Lanxess increases production volume of micronised iron oxide red pigments

German speciality chemicals firm, Lanxess, has increased production of iron oxide pigments at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site in Germany through targeted debottlenecking. With this move, the product availability of its Bayferrox and Colortherm micronised red pigments has increased by more than 5,000-tpa.

“In the paints and coatings industry and also for plastics applications, we see a continuously rising demand for high quality pigments which offer good dispersion characteristics. We have therefore increased product availability for our customers,” said Mr. Holger Hüppeler, head of Lanxess’ inorganic pigments business unit.

The micronisation process is characterised by intensive milling in which the proportion of agglomerates is significantly reduced. Micronised pigments can thus be more readily dispersed. In addition, they provide high colour strength and colour consistency.

Lanxess uses its proprietary Laux process to manufacture Bayferrox and Colortherm red pigments at Krefeld-Uerdingen. “Black pigments are heated up to 800°C and oxidised to red pigment. Since the Copperas process, which was an alternative, is no longer used worldwide on a market-relevant scale, the much more environmentally friendly Laux process is the only production process applied for iron oxide red pigments that includes a calcination step at very high temperatures. This results in particularly stable pigments which, after a subsequent milling process, have unique properties which distinguish them from all other iron oxide pigments available on the market,” a company press note explained.