china active nano titanium dioxide

The primary factor that affects the price of titanium dioxide is its production method. There are two main methods for producing titanium dioxide the chloride process and the sulfate process. The chloride process involves heating ilmenite ore in a furnace to produce titanium tetrachloride, which is then purified and reduced to titanium metal. This method produces high-quality titanium dioxide with a low impurity level, making it more expensive than the sulfate process.

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While loose titanium dioxide presents a problem, titanium dioxide within sunscreen formulations presents a much safer option than conventional sunscreen chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate. However, titanium dioxide may become dangerous when it is nanoparticle size. Generally, nanoparticles can be 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Despite nanoparticles becoming increasingly common across industries, they have not been properly assessed for human or environmental health effects, nor are they adequately regulated. Researchers don’t quite understand the impacts nanoparticles could have on human health and the environment. However, because of their infinitesimally small size, nanoparticles may be more chemically reactive and therefore more bioavailable, and may behave differently than larger particles of the same substance; these characteristics may lead to potential damage in the human body or ecosystem.

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