Iron (III) oxide or ferric oxide is that the inorganic compound with the formula Fe2O3. it's one in every of the three main oxides of iron, the opposite two being iron (II) oxide (FeO), which is rare; and iron (II,III) oxide (Fe3O4), which also occurs naturally because the mineral magnetite. Because the mineral referred to as hematite, Fe2O3 is that the main source of iron for the steel industry. Fe2O3 is quickly attacked by acids. Iron (III) oxide is usually called rust, and to some extent this label is helpful, because rust shares several properties and contains a similar composition. To a chemist, rust is considered an ill-defined material, described as hydrated ferric oxide.
The most common inorganic pigment is red iron oxide. World production of iron oxide pigments is about 600 thousand tons each year and greatly exceeds the production of other color pigments, with the very best demand is for red iron oxide pigments, slightly below demand for the yellow iron oxide pigments. Production of red iron pigment from iron ores is promising and can meet the demand for prime quality and cheap pigment. The staple for the production of a pigment may be a paint grade ore. The most task of obtaining the pigment is far away from raw materials coarse mafic minerals. Designed waste less flow sheet for separation of ore in two qualities - paint grade quality (pigment) and metallurgical grade. The technology includes accumulation paint grade ore, crushing, screening, and then fine grinding during a ball mill, magnetic separation and multi-stage classification in hydro-cyclones. After this, the cyclone overflow is thickened, filtered on a press filter, dried and sent to storage bin for subsequent shipment to the customer. The resulting pigment is suitable to be used within the paint industry. Iron & steel is that the driving force behind industrial development in any country. The vitality of the Iron & steel industry largely influences a country's economic status. The mining of iron ore, an important raw material for Iron & industry, is arguably of prime importance among all mining activities undertaken by any country. With the entire resources of over 33.276 billion tonnes of hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4), India is amongst the leading producers of ore within the world.
The market for iron oxide pigments is expected to grow at a CAGR of about 4% globally during the forecast period. An increase in demand from paints and coatings is driving the market. On the flip side, fluctuations in prices of raw materials and stringent environmental regulations are hindering the growth of the market. The Indian government has allocated USD 63 billion for the infrastructure sector in 2019-20 and is planning to spend USD 1.4 trillion over the next five years. The development of smart cities and other schemes like “housing for all” are expected to increase the demand for paints and coatings.
Few Indian major players are as under
Asian Paints Ltd.
B A S F India Ltd.
Berger Paints India Ltd.
Coltech Chemicals (India) Ltd.
Gunjan Paints Ltd.
Chowgule A B P Coatings (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Omni Dye-Chem Exports Ltd.
Tata Pigments Ltd.
Pigments India Ltd.
