Review of Sulfuric Acid Industry in 2009    
By Zhong Weike  

With grave impacts from the global financial crisis and widespread demand shrinkage, capacity surplus and serious global economic recession in 2008, China's sulfuric acid industry shifted from immense slackness to slow rehabilitation in 2009. According to data collected by the China Sulfuric Acid Industry Association, China's capacity of making sulfuric acid reached 72.0 million t/a at the end of 2008. Of that, the capacity to make sulfuric acid from sulfur was around 32.0 million t/a and the biggest single-unit capacity was 1.0 million t/a. The capacity to manufacture sulfuric acid from pyrite was around 22.0 million t/a and the biggest single-unit capacity was 400 000 t/a. The capacity to produce sulfuric acid from smelting flue gas was 18.0 million t/a and the biggest single-unit capacity was 1.2 million t/a. China has more than 520 sulfuric acid producers today and the average scale is only 130 000 t/a. Of which, more than 270 producers use pyrite as raw material, only 13 producers have a scale of over 200 000 t/a and 220 producers have a scale of below 100 000 t/a.
   According to statistics of CCR, the new capacity of sulfuric acid in 2009 was only 1.0 million t/a in total and all new units started production in the fourth quarter. Data from the State Statistics Bureau show that China produced 59.58 million tons of sulfuric acid in 2009 and the capacity utilization rate was around 82%. Data from the General Administration of Customs show that China imported 2.82 million tons of sulfuric acid in 2009 and the average import price was US$15.34 per ton CIF, equivalent to the selling price of domestic sulfuric acid based on smelting flue gas and much lower than the selling price of domestic sulfuric acid based on sulfur and pyrite.
   A report released by China Sulfuric Acid Industry Association on February 23rd, 2010 says that by 2012 the sulfuric acid capacity based on smelting flue gas will increase by over 10.0 million t/a, the sulfuric acid capacity based on pyrite will increase by over 8.0 million t/a and the capacity of sulfuric acid based on sulfur will increase by around 5.0 million t/a in China. The consumption of sulfuric acid in China will be around 65.0 million tons at that time and the capacity will have a serious surplus. The capacity surplus against a background of financial crisis will aggravate market slackness and chaos.
   In the first quarter of 2009 China Sulfuric Acid Industry Association submitted "Views Concerning the Structural Readjustment of the Sulfuric Acid Sector" to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China, which appeals the central government to tightly control the total capacity of sulfuric acid, approve no new capacity in the next 3-5 years, restrict the construction of sulfur-based sulfuric acid units with a scale of below 200 000 t/a and pyrite-based sulfuric acid units with a scale below 100 000 t/a (not including remote areas) and speed up the elimination of sulfuric acid units with a scale below 100 000 t/a. Sulfuric acid producers are requested to raise the utilization rate of pyrite slag and sulfur in the high sulfur containing coal, improve the quality of domestic catalysts and reduce the sulfur dioxide emission through technical progress.

Pressure from environmental protection  

The "Standard for Pollutant Emission in the Sulfuric Acid Industry" will be issued in the first half of 2010. This new standard will put the sulfuric industry under a severe test. (CCR2009, No. 25) There are signs that the national government will pursue compulsory elimination of outdated units through technical standards, environmental standards and energy conservation standards; compel outdated units with high energy consumption, high material consumption and serious pollution to shut down; and at the same time enhance the competitiveness of the sulfuric acid industry through high and new technologies.
   
Influence from imports

Although less than 5% of the sulfuric acid consumed domestically is imported, its extremely low price has a great impact on the industry and affects the normal order of the sulfuric acid market in East China, especially the market for sulfuric acid made from smelting flue gas. Nonferrous metal enterprises plan to launch antidumping actions against the import of sulfuric acid. On behalf of its member enterprises, China Nonferrous Metal Industry Association submitted an application for antidumping actions to the Ministry of Commerce in October 2009. Viewed from another angle, however, imported sulfuric acid has made up for the shortage of sulfur resources in China, supported the development of the compound phosphate fertilizer industry and reduced the cost of compound phosphate fertilizers.

*  China Sulfuric Acid Industry Association plans to formulate conditions for admission to the sulfuric acid industry and promote the development and application of clean production technologies in the sulfuric acid industry in 2010.