my country’s supply of fused zirconia raw materials is insufficient and the industry is highly concentrated
Fused zirconia, also known as desiliconized zirconium and electrofused desiliconized zirconium, refers to the desiliconized product that uses zircon sand (ZrSiO) as the main raw material, carbon material as the reducing agent, and is produced after reduction desiliconization, blowing or casting. Zirconia. Fused zirconia has the characteristics of good chemical stability, low production cost, good thermal stability, and high melting point. It is widely used in ceramics, refractory materials, glass, metallurgy and other fields.
The upstream of the fused zirconia industry chain supplies raw materials, with zircon sand as its core raw material. my country is the main consumer of zircon sand, accounting for nearly 70% of the global market. However, my country’s zircon sand production is relatively low, with total production accounting for less than 10% of the world. In terms of import and export, affected by the international situation, overseas companies have suspended operations and production, resulting in a continuous decline in my country’s zircon sand imports. Due to resource shortages and import restrictions, the price of zircon sand in my country continues to rise, which brings certain challenges to the development of the fused zirconia industry.
The midstream of the fused zirconia industry chain is product preparation, and the primary electrofusion method and the secondary electrofusion method are the preparation methods of fused zirconia. The primary electrofusion method refers to melting raw materials such as stabilizer, zircon sand and graphite powder, and then quenching, calcining and other processes to obtain fused zirconia; the secondary electrofusion method refers to melting zircon sand and graphite powder first, and then rapidly cooling and calcining them. After calcination and other processes, a stabilizer is added, and then the finished product is obtained through melting, rapid cooling, and calcination. The one-time electric fusion method has the advantages of short production cycle, simple operation, and good quality of finished products, and is the mainstream preparation method of fused zirconia.
According to the “2023-2028 China Fused Zirconia Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center , the downstream of the fused zirconia industry chain is application fields, including ceramics, refractory materials, glass, metallurgy, etc. In the field of ceramics, fused zirconia can be used as ceramic colorants, including zirconium gray, zirconium praseodymium yellow, zirconium iron red, vanadium-zirconium blue, vanadium-zirconium yellow, etc.; in the field of refractory materials, fused zirconia can be used as refractory bricks raw materials. With the rapid development of downstream industries, my country’s fused zirconia market demand is increasingly strong.
my country’s fused zirconia industry is highly concentrated, with leading companies dominating the market. Major players include Kaisheng Technology, Sanxiang New Materials, Shandong Pharmaceutical Glass, Dongfang Zirconium Industry, etc. The above companies account for nearly 60% of my country’s total production capacity. Oriental Zirconium Industry focuses on the research and development, production and sales of zirconium materials. Its independently developed ultra-fine fused zirconia powder has been applied in the field of lithium-ion batteries. At present, the company’s annual production capacity of fused zirconia reaches 26,000 tons, ranking first in my country. .
Industry analysts said that fused zirconia has the advantages of good chemical stability and low production cost. It is widely used in ceramics, refractory materials, etc. The field has broad application prospects. Currently, due to factors such as insufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s fused zirconia output is low and cannot meet market demand. This is a major challenge facing the development of the industry. In terms of market competition, my country’s fused zirconia industry is highly concentrated, and Dongfang Zirconium Industry is the leading enterprise in my country.