Titanium dioxide is an important industrial raw material, the main component is titanium dioxide, which is widely used in coatings, plastics, rubber, paper, ink, chemical fiber, ceramics, enamel, cosmetics and other fields. At present, my country has become the world’s largest titanium dioxide production and consumption market, accounting for nearly half of the global market share. With the continuous strengthening of domestic environmental protection policies, the titanium dioxide industry is also actively promoting environmental protection production, strengthening technological innovation and product upgrading, in order to meet market demand and environmental protection requirements.
The production process of titanium dioxide includes sulfuric acid method and chlorination method. There are two main types of titanium dioxide, including anatase titanium dioxide and rutile titanium dioxide. The main raw materials of titanium dioxide are titanium concentrate, chlorine, sulfuric acid, rutile and petroleum coke. Titanium concentrate is a mineral resource extracted from ilmenite or vanadium-titanium magnetite, and is the raw material for the production of titanium dioxide, titanium sponge, titanium slag and other titanium products.
With the continuous development of the downstream industry of titanium dioxide, the demand for titanium concentrate continues to grow. After long-term technology introduction, independent research and development, and application promotion, my country’s titanium industry has entered a stage of rapid development since the 21st century. Its production capacity and output have occupied the first place in the world for many years. At present, the output of sponge titanium accounts for 60% of the world’s total. The output of titanium processed materials has grown steadily, and the demand for titanium products is strong.
Titanium concentrate industry development:
my country’s titanium ore is divided into four types according to the combination of reserve management and genesis: primary titanium (magnetic) iron ore type, ilmenite placer type, rutile type and rutile placer type. Titanium has two main industrial chains, one is the industrial chain in the chemical industry, and the other is the industrial chain in the non-ferrous metal field. After mining, vanadium-titanium magnetite or titanium ore is produced, and titanium concentrate is formed after beneficiation. Titanium concentrate is mainly used to produce titanium dioxide, and partly used to produce sponge titanium and other titanium products. Titanium concentrate is processed into titanium dioxide; sponge titanium is processed into titanium material and then used in aerospace, construction, petrochemical, shipbuilding, medical and other military and high-end industrial fields.
my country’s titanium ore is distributed in more than 10 provinces and regions. The titanium ore is mainly titanium ore, rutile ore and ilmenite placer in vanadium-titanium magnetite. The main type of titanium ore deposit is magmatic vanadium-titanium magnetite followed by placer. Titanium in vanadium-titanium magnetite is mainly produced in Panzhihua, Sichuan, and the output of titanium concentrate in Panxi, Sichuan accounts for more than 80% of the overall national output; ilmenite placer is mainly produced in Hainan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other provinces (regions).
my country is rich in titanium resources, with large reserves and wide distribution; more primary ore, less placer; more ilmenite, less rutile; more lean ore, less rich; all are polymetallic symbiotic ores. The ore with large output mainly exists in the form of rock ore-type vanadium-titanium magnetite, and there are very few rutile-type titanium ores that are easy to mine and utilize. At the same time, domestic titanium ore purification technology is not developed enough, the grade of titanium concentrate produced is low, and high-quality titanium concentrate still relies on imports.
my country’s imports of titanium concentrates have shown an overall growth trend. In 2015, my country’s imports of titanium concentrates were 1.8804 million tons, and by 2018 they had increased to 3.1177 million tons. After 2018, the import volume has declined. In 2019, the import volume of titanium concentrate dropped to 2.6153 million tons, and gradually recovered in 2020. In 2021, China’s titanium ore sand and its concentrate import volume further increased to 3.7968 million tons. In 2022, my country’s titanium ore import volume dropped to 3.4652 million tons.
From the perspective of competition pattern, Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group is currently the largest domestic titanium concentrate production enterprise, followed by Lomon Mining and Metallurgy, Chongqing Iron and Steel Xichang and Anning. In the future, under the background of the continuous advancement of the domestic dual-carbon target and the continuous strengthening of environmental protection, the domestic titanium concentrate production capacity structure will continue to be adjusted, small and medium-sized enterprises will gradually withdraw from the market, and large-scale and technologically advanced large-scale mining enterprises will occupy more market share in the production capacity adjustment.
Titanium dioxide industry development:
Titanium dioxide is widely used in coatings, papermaking, plastics and other industries. The continuous growth of downstream overall demand has driven the continuous expansion of my country’s titanium dioxide production capacity. The effective production capacity of titanium dioxide in my country has continued to increase to more than 5 million tons. The total output of rutile and anatase titanium dioxide and other related products produced by the industry has reached 3.86 million tons.
In the first half of 2023, my country’s titanium dioxide industry experienced three rounds of price increases. The overall price showed a trend of rising first and then falling. The average market price showed a trend of rising first and then falling, a year-on-year decrease of 21%. In 2022, the apparent consumption of titanium dioxide in my country will be 2.63 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 3.99%. By the end of 2022, my country’s titanium dioxide production capacity will be about 5.33 million tons, and by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, my country’s titanium dioxide production capacity is expected to exceed 6.5 million tons.
At present, the leading enterprises in China’s titanium dioxide market are Longbai Group and CNNC Titanium Dioxide. In 2022, the titanium dioxide production capacity of Longbai Group and CNNC Titanium Dioxide will reach 1.51 million tons and 350,000 tons respectively, ranking first and second in China’s titanium dioxide production.
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Post time: Jul-24-2023