DuPont opens E4m plant in Belgium to produce customised versions of white pigment

DuPont opens E4m plant in Belgium to produce customised versions of white pigment

DuPont Titanium Technologies opened a $5m (E4m) plant near Antwerp yesterday to produce customised versions of its titanium dioxide white pigment for plastics industry customers.

The plant, operated by Belgian logistics group Katoen Natie, uses technology developed by DuPont that enables the surface of the particle to absorb additives to enhance performance. Typically, these could include polymer processing aids for film extrusion as well as anti-microbials and self-cleaning effects. As a result, the white pigment can become the basis for an additive package.

The company has been working with six customers to develop the Customizer technology. The first three target markets are film, polycarbonate and PET, each with specific property enhancements available. Operating on a batch process basis, the unit has capacity to handle 30,000tpa of Ti02, which is shipped in from the US and supplied to customers in quantities down to 20 tonnes. The technology is also able to use colourless or white inorganic fillers such as calcium carbonate, mica and clay from European resources.