TRONOX PIGMENTS

Tronox Limited is a global leader in the mining, production and marketing of inorganic minerals and chemicals. The company operates two vertically integrated businesses: Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and Alkali Chemicals. The TiO₂ business mines and processes titanium ore, zircon and other minerals, and manufactures TiO₂ pigments that add brightness and durability to paints, plastics, paper, and other everyday products. The business operates mines and mineral processing plants in South Africa and Australia, and pigment manufacturing plants in the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia. Tronox also has an electrolytic and specialty chemicals business that provides innovative products to the energy storage, paper, automotive, and pharmaceutical industries. Tronox’s has a global workforce of 4,400 employees. Tronox’s Rotterdam Botlek facility is the only titanium dioxide (TiO₂) producer in the Netherlands, with an annual capacity of approximately 90,000 tonnes at year-end 2013 and a € 15.5 million in payroll and benefits in 2011, approximately 250 employees and about 50 contractors daily.The plant has ISO 14001: 2004 for environmental management and ISO 9001:2008 certification for quality management.

In SCALE TRONOX provides samples from its Acid Waste stream before neutralization treatment as well as filtercake samples after neutralization treatment.

Website: http://www.tronox.com

WHAT IS SCANDIUM?

Scandium is a chemical element with symbol Sc and atomic number 21. A silvery-white metallic d-block element, it was discovered in 1879 by spectral analysis of the minerals euxenite and gadolinite from Scandinavia.

Scandium is a rare-earth metal, used in small amounts but with drastic effects on properties of matter. It is a key component in producing high strength Aluminium alloys used in aerospace and 3D printing as well as in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) applications.

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SCANDIUM SUPPLY

Scandium is present in most of the deposits of rare-earth and uranium compounds, but it is extracted from these ores in only a few mines worldwide. Scandium supply is limited due its scarcity and the high cost of its production, which currently takes place in Asia and Russia. Europe has no production of Scandium, but is home to many Scandium end-users and to industries having Scandium in their industrial residues. By converting waste into resources and thus developing a stable and secure EU scandium supply chain to serve the needs of EU aerospace and high tech industry, SCALE project will contribute to reduce dependency on imports of raw materials.

SCALE PROJECT

Scandium is an enabler in vital sectors like clean energy, transport, optics and advanced materials. Despite having a proven set of impressive applications, its volatile price and unreliable supply chain limit their deployment. SCALE develops innovative technologies that can extract economically and sustainably Sc from dilute mediums (<100 mg/L) and upgrade them to pure oxides, metals and alloys at lower energy or material cost. This will be achieved through the development of a number of innovative extraction, separation, refining and alloying technologies that will be validated in an appropriate laboratory and industrial environment to prove their technical and economic feasibility. SCALE builds on the success of previous and on-going European research projects like ENEXAL, EURARE, REECover, REE4EU and REMAGHIC.

SCALE has received funding from the European Community’s Horizon 2020 Programme (H2020/2014-2020) under grant agreement n° 730105