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Sulfuric acid or hydrogen sulfate is a highly corrosive liquid and is one of the most important chemicals that are prepared industrially. It is also known as oil of vitriol and is colorless, oily and dense in appearance. Every year, the production of sulfuric acid exceeds its previous year production. Sources suggest that back in 1990 in the U.S., more than 40 million tons of sulfuric acid was produced to meet the existing market demand. We can only imagine how much production has increased since then.
Applications of Sulfuric Acid
Sulfuric acid is primarily utilized in the manufacturing of fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and superphosphate of lime. It is also used to produce hydrochloric acid, sulfate salts, nitric acid, dyes, detergents, synthetics, pigments, and explosives. It is used to remove the impurities during refining of petroleum. The production of Rayon is done using sulfuric acid. In motor vehicles, sulfuric acid is used as an electrolyte in the lead- acid batteries.
The Global Sulfuric Acid Market Scenario
The global sulfuric acid market demand for sulfur is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4 to 5 percent, and that of sulfuric acid is expected to reach $83 billion while growing at a CAGR of 2 percent till 2022. The market is projected grow at a moderate pace until 2025.
Regional Overview of the Sulfuric Acid Market
Presently, North America and Europe are spearheading the global sulfuric acid market. LATAM is on its way to an upward growth curve, owing to rapid industrialization. In terms of fastest CAGR among all the regions, the APAC market is dominating the sulfuric acid demand for the forecast period. The main reason behind this growth rate is an increasing domestic demand by the chemical industries from countries like China, Japan, and India.
Global Sulfuric Acid Market Fragmentation
The global sulfuric acid market is highly fragmented and is divided on the basis of regions of production & consumption, the manufacturing process, and the applications. The region with the highest consumption of sulfuric acid is China followed by the U.S, the Middle East, and Africa. The major sulfuric acid producing regions include Canada, China, Russia, and the U.S.
The sulfuric acid market is also segmented on the basis of manufacturing processes such as contact process, wet sulfuric acid process, and lead chamber process. On the basis of application, the market is again divided according to its applications in agricultural chemistry, metal processing, chemical manufacturing, as phosphate fertilizers and as electrolyte in the lead-acid storage batteries.
Sulfuric Acid Suppliers Landscape
The market is currently dominated by well reputed pharmaceutical and chemical companies like Agrium, Tampa Electric, Lucite International, Chemtrade Refinery, Honeywell, DuPont, Cytec Industries, Bayer, Mosaic, AkzoNobel N.V., and BASF.
Challenges for the Global Sulfuric Acid Market
Despite the growing trend in the sulfuric acid market, many industry constraints are prevalent. Stringent regulations on the usage of sulfuric acid by the government due to its harmful effects on skin and eyes is one of the primary reasons restraining the market growth. The surplus production of sulfuric acid along with the difficulty of transportation has also contributed to hampering its market expansion. Another reason affecting its market growth is the rising cost of the raw materials used.
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