The Market Overview of Sulphuric Acid and its Growing Demand

This blog contains detailed information on sulphuric acid definition, as well as the production process, key market players, pricing trends and industrial application.

Sulphuric acid is a mineral acid, which is also referred to as sulfuric acid. The chemical formula of sulphuric acid is H2SO4.  It has a boiling point and a melting point of 337 °C and 10 °C respectively.

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It appears to be a dense liquid and colourless and is corrosive in nature. It is soluble in nature. It has a specific gravity of 1.830 at 25 °C (77 °F) and a freezing point of 10.37 °C (50.7 °F).

The molecular weight of sulphuric acid is around 98.079 g/mol and has a density of 1.84 g/cm³. It is also corrosive to metals and tissues.

Production Process of Sulphuric Acid

Sulphuric Acid Production from Tail Gas Using H2O2 Abatement:

In this procedure, sulphur dioxide is converted to sulphuric acid by reacting with an aqueous solution of sulphuric acid that contains hydrogen peroxide in a gas-liquid contacting device. The liquid cleaning phase is maintained during the actual contact.

Throughout the process, the acid concentration in the cleaning solution could reach 99 percent by H2SO4 weight. The procedure aids in reducing sulphur dioxide from waste gases generated during the production of sulphuric acid as well as from various stack gases, alleviating pollution problems. The hydrogen peroxide comes next.

Sulphuric Acid Production via Wet Sulphuric Acid Process

The procedure makes use of the same hydrogen sulphide fumes that are utilised in the wet sulphuric acid process to produce sulfuric acid. In this process, hydrogen sulphide from the input gas is burned to produce sulphur dioxide and water.

The sulphur dioxide is next converted into sulphur trioxide, which is then cooled to a temperature where it can combine with water in the gaseous state to generate sulfuric acid, which is then condensed and concentrated to a concentration of around 98 wt %.

The Key Players in the Sulphuric Acid Market

• BASF SE
• INEOS Sulphur Chemicals (INEOS Capital Limited)
• The Mosaic Company
• Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden)
• Agrium U.S. Inc. (Nutrien Ltd.)
• Zhejiang Jiahua Energy Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.

Sulphuric Acid Price Trend

Asia Pacific

Recently, due to the limited order support in the Asian market, the price of sulfuric acid quickly fell. In order to sustain the feedstock supply and meet the available demand, sulphur-producing companies gradually reduced their pricing.

The ongoing decrease in crude oil prices had a negative impact on cost support. Weak demand, an abundance of supply, and falling spot prices abroad all contributed to the product's low-price trend on the market. While the construction and automotive industries maintained reduced volume intakes, the downstream fertiliser industry saw consistent levels of consumption.

North America

The price of sulfuric acid has recently been declining, and it has remained at its lowest point throughout. This is due to a fall in the downstream fertiliser sector, which resulted in a sizable withdrawal from the bulk chemicals sector and was one of the only reasons for the decline in sulphuric acid prices.

But, as the market players pointed out, the sulphuric acid production cost decline was minor. The product's price in the US domestic market was also impacted by the de-escalation of demand from end-user sectors, such as fertiliser and dyestuff.

As a result, the top industry analysts believe that the US sulphuric acid market will experience slower long-term growth than it has in the past.

Europe

Sulphuric acid's market value decreased in November on the European market over the previous few months. Due to the decline in domestic market usage, traders' and suppliers' regular stock of sulfuric acid was growing. Investors' pessimistic prognosis for the auto manufacturing sector served as the primary force in lowering the price of sulfuric acid.

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A significant reduction in the price of the feedstock sulphur with the decrease in crude oil prices also contributed to a stoppage in production. Due to weak product demand, the rate of sulfuric acid manufacturing was further slowed down.

Industrial Applications of Sulphuric Acid

Because it is created naturally, it can be used for a variety of things, including cleaning metals, eliminating impurities from oil, producing chemicals (such as hydrochloric acid), making pharmaceuticals, explosives, and nitric acid, and synthesising dye and detergents.

It can be used as a drain cleaner for domestic use. It is used in industrial applications for end uses such as making cleaning agents, processing minerals, treating wastewater, and making detergents and aluminium sulphates.

Sulfuric acid is also utilised to make medications since it can harm the DNA of malignant cells when used to make chemotherapy drugs. Moreover, it is utilised to create ointments that are used to treat various skin illnesses, including canker sores.

The product is also used in the production of batteries, printing ink, detergents like trisodium phosphate, as a dehydrating agent, growing potatoes, and paper. disinfectants, perfume, etc.

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