The market
The global market for color pigments and dyes is currently estimated at $20 billion. China has become the world's largest producer. Textiles are the biggest consumer, while demand growth is driven primarily by printing inks, as color printers are increasingly common in homes. Industry leaders such as Clariant, Dainippon, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and BASF offer more than 5,000 color varieties for use in a wide range of products, including food, paper, plastics, paints, cosmetics, pencils, soaps, and ceramics.
Titanium dioxide is the best-selling, most widely used white pigment in the world. It is manufactured using sulfuric acid or chlorine. Titanium itself is extracted and processed at temperatures exceeding 2000°C. Manufacturers face another challenge: waste. For every ton of pigment produced, four to twelve tons of waste are generated, including toxic iron chloride. The industry has undergone significant changes in product formulation and process design since governments began banning toxic lead- and cadmium-based pigments and restricting waste streams from factories.
Color users had to adapt to new regulations. Pennzoil's famous yellow bottle relied on lead, and while that bright yellow pigment formula was expensive—$1.00 to $1.50 a pound—the biological solution cost $30 a pound. The toxic yellow was gradually replaced with a less bright, less toxic version. Caterpillar, the heavy equipment manufacturer, known worldwide for its yellow version of earthmoving equipment, also decided to change its corporate image to a less bright yellow after facing a dramatic increase in pigment costs to comply with regulations. At the same time, new markets emerged where cost factors are less sensitive. This is especially true for printing inks. According to PC World magazine, the ink in a $22 quarter-ounce colorjet cartridge is more expensive by weight than imported Russian caviar. It is not surprising that the printer is offered almost free, allowing customers to purchase color from the exclusive supplier.
Innovation
Blue and green butterflies, gold and white beetles, and peacocks create colors without any pigment. Their beauty is achieved through optical effects free of lead and cadmium, and the production process generates no waste streams. The color effect is encapsulated in biodegradable materials, often based on chitin/keratin and amino acids. Professor Andrew Parker's (Natural History Museum, London and Oxford University) key breakthrough was his observation that animals do not pursue a single objective: color and surface serve multiple functions. Parker realized that the black bark beetle of Namibia ensures a low dew point in the desert and prevents the entry of heat from the desert sand, all while being black.
Parker is investigating how multifunctional benefits can be achieved, including protection against ultraviolet rays, heat dissipation, water absorption, and water repellency. While each of these functions is typically accomplished in the industry using a single chemical formula, Parker is examining the powerful combination that can lead to a color device more expensive than a pigment, but ultimately less expensive for customers thanks to its portfolio of additional features that, otherwise, would have been used as individual, dedicated devices, totaling significantly more money.
Parker's approach is fundamentally different from the nanotechnology innovation introduced in 2004 by the Japanese chemical group Teijin, a pioneer in the manufacture of pigment- and dye-free synthetic fibers marketed under the Morphotex® brand. Teijin uses the recipe of the Morpho butterfly from the Amazon rainforest in Latin America, producing a cobalt blue sheen without pigment. Teijin layers polyester with nylon to generate red, green, blue, and purple. Production is still limited to a few dozen tons per month, requiring only minute adjustments, and sales are restricted to wedding dresses and traditional Japanese kimonos, where the shimmering effect is highly valued.
The first cash flow
Parker applied his knowledge to numerous applications, including the creation of a new "holographic" technology that remains secret because it offers protection against counterfeiters. He then developed a product and a development process. To prove its commercial viability in a wide range of applications, Parker is designing production methods to protect watchmakers' products from attacks by incorporating visual inspection of the crystal, making identification easy and cost-effective.
The opportunity
The scope is vast, and the opportunities extend to all sectors of the economy. Perhaps one of the most promising short-term applications is crystal for Swarovski. Andrew's technology makes decorative figurines, such as birds, sparkle; better yet, they shine brilliantly because the color effect actually uses a process borrowed from the bird itself. Although it's a relatively small market, it allows for mastering the versatility of the technique and establishing a new industry standard.
The initiative to introduce these additional innovations to the market lies with color producers. Since Andrew is able to design metallic-effect pigments in or on a polymer, silica, or crystal substrate, manufacturers entering the global renewable energy market could well move up the value chain and begin creating new materials, including color-effect plastics. Renewable plastics have focused on low-cost, high-volume applications such as plastic bags and cups, which suffer from fierce competition in this globalized market, often requiring potential customers to pay more to pollute less.
Combining plastics made from renewable resources (such as agricultural, forestry, and food waste) with innovations in pigment- and dye-free color production could increase profit margins while ensuring greater market penetration thanks to the innovations described. Now that the chemical industry is shifting from petrochemicals to biorefineries, innovative companies like Novamont in Italy (bioplastics) or Domsjö (wood-based ethanol) in Sweden could become pioneers in industry integration, incorporating Parker's innovations into the products that adorn our cars, homes, and offices. What's needed next are entrepreneurs who create niches so that we can begin to penetrate the market.
