Dispersion is a concept embodied at multiple levels in the titanium dioxide industry. On a chemical engineering level, it is an indicator of performance, where pigment particles exceeding a target size of around 0.3 micrometres must be limited. In terms of product application, dispersion refers to how well the pigment gets incorporated into the medium. And on a more abstract, commercial level, the myriad of TiO2 applications are dispersed throughout the world’s markets.
Indeed, TiO2 pigment demand trends are often likened to those of the general economy. Over the long term, global TiO2 demand grows at a comparable rate to GDP. The ranking of nations’ income distribution, measured by the gini coefficient, in many cases correlates well with that of its TiO2 consumption per person. The supply of so-called aspirational goods such as houses, cars and durable goods, is used by producers as a guide for production. And the surge in mass production of this non-toxic white powder has run in parallel with demographic expansion of the last 40 years.