The Western world consumes annually more than 500,000 tons of iron oxides worth more than US$650 million, says consulting firm Intertech Conferences.
About 60% of iron oxides produced worldwide are consumed as colorants in construction products: concrete masonry, bricks, paving stones, mortar, roof tiles, stucco and other colored construction materials. Other applications are paints and coating (about 29%) and plastics and rubber (about 6%). Non-pigment applications (for example, as catalysts and fertilizers) account for about 5% of total consumption.
Europe produces about 65%, and North America about 20%, of the iron oxides consumed in the Western World. Iron oxides are produced either from natural minerals such as hematite, goethite and magnetite, or they are synthesized chemically from iron-containing materials such as steel pickle liquors and scrap iron.
The second international conference on “The Global Outlook for Iron Oxides in Colorant and Chemical Applications,” sponsored by Intertech, is scheduled for May 18-19, 1993, in Washington, D.C. For more information, write care of 170 U.S. Route One, Portland, Maine 04105.
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