Capital requirements generally include land acquisition, construction, equipment procurement, installation, pre-operative expenses, and initial working capital. The total amount varies with capacity, technology, and location.
To start a titanium dioxide production business, one needs to conduct a market feasibility study, secure required licenses, arrange funding, select suitable land, procure equipment, recruit skilled labor, and establish a supply chain and distribution network.
Titanium Dioxide production requires raw materials such as ilmenite (FeO/TiO2), naturally occurring rutile, or titanium slag, along with chemicals such as sulfuric acid (for sulfate process) or chlorine (for chloride process). Additional inputs include reducing agents, caustic soda, and other process chemicals.
Essential machinery for starting a titanium dioxide production plant includes reaction vessels (digestion or chlorination units), separation tanks, calcination kilns, filtration systems, hydrolysis units, dryers, milling machines, and packaging systems.
The main steps generally include:
Raw Material Preparation
Ore digestion (chlorination or acid leaching)
Purification and hydrolysis
Filtration and washing
Calcination to form TiO2
Milling, coating, and surface treatment
Final packaging and storage
The timeline to start a titanium dioxide production plant usually ranges from 12 to 24 months, depending on factors like regulatory approvals, safety compliance, and sourcing of specialized equipment and materials. Handling reactive intermediates requires careful design and rigorous testing.
Challenges may include high capital requirements, securing regulatory approvals, ensuring raw material supply, competition, skilled manpower availability, and managing operational risks.
Typical requirements include business registration, environmental clearances, factory licenses, fire safety certifications, and industry-specific permits. Local/state/national regulations may apply depending on the location.
The top titanium dioxide producers are:
Evonik Industries AG
The Chemours Company
The Tronox Holdings plc
LB Group
KRONOS Worldwide Inc.
Venator Materials PLC
Profitability depends on several factors, including market demand, production efficiency, pricing strategy, raw material cost management, and operational scale. Profit margins usually improve with capacity expansion and increased capacity utilization rates.
Cost components typically include:
Land and Infrastructure
Machinery and Equipment
Building and Civil Construction
Utilities and Installation
Working Capital
Break even in a titanium dioxide production business typically ranges from 3 to 7 years, depending on plant capacity, market demand, and high costs associated with safety, storage, and quality assurance for this highly reactive compound.
Governments may offer incentives such as capital subsidies, tax exemptions, reduced utility tariffs, export benefits, or interest subsidies to promote manufacturing under various national or regional industrial policies.
Financing can be arranged through term loans, government-backed schemes, private equity, venture capital, equipment leasing, or strategic partnerships. Financial viability assessments help identify optimal funding routes.