Mineral pigments

Mineral pigments, one of the first human-discovered pigments, are prehistoric. Signs of the use of those such as iron oxide, which is red in color, can be seen in cave paintings. those are usually extracted, crushed, washed and granulated from the earth’s crust and sold on a granular basis. Other sources of these pigments include plants and mollusks.

Mineral pigments themselves are divided into two categories, natural and artificial. Their synthetic types are obtained during the chemical process, which is different from the chemical process of organic pigment synthesis and is very similar chemically, but in terms of appearance, ie crystal shape is more desirable, more purity and grain size, more desirable and better than natural type.

Mineral pigments have very important and practical properties that distinguish them from organic samples. Properties such as optical resistance (UV radiation), anti-corrosion, thermal stability (organic pigments melt and decompose at high temperatures), anti-permeability (low solubility of these pigments) despite their synthetic organic pigments and The way to achieve them is much simpler, differentiates and prioritizes.

It is also important to note that white and black are not present in organic pigments, and these two colors are specific to mineral pigments, which are derived from titanium dioxide and carbon black, respectively, both of which are mineral.

The main uses of pigments are coloring, ink, plastic, fabric, cosmetics and food. It is also used in varnishes, oil paints, cellulose paints, plastic paints, paper printing and dyeing ink, and coating industry iron installations.

The source of this article is the Persian section of the site, which you can read if you are fluent in Persian:  پیگمنت معدنی