Iron oxide pigment

Iron oxide is also used for nonpigmentary applications, eg, ferrites (qv) and foundry sands making total world demand for iron oxide close to 1 X 10 t. The principal worldwide producers of iron oxide pigments are Bayer AG (ca 300,000 t/yr worldwide), and Harcros Pigments Inc., a subsidiary of Harrisons Crosfield PLC. In the United States, Bayer produces the Bayferrox line of iron oxide pigments in New Martinsville (see Iron compounds). 

About 60% of the natural iron oxide pigments is used to color cement and other building materials (qv). About 30% is consumed in the production of paints. For coloring plastics and mbber, synthetic iron oxide pigments are preferred. The main advantage of the natural iron oxide pigments, as compared to the synthetic ones, is cost. However, the quaHty is inferior, and in most cases, they are consumed in close proximity to the mines. As colorants, the natural iron oxides are about 50% weaker than synthetically produced iron oxides. 

Synthetic Iron Oxides. Iron oxide pigments have been prepared synthetically since the end of the seventeenth century. The first synthetic red iron oxide was obtained as a by-product of the production of sulfuric acid from iron sulfate containing slate. Later, iron oxide pigments were produced direcdy by the thermal decomposition of iron sulfates. In the 1990s, about 70% of all iron oxide pigments consumed are prepared synthetically. 

Iron Blocks. Chemically, iron blacks are based on the binary iron oxide, FeOFe2 O3. Although the majority is produced in the cubical form, these can also be produced in acicular form. Most of the black iron oxide pigments contain iron(III) oxide impurities, giving a higher ratio of iron(III) than would be expected from the theoretical formula. 

Transparent iron oxide pigments have exceUent weatherabiHty, Hghtfastness, and chemical resistance, comparable to opaque iron oxides. 

In the Bnchamp process, nitro compounds are reduced to amines in the presence of iron and an acid. This is the oldest commercial process for preparing amines, but in more recent years it has been largely replaced by catalytic hydrogenation. Nevertheless, the Bnchamp reduction is still used in the dyestuff industry for the production of small volume amines and for the manufacture of iron oxide pigments aniline is produced as a by-product. The Bnchamp reduction is generally mn as a batch process however, it can also be mn as a continuous (48) or semicontinuous process (49). 

Some of the important parameters in the Bnchamp process are the physical state of the iron, the amount of water used, the amount and type of acid used, agitation efficiency, reaction temperature, and the use of various catalysts or additives. When these variables are properly controlled, the amine can be obtained in high yields while controlling the color and physical characteristics of the iron oxide pigment which is produced. 

The exceUent adhesion to primed films of polyester combined with good dielectric properties and good surface properties makes the vinyhdene chloride copolymers very suitable as binders for iron oxide pigmented coatings for magnetic tapes (168—170). They perform very weU in audio, video, and computer tapes. 

Most pigments can be used in any type of binder therefore, paints cannot be identified by pigment type alone. For example, micaceous iron oxide pigment is traditionally in an oil-based binder but is being increasingly used in epoxies, etc. In the paint coating film, the pigment content may vary from 15 to 60 per cent. In the special case of zinc rich primers, it is over 90 per cent. 

The most important synthetic routes to iron oxide pigments involve either thermal decomposition or aqueous precipitation processes. A method of major importance for the manufacture of a-Fe203, for example, involves the thermal decomposition in air of FeS04-7H20 (copperas) at temperatures between 500 °C and 750 °C. The principal method of manufacture of the yellow a-FeO(OH) involves the oxidative hydrolysis of Fe(n) solutions, for example in the process represented by reaction (1). 

Laux Also called the Aniline process. A process for making red iron oxide pigment in the course of making aniline by reducing nitrobenzene with scrap iron ... 

Penniman-Zoph A process for making a yellow iron oxide pigment. Hydrated ferric oxide seed is added to a solution of ferrous sulfate and the suspension circulated over scrap iron, with air being passed through. Hydrated ferric oxide deposits on the seed crystals, giving a finely divided, yellow pigment ... 

Iron oxide-coated sand (IOCS), for arsenic removal, 3 279, 284-285 Iron oxide control, in industrial water treatment, 26 133 Iron oxide pastes, 19 402 Iron oxide pigments, 19 397-402 production of, 19 385 transparent, 19 412 economic aspects of, 14 557-559... 

Naturally occurring iron oxide pigments are widely distributed geographically and can be found in a wide range of colours from black to reds and yellows, depending on composition and crystal structure. Ochres of many kinds and from different sources were often used in oil... 

Iron(II) sulphate is a by-product in many industrial processes, such as the manufacture of titanium dioxide, the pickling of steel sheet before galvanising and the reduction of aromatic nitro compounds to amines using iron catalysts. Conversion of waste iron (II) salts to usable iron oxide pigments, where the quality requirements are not too stringent, is therefore a useful proposition, since it uses up chemicals that would otherwise be regarded as waste products. 

Currently produced iron oxide pigments are listed in Table 2.7. Similar pigments occur naturally in many parts of the world, but are of course mixed with other mineral substances. 

Desai et al. [86] reported on the photolytic degradation of the anti-viral, sorivudine, which formed the inactive Z-isomer. On the basis of extensive dmg-excipient compatibility studies it was found that the incorporation of iron oxide pigments into the blends (direct compression or wet granulated) stabilised the dmg to photodegradation indeed, so much so that the tablet was found not to require a film coat. The data are summarised in Table 2.6. 

Until the beginning of this century, the needs of the pigment industry were supplied by natural iron oxides. Pigments produced from ochres in Southern France... 

Since then, these materials have been increasingly supplanted by their synthetic analogues. The latter can be produced in very pure form with extremely consistent properties. Today, natural iron oxide pigments account for only around 20% of world consumption. The main producers of natural iron oxide pigments are France, India, Cyprus, Iran, Italy and Australia (Buxbaum Printzen, 1993). 

The natural iron oxide pigments are termed the ochres which are yellow and contain goethite (10-50%) as the Fe oxide constituent, the reds, with a high content of hematite, the medium to dark yellow siennas, the umbers and the blacks, which consist of magnetite (Benbow, 1989 Buxbaum Printzen, 1993). 

Like the natural iron oxide pigments, the synthetics are used for colouring concrete, bitumen, asphalt, tiles, bricks, ceramics and glass. They are also used extensively in house and marine paints. Because the shapes of the particles can be accurately controlled and the particle size distribution is narrow, synthetic iron oxides have a greater tinting strength than the natural ones and so, are chosen where paint colour is important, i. e., for top coats. Red iron oxides are used in primers for automobiles and steel structures. 

Other uses of iron oxide pigments are in porcelaine, rubber, paper, in floor and furniture stains, plastics, fabrics and in leather finishes. Iron oxides are especially suitable colourants for floor coverings as their resistance to alkali enables them to... 

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