Hydrofluoric acid has wide application fields and my country’s export scale continues to expand

Hydrofluoric acid (HF), also known as hydrogen fluoride acid, is a colorless, transparent to light yellow smoking corrosive liquid, and is an aqueous solution of hydrogen fluoride gas. Hydrofluoric acid is easily soluble in water and ethanol, and slightly soluble in ether. Due to the strong binding ability between hydrogen atoms and fluorine atoms, hydrofluoric acid often emits a pungent smell and has relatively active chemical properties. Although hydrofluoric acid is slightly acidic, it is more corrosive than sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid and can cause damage to human tissue.

According to the “2022-2027 China Hydrofluoric Acid Industry Market Analysis Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, hydrofluoric acid is As for the segmented products in the field of fluorine chemicals, with the continuous breakthroughs and innovations in preparation technology, the gap between my country and overseas advanced levels is gradually narrowing. In recent years, my country’s hydrofluoric acid production has continued to increase. In 2021, my country’s hydrofluoric acid production reached 2.361 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.0%. Fujian, Jiangxi and Inner Mongolia are the main producing areas of hydrofluoric acid in my country, and the hydrofluoric acid production in the above regions accounts for nearly 50% of my country’s total production.

The upstream of the hydrofluoric acid industry chain supplies raw materials. As an important raw material for fluorine chemicals, fluorite plays an important role in the preparation of hydrofluoric acid. my country is the world’s largest fluorspar producer. According to USGC statistics, my country’s fluorspar production reached 5.40 million tons in 2021, accounting for 6.3% of the global total. At present, my country’s fluorspar supply can fully meet the application demand for hydrofluoric acid. However, due to factors such as environmental protection policies and supply-side reforms, the threshold for fluorspar mining has further increased, and its difficulty in substituting will lead to price increases, which will make my country’s hydrofluoric acid Production costs have increased.

The downstream of the hydrofluoric acid industry chain is in application areas, including stainless steel pickling, refrigerants, fluororubber, car cleaning, fluoride salts and metal aluminum, etc. Currently, hydrofluoric acid accounts for the largest application demand among refrigerants. Affected by factors such as global warming, my country’s refrigerant industry is in a critical period of product update and iteration. Second-generation refrigerants are gradually being phased out by the market, resulting in overcapacity. However, as the third generation refrigerants gradually dominate the market, the demand for hydrofluoric acid will further increase.

In terms of import and export, due to the low utilization rate of hydrofluoric acid production capacity in my country, export has become the main way to consume its production capacity. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, my country’s hydrofluoric acid exports will reach US$420 million in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 31.2%. South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand are my country’s main exporters of hydrofluoric acid, accounting for nearly 30.0% of the total export value.

Industry analysts said that driven by the rapid development of the fluorine chemical industry, hydrofluoric acid has gained broad market prospects. Benefiting from sufficient supply of raw materials and strong downstream demand, my country’s hydrofluoric acid production continues to increase. But at present, my country’s hydrofluoric acid industry still faces many challenges, including low capacity utilization and rising raw material prices. As overseas market demand becomes increasingly strong, my country’s hydrofluoric acid export scale will further expand, which can alleviate the severe situation faced by the hydrofluoric acid industry to a certain extent.