Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association (TDMA)

Uses and properties

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a white inorganic pigment used primarily in the production of paints, printing inks, paper and plastic products. TiO2 is also used in many white or coloured products such as foods, cosmetics, sun screens, ceramics, fibres and rubber.

Titanium dioxide pigments are inert, do not react with other materials and are thermally stable, non-flammable and nontoxic. They have a remarkably high refractive index and exceedingly high reflectance, offering maximum opacity and imparting whiteness and brightness.

European manufacturing

The global Ti02 market was estimated at about €6.6 billion  in 2009, of which European production accounted for 2.1 billion € in sales. Approximately 7,000 people are directly employed in the European TiO2 industry in 17 production sites.
All TDMA members are signatories to the Responsible Care® charter. Many have achieved or will soon achieve ISO 14001 or EMAS, demonstrating their commitment to continuous environmental improvement. The European TiO2 industry has invested about €1.4 billion in various environmental improvement measures during the past 20 years.

Regulation

TiO2 pigments are made by reacting titanium ores either with chlorine gas or with sulphuric acid.  The sulphate route accounts for 70% of European production (1.5 million tonnes per year) and the chloride route accounts for the rest.
Both processes are regulated by a specific EU directive (92/112/EC) which stipulates stringent limits for liquid and gaseous emissions. Treatment processes to comply with the EU directive have been implemented in the last decade and use the best available techniques.
 

Membership

Full members:
Cinkarna Celje.d.d. (SI)
Crenox GmbH (DE)
Cristal Global (GB, FR)
Evonik Industrie (DE)
Huntsman Pigments (GB, ES, FR, IT)
Kronos Worldwide Inc. (BE, DE, NO)
Precheza AS (CZ)
Sachtleben GmbH (DE, FIN)
Tronox Pigments (Holland) BV (NL)
Zaklady Chemiczne POLICE S.A. (PL)

Associate members:
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (USA)
Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd. (Japan)
Tayca (Japan)

More information

• Titanium Dioxide Product Safety Statement on Inhalation Toxicology
• TDMA / TDSC communication paper “About TiO2”
• TDMA/US TDSC comments on the Yazdi PNAS Paper on TiO2
• Industry responds to Nano TiO2 study published in American Association for Cancer Research Journal
• New studies verify that Titanium Dioxide is safe product
• TiO2: Uses, Properties, Manufacturing and Environmentally Responsible Industry
• Safety Advice for Storage and Handling on Anhydrous Titanium Tetrachloride
• US TDSC statement on TiO2 Prop 65 listing by Californian OEHHA
  

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