White coloring with black sand!
- Gunnsi
- 6 minutes ago
- 1 min read
The enormous black sand area in the south of Iceland, Mýrdalssandur, covers about 700 km² (270 sq mi). The formation occurred during eruptions beneath the Katla glacier, where hot magma rises, collides with the glacier, and explodes into billions of pieces we call black sand. Fun fact: The black sand contains a substance that can be used to make white paint!
Titanium dioxide, also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is in the sand. It is an inorganic compound derived from titanium with the chemical formula TiO₂.
When used as a pigment, it is called "titanium white" or "Pigment White 6."*
It is a white solid that is insoluble in water, although mineral forms can appear black. As a pigment, it has a wide range of applications, including paint, sunscreen, and food coloring. When used as a food coloring, it has the E number, E171. It is sometimes used to color even skim milk more white. Ergo! White coloring with black sand, but it will probably never be economical.
*Section for nerds: (PW6), or CI 77891. World production in 2014 exceeded 9 million tonnes. It has been estimated that titanium dioxide is used in two-thirds of all pigments, and pigments based on the oxide have been valued at a price of $13.2 billion.
The information in this blog is taken from Wikipedia.
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