Analysis of titanium dioxide industry market in 2023

1、 Industrial chain

Titanium dioxide, an important inorganic chemical pigment, is mainly composed of titanium dioxide. There are two production processes of titanium dioxide: sulfuric acid process and chlorination process. There are two main types of titanium dioxide, including anatase titanium dioxide and rutile titanium dioxide. The main raw materials of titanium dioxide include titanium concentrate, chlorine, sulfuric acid, rutile and petroleum coke. The main downstream industries of titanium dioxide are coatings, paper making, printing ink, plastics, rubber and chemical fibers.

The main manufacturing methods of titanium dioxide are sulfuric acid method and chlorination method. Among them, about 56% of titanium dioxide is chlorination product, and more than 70% of this product is produced by titanium dioxide factories such as DuPont in the United States. Other countries, including China's titanium dioxide factories, still use sulfuric acid method with lower economic cost.

2、 Upstream analysis

Titanium concentrate is a mineral resource extracted from ilmenite or vanadium titanium magnetite. It is the raw material for the production of titanium dioxide, sponge titanium, titanium slag and other titanium products. With the continuous development of the downstream industry of titanium dioxide, the demand for titanium concentrate is growing. The output of titanium concentrate in China will continue to grow from 2017 to 2022. The output of titanium concentrate in China will be 6.41 million tons in 2022, an increase of 5.43% over 2021.

Chlorine is a single substance formed by chlorine element. It is a chartreuse highly toxic gas with strong irritating smell under normal temperature and pressure. It is one of the main raw materials for the production of titanium dioxide by chlorination. The production of liquid chlorine in China continued to expand from 2017 to 2022, reaching 32.88 million tons in 2022, an increase of 1.8% compared to the same period last year.

Sulfuric acid is a inorganic compound, the most active binary inorganic strong acid, which can react with most metals, and is one of the main raw materials for titanium dioxide production by sulfuric acid method. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, China's sulfuric acid production showed a fluctuating growth trend from 2017 to 2022. In 2022, China's sulfuric acid production reached 95040600 tons, an increase of 1.29% compared to the same period in 2021.

Petroleum coke is the vacuum residue of petroleum. It is one of the raw materials for producing titanium dioxide. On the whole, the output of petroleum coke in China shows an increasing trend from 2017 to 2022. The output of petroleum coke in China will be 30.031 million tons in 2022, 0.87% lower than that in 2021.

3、 Mid stream analysis

With the continuous improvement of people's material living standards, the downstream industries of titanium dioxide, such as paint, plastics, paper making, etc., continue to develop. China has become the world's largest producer and consumer of titanium dioxide. From 2017 to 2022, the output and apparent demand of titanium dioxide in China continued to expand. In 2017, the output of titanium dioxide in China was 2.87 million tons, and the apparent demand was 2.255 million tons; In 2022, the output of titanium dioxide will be 3.907 million tons, 2.44% higher than that in 2021, and the apparent demand will be 2.624 million tons.

With the continuous expansion of the production of titanium dioxide in China to better meet the needs of the domestic market, the export volume of titanium dioxide in China shows a continuous growth trend. On the contrary, the import volume of titanium dioxide shows a downward trend, and the export volume exceeds the import volume. The export volume of titanium dioxide in China will increase from 829900 tons in 2019 to 1405800 tons in 2022; The import volume of titanium dioxide in China will decline from 215000 tons in 2017 to 123100 tons in 2022.

From the perspective of the import and export amount of titanium dioxide, the export amount of titanium dioxide in China showed an upward trend in 2017-2022, from 1.983 billion dollars in 2017 to 3.834 billion dollars in 2022, and the export amount nearly doubled; However, the import amount of titanium dioxide fluctuates between US $400 million and US $600 million. In 2022, the import amount will be US $445 million.

4、 Downstream analysis

The coating industry is the largest user of titanium dioxide, especially rutile titanium dioxide, which is mostly consumed by the coating industry. The paint made of titanium dioxide has bright colors, high hiding power, strong coloring power, low consumption and many varieties. It can protect the stability of the medium, enhance the mechanical strength and adhesion of the paint film, prevent cracks, prevent ultraviolet rays and moisture penetration, and extend the life of the paint film. Data shows that China's paint production showed an overall growth trend from 2017 to 2022, with 20.41 million tons in 2017, 38 million tons in 2021, and 34.88 million tons in 2022, a decrease of 2.9% compared to the same period last year.

The papermaking industry is the third largest user of titanium dioxide, which is mainly used in high-grade paper and thin paper as paper filler. Adding titanium dioxide to the paper can make the paper have better whiteness, good gloss, high strength, thin and smooth, no penetration during printing, and light weight. Titanium dioxide for paper making generally uses anatase titanium dioxide without surface treatment, which can act as a fluorescent whitening agent and increase the whiteness of paper. However, the laminated paper requires the use of rutile titanium dioxide with surface treatment to meet the requirements of light resistance and heat resistance. From 2017 to 2022, the operating revenue of China's paper and paper products showed a fluctuating trend. In 2020, the operating revenue of paper and paper products decreased to 1301.3 billion yuan, and in 2022, the operating revenue of paper and paper products rebounded to 1522.9 billion yuan, an increase of 1.53% compared to the same period in 2021.

Chemical fiber industry is an important application field of titanium dioxide, and titanium dioxide used for chemical fiber is mainly used as a matting agent. Since anatase titanium dioxide is softer than golden red titanium dioxide, anatase titanium dioxide is generally used. Generally, titanium dioxide used for chemical fiber does not need surface treatment, but some special varieties need surface treatment in order to reduce the photochemical effect of titanium dioxide and avoid fiber degradation under the effect of titanium dioxide photocatalysis. The production of chemical fibers in China showed an increasing trend from 2017 to 2022. In 2017, the production of chemical fibers in China was 48.77 million tons, and in 2022, the production of chemical fibers reached 66.98 million tons, a decrease of 0.16% compared to the same period in 2021.

Titanium dioxide is also an indispensable white pigment in advanced inks. The ink containing titanium dioxide is durable and does not change color, has good surface wettability and is easy to disperse. The titanium dioxide used in the ink industry includes rutile titanium dioxide and anatase titanium dioxide. Similarly, the production of ink in China has gradually increased from 48.77 million tons in 2017 to 67.08 million tons in 2021.

Titanium dioxide is not only used as colorant in rubber industry, but also has the functions of reinforcement, anti-aging and filling. Add titanium dioxide into white and colored rubber products, and under sunlight, it will be resistant to sunlight, crack and discoloration, and its stretching rate is greater than that of acid and alkali resistance. Data shows that China's synthetic rubber production has been increasing year by year from 2017 to 2022, from 5.92 million tons in 2017 to 8.23 million tons in 2022.