iodine

In 2004, the global supply/demand balance of iodine was in deficit and, as a consequence, prices rose to their highest levels since 1998 and have continued to firm during the first half of 2005. Demand is forecast to continue to rise at an average of around 4％pa until 2010 when it is expected to reach almost 30,000t. Iodine has a very diverse number of applications in a wide variety of industries, including in x-ray contrast media (25％), followed by biocides (20％), catalysts (10％) and feed additives (10％). While demand for these markets is expected to grow in coming years, significant growth is expected in a relatively new application, liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Current LCD technology demands the incorporation of optical polarised film (OPF) into the display structure. The production of OPF requires iodine. This application used about 700t of iodine in 2004, but such is the forecast growth pattern for LCDs and hence OPF, that it is estimated that demand for iodine in LCDs could reach 3,000t in 2010. Other applications where demand might increase over the next 10 years include conductive polymers, fuel cells and synthetic blood, though these developments are highly speculative.