Anhydrous Hydrofluoric
Acid (AHF), the colourless gaseous liquid used in the chemicals industry, has
seen significant growth in China in the recent year, supported by wide
application scopes and growing demand in worldwide markets.
China's AHF Price from December 2016 - December 2017
Source: CCM
According
to market intelligence firm CCM, the price of AHF in China witnessed a growth
in December 2017 again, rebounding from the fall in November before. The
analysts are of the opinion, that the price will continue to grow in the next
months as well.
The
average price of China’s AHF was around USD1,830/t at the end of November, climbing
to more than USD1,846/t in the first half of December. During the third week of
December, the price even reached almost USD1,870/t. The export volume rose
along with the price, meeting the high demand overseas.
CCM
predicts China's AHF price will continue to rise in the next months, due to the
rising fluorite price caused by falling supply in North China as well as an
increasingly lower operating rate in northern China's AHF industry as a result
of air pollution treatment.
Also
in December 2017, China's fluorite market was stable, despite a slight price
decrease in the first half of the month. China's fluorite price is also very
likely to continue to climb in the next months because the industry's operation
rate is declining as the weather gets colder and the prices of its downstream
products hydrofluoric acid and aluminium fluoride will remain high.
About AHF
Anhydrous
Hydrofluoric Acid is processed by using the reaction of Fluorspar &
Sulphuric acid. The key countries for the production of AHF are the United
States, Germany, China and Japan.
The
anhydrous part of the chemical indicates, that it contains no water. It is the
building-block material for the production of fluorine and fluorine-containing
products such as fluorochemicals, fluoropolymers and surfactants.
The
chemical is widely used in different industrial areas such as the chemical
industry and petroleum industry. It is known to be the basic material of
inorganic as well as organic fluoride, used mainly to produce fluorine elements
and fluoro-refrigerants. It is also used as an intermediate for the manufacture
of Fluorocarbons such as the refrigerant gases HFC and HFCC.
Hydrofluoric
acid, the solution of Anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, is mainly used in the
production of refrigerants and villiaumite, as well as the production of metal
casting parts, fluoro-plastic, pesticides and drugs and more. With this broad
application range, hydrofluoric acid enjoys enormous developing space and
market prospect in the near future.
With
the slowdown in world economic growth, the Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid industry
has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively
optimistic growth, the past years. Market experts believe that in the next few
years, Anhydrous Hydrofluoric Acid market size will be further expanded.
About CCM
CCM
is China’s leading market intelligence provider for the fields of agriculture,
chemicals, and food & feed.
For
more information on China’s AHF or general fluoride market, please have a look
at CCM’s monthly published newsletter with
insights into market trends, company dynamics, policy changes, and
much more. You can also explore CCM’s market research reports for the fluoride
situation in China.
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