Kuncai: sustainably produced titanium dioxide and iron oxide pigments

From 2019, Kuncai Material Technologies Ltd. will build a new plant in Fuqing, China, for the composite production of up to 500,000 tons each of titanium dioxide and iron oxides. What is new about this production plant is the manufacturing process: Rather than using the established sulphate or chloride processes, it relies on a proprietary extraction process patented by Kuncai. This process guarantees a high product quality that is even superior to the classic qualities produced using the chloride process. The products are also characterized by a high sustainability factor. A large proportion of the raw and auxiliary materials are reused directly in the production process or fed back into the process as far as possible in closed-loop systems. In addition, the entire production infrastructure is designed for low energy consumption in the production process and designed accordingly. After thoroughly testing the product quality on the regional Asian market, Kuncai is now embarking on the path to internationalization. Kuncai introduces the first product for the plastics sector in Europe. TiOEX 803 is the first pigment in a series of titanium dioxides specially developed for use in masterbatches and compounds. With its intense, pure white tone and narrow particle size distribution, this pigment can achieve high opacity at a low concentration. In the medium term, the TiOEX product portfolio is to be expanded to include other qualities that can then also be used in other polymer systems, as well as in coating systems, printing inks and even papers. The titanium dioxides will be followed by iron oxides for technical applications, which will also be marketed in the European Economic Area.

In addition to titanium dioxide, Kuncai is also launching a series of red iron oxides on the European market. FeOEX is the name of this series, which is also produced using the innovative extraction process. The FeOEX Red series comprises six different shades of red for all important applications such as coatings, plastics and construction applications. Kuncai has founded a new company in Germany, Kuncai Pigments Europe GmbH, based near Frankfurt, for the European distribution of the new product ranges. The newly formed team is headed by Dr. Corinna Ludwig. She has been with Kuncai for more than 6 years as Global Marketing Director and has more than 25 years of experience in the pigment industry. "I am looking forward to driving an established market forward with a new generation of products focused on efficient resource management and sustainability," says Dr. Corinna Ludwig.