Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Pigment

Wilmington, Delaware-based specialty chemicals company (NYSE: CC); spun off from DuPont in 2015. Holds the FM-200 trademark for HFC-227ea (heptafluoropropane, GWP 3,220) clean fire suppression agent. Primary production: El Dorado, Arkansas (322 Southfield Cutoff Road, El Dorado AR 71730) — the key Chemours fluorochemicals plant; produces FM-200, pharmaceutical-grade HFC-227ea, and 1336E; also added HFO production unit at El Dorado in January 2022. Fayetteville, NC is a different Chemours site linked to GenX/PFAS contamination of Cape Fear River. Louisville, KY is linked to HFC-23 emissions controversy. In 2023, Chemours partnered with A-Gas to enable recycled FM-200R (UL-listed, FM-approved) as a response to tightening AIM Act supply limits. The AIM Act imposed 30% additional US HFC production cut in 2024 (on top of 10% in 2023) = 40% total reduction from 2022 levels — directly impacting Chemours' FM-200 output. Also produces Opteon refrigerants and Teflon products. Chemours is the largest Western producer of HFC-227ea by revenue market share.

Global TiO2 producer and mineral sands miner; claims to be the world's largest fully vertically integrated TiO2 and inorganic chemicals company; ~15–18% global TiO2 market share; operates from ore mining through finished pigment.

China's largest TiO2 producer; ~14–17% global market share; operates both chloride and sulfate processes across 6 sites in 5 Chinese locations (~1,215 kt/yr capacity); acquired Venator's Greatham (England) plant in 2025.

American titanium dioxide (TiO2) manufacturer (NYSE: KRO, HQ Dallas TX; Contran Corporation/Harold Simmons family ~85% ownership; ~$1.8B revenue); operates TiO2 plants in the US (Savannah GA, Hamilton Mississippi), Germany (Leverkusen, Uerdingen), Belgium (Langerbrugge), and Norway (Fredrikstad) using the sulfate process. The sulfate process for TiO2 production generates large volumes of ferrous sulfate (FeSO4·7H2O, 'copperas') as an unavoidable byproduct — for every tonne of TiO2 produced via sulfate process, approximately 4-6 tonnes of ferrous sulfate are generated. Kronos purifies and sells food-grade ferrous sulfate to pharmaceutical and infant formula manufacturers. This creates a remarkable supply chain relationship: the iron supplement in infant formula is a byproduct of making white paint pigment (TiO2 is the primary white pigment in all white paints). When Kronos's TiO2 production is curtailed (construction downturn, housing slump), ferrous sulfate supply to infant formula manufacturers falls in lockstep, regardless of infant formula demand. TiO2 and infant iron nutrition share the same production bottleneck.

British titanium dioxide and performance additives company (formerly Huntsman TiO2 division, spun off 2017, NYSE: VNTR; HQ Stockton-on-Tees UK; restructured through Chapter 11 bankruptcy 2023); produces TiO2 via both sulfate and chloride processes, with sulfate-process plants in the UK (Grimsby), Germany (Duisburg), Finland (Pori), and South Africa generating ferrous sulfate byproduct. Venator filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 due to competitive pressures from Chinese TiO2 producers and a major fire at its Pori Finland plant in 2017 (which had 70% of Venator's production capacity) that took years to recover from. Venator's bankruptcy and restructuring reduced a significant source of European ferrous sulfate supply for infant formula and agricultural markets — illustrating that the iron supplement in infant formula can be supply-constrained by a factory fire in Pori, Finland and a Chinese competitive threat in white paint pigment.