oxide greens,carbon blacks and various specialitycolours. The company notes that ithas taken a series of measures,including streamlining its supplychain, in order to maintain stableproduct pricing over the past twoyears. However, because ofaccelerating increases in expensesfor raw materials, energy andtransport, Rockwood believes it mustrevise its pricing structure.

Press Release from: Rockwood Holdings Inc, 100Overlook Center, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. Tel: +1609 514 0300. Website:http://www.rockwoodspecialties.com (3 May 2010)

Stalemate in talc price negotiationsbetween China & Japan

Chinese talc suppliers and Japanesetalc import traders seem to havereached a stalemate in theirnegotiations over contract prices for2010. Japan’s talc consumption was

only around 300,000 tonnes in 2009,compared against around 600,000tonnes in 2008. The Japanese tradersreport that consumers would nottolerate any moves to increase talcprices this year. China’s total talcexports dropped from nearly 700,000tonnes in 2008 to 400,000 tonnes in2009, with overall average exportprices (fob Chinese ports) decliningby 5% from $190 per tonne to $180per tonne.

Japan Chemical Web, 3 May 2010, (Website:http://www.japanchemicalweb.jp)

Freedonia forecasts world carbonblack demand growth at 4.3%/y

According to Freedonia (multi-clientreport publishers, based in Cleveland,OH), world carbon black consumptionis going to increase by 4.3% perannum from 9.4 M tonnes in 2008 to11.6 M tonnes in 2013. The specialityblacks sector is expected to witnessthe most rapid growth. The tyrerubber blacks sector will remain thelargest end-use sector, but it will showslower growth than the non-tyrerubber blacks sector. Asia/Pacific willcontinue to be the fastest growingmarket region, whereas growth willcontinue to be below-par in Japan,South Korea, Australia, North Americaand Western Europe. Carbon blackdemand in North America is forecastto rise at 1.7% per annum from 1.65M tonnes in 2008 to 1.8 M tonnes in2013. Carbon black demand inWestern Europe is forecast to rise at2% per annum from around 1.2 Mtonnes to more than 1.3 M tonnesover the same time-frame.

Rubber and Plastics News, 22 Mar 2010, 39 (17), 11

China’s TiO2 capacity passes 1.5 Mtonnes/y mark

Thanks to the completion of a numberof projects during last year, China’stotal TiO2 pigment capacity hadpassed the 1.5 M tonnes/y mark bythe end of 2009. Of the capacityincrement in 2009, 78.7% was forrutile grades of pigment, and 21.3%for anatase grades of pigment.Altogether, there are now 19enterprises capable of producing rutilegrades. Between them, theymanufacture about 50 differentproducts, including: ShandongDonjia’s SR-2400 (for plastics) and

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