Nitric acid production continues to decline, and the domestic market is highly dependent on imports

Nitric acid is a colorless, volatile, corrosive liquid inorganic strong acid with a pungent odor. Its density is 1.5g/cm3 and its boiling point is 83.0°C. It can be dissolved in water at any ratio. Nitric acid is unstable in nature and has strong oxidizing, acidic and corrosive properties. The greater the concentration, the stronger its oxidizing properties. According to different concentrations, nitric acid can be divided into concentrated nitric acid and dilute nitric acid. The concentration of concentrated nitric acid is between 96.0% and 98.0%, and it is a light yellow liquid. When dissolved in water, it emits a lot of heat and requires constant stirring to dissipate heat. The concentration of dilute nitric acid is between 50.0% and 70.0%, which is colorless and transparent. liquid.

According to the “China Nitric Acid Industry Investment Potential and Development Prospects Research Report 2022-2027 released by the Industrial Research Center, due to cost-driven As well as driven by market demand, my country’s nitric acid prices are on an upward trend. In the first half of 2022, the price of nitric acid reached 2,631.2 yuan/ton, a year-on-year increase of 21.5%. In recent years, affected by the country’s supply-side structural reform, nitric acid small and medium-sized enterprises have continued to delist, coupled with frequent production safety issues, leading to a continued decline in my country’s nitric acid production. In 2021, my country’s nitric acid production reached 1.912 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 11.8%.

my country’s nitric acid production bases are located in Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Henan, Sichuan, Fujian and other places. Among them, the output of concentrated nitric acid in Jiangsu Province ranks first in the country; due to the backward production capacity of some nitric acid companies in Shandong and Anhui, they are gradually eliminated by the market, resulting in a decline in overall regional production and a greater impact on the nitric acid industry; Henan, as a representative of Central China, is affected by Affected by the epidemic, nitric acid companies have experienced multiple shutdowns. In 2021, Henan’s concentrated nitric acid production accounted for 14.1% of the country’s total production.

Well-known nitric acid companies in my country include Jinhe Industrial, Xinghua Co., Ltd., Sichuan Meifeng, Holita, Jiangnan Chemical, Cangzhou Dahua, Jiulian Development, etc. Benefiting from the rise in nitric acid prices, Jinhe Industrial Company’s performance has grown rapidly. According to the Jinhe Industrial Company’s annual report, the company achieved operating income of 5.85 billion yuan in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 59.4%.

Nitric acid is an important chemical raw material, mainly used in chemical fertilizers, dyes, national defense, explosives, metallurgy, medicine and other fields. Strong market demand has promoted the continued expansion of nitric acid imports. However, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, my country’s nitric acid imports have continued to decline since 2020. According to Chinese customs statistics, my country’s nitric acid imports will reach 113,000 tons in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 24.3%. . South Korea has convenient transportation and cost advantages, and is my country’s main importer of nitric acid.

Industry analysts said that nitric acid has a wide range of application fields and market demand will promote the rapid development of the industry. Affected by national policies and the COVID-19 epidemic, the number of nitric acid companies in my country has begun to decrease, and nitric acid production continues to decline. In recent years, the country has paid more and more attention to the nitric acid industry and formulated many industry standards to improve the entry threshold. However, production capacity is still the main problem facing my country’s nitric acid industry.