NEW JOHNSONVILLE, TN – DuPont, Wilmington, DE, has announced that a new titanium tetrachloride purification unit has begun operations at the New Johnsonville, TN, titanium dioxide site. Most of the production of the high-purity chemical will be used in the growing titanium metal manufacturing industry. Titanium metal increasingly is being used in everything from airplanes to sporting goods and chemical processing equipment.

 

Titanium tetrachloride is an intermediate chemical produced during the early steps of the chloride process for manufacturing titanium dioxide. In addition to its use in titanium metal manufacturing, it is essential to the production of certain plastics. It also has specialized applications in pearlescent pigments used in products ranging from cars and cosmetics to bicycle helmets.