Giving More Value to Sri Lankan Natural Resources through SLINTEC: A Case for Titanium Dioxide (TiO )
By Dr. Jeewantha Premaratne
Sri Lanka has vast deposits of ilmenite (FeTiO ) which is the major raw material for titanium dioxide (TiO ) pigment production. Although commercially valuable minerals such as ilmenite, rutile (TiO ) and zircon (ZrSiO ) occur in the beach sand of Sri Lanka, it is only at certain locations that the deposits are sufficiently concentrated for economic exploitation. Major concentrated deposits are located along 72 km the north east coast stretch of Sri Lanka. It has been estimated that north east coast contains 8-9 million tons of ilmenite, 1.0 million of rutile.
The beach sand deposits in the north east coast at Pulmoddai are very high grade, with a heavy mineral content of 80% and a composition of 70-72% ilmenite, (FeTiO ), 8% rutile (TiO ) and 8-10% zircon (ZrSiO ). The present plant has a capacity of 150,000 tons of ilmenite (FeTiO ), 10,000 tons of rutile (TiO ) and 6,000 tons of zircon (ZrSiO ). The current annual production of ilmenite is about 80,000 tons.
Sri Lanka currently does not produce any type of value added (TiO ) pigments. The country imports its entire requirement of titanium dioxide pigment (TiO ). More than 90% of the titanium ore is processed into titanium dioxide pigment, known as titanium white, a brilliant white, non-toxic pigment. Titanium dioxide pigment (TiO ) is used as whitening, opacifying, self cleaning or UV-radiation protecting agent in paint, printing, rubber, paper, textile, electronic, detergent, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. Approximately 60% of titanium dioxide pigment produced globally goes into paint and coating industry, 20% into plastics, 13% into paper products and the remaining 7% into other industrial applications. For its use as a white pigment, titanium dioxide (TiO ) competes with ground calcium carbonate, precipitated calcium carbonate, kaolin, and talc. Global demand for feedstock amounts to over 5
million tons annually. According to industry estimates, total annual sales for the titanium dioxide pigment industry and titanium metal markets are over US$ 12.0 billion.
The production of titanium dioxide (TiO ) pigment is extremely relevant to Sri Lankan condition and it is a keenly felt requirement to set up a titanium dioxide pigment and nano-titanium dioxide manufacturing plants of global standard to develop the country’s economy using its natural earth resources. SLINTEC is getting ready to utilize the application of microwave technology coupled with existing technology for the metallurgical processing of ilmenite ore to produce high quality, marketable titanium dioxide and nano titanium dioxide pigments. SLINTEC will always innovate to employ appropriate chemical manufacturing processes to minimize the damage to the eco-system. Green chemistry is a set of principles and practices that aim to reduce the generation of hazardous materials in chemical products and processes. Therefore, microwave heating is a potential beneficial technology for the titanium metallurgical industry especially for the manufacturing of high quality titanium dioxide pigments and nano-TiO effectively, efficiently and economically.
It is important that Sri Lankan policy makers realize the potential of our resources and consider creative pathways for the development of the country. SLINTEC is keen to support in Research & Development and Innovation with its access to high technology.