The merchant market for sulphuric acid is only a small slice of overall global acid demand, dominated by smelter acid producers. Increasing replacement of acid imports by dedicated sulphur burning acid plants by end use consumers is reducing the scope for merchant sales and could lead to overcapacity in the near term.
Alfa Laval reports on a case study of a sulphuric acid plant in Northwest China that is looking to capture its low-grade heat for re-use and to significantly reduce the amount of fossil fuels used in production.
A report on CRU’s annual Sulphur + Sulphuric Acid conference, held in New Orleans, USA, 6-8 November 2023.
A softer trend in DAP prices, linked to lower operating rates in China and declining demand, is contributing to falling sulphur prices.
In spite of changing patterns of demand, deglobalisation and environmental concerns, phosphate mining and acid-based processing are likely to be the mainstay of the industry for years to come.
PT Petrokimia Gresik detail an inventive redesign of their economiser, a critical component in sulphuric acid production, focusing on energy efficiency, decarbonisation, process optimisation, and equipment durability.
New supply is weighing on the market. In addition to increased exports in the second half of the year from upgrades and new refining projects from the Middle East, crushed lump sulphur is also again entering the market in higher quantities from both the FSU and the Middle East, and displacing granular product in some markets, notably Morocco and China.
Maria Mosquera, Editor of the Argus Sulphur Report and Liliana Minton, Editor of the Argus Sulphuric Acid Report at Argus Media assess price trends and the market outlook for sulphur and sulphuric acid.
Lithium ion battery production is driving major expansions in nickel and cobalt extraction, but lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery use is growing rapidly.
All is not well with the Chinese economy. Growth has slowed to a fraction of what it was, only 0.8% in 2Q 2023, and has not bounced back as expected as covid lockdowns were eased. Exports and imports are both falling, debt has reached 300% of GDP, youth unemployment is running at 20%, and the property market is collapsing, with huge property developers like Evergrande and Country Garden only avoiding bankruptcy via government arranged loan restructurings. Consumer prices have fallen year on year, raising the spectre of deflation, and productivity growth has fallen from 4.5% year on year in 2006-7 to around 0.8% today. The yuan is trading at a 16-year low against the dollar.