Pesticides and Pharmaceuticals Will Boost Consumption of Hydrazine Hydrate in China   

By Industrial Economy Research Institute of CNCIC

Production of hydrazine hydrate in China

Hydrazine hydrate (N2H4.H2O) is a monohydrate compound of hydrazine and has a wide range of applications. Its molecule has active nucleophilic nitrogen atoms and replaceable hydrogen atoms, so it can be used as a starting material to make a variety of derivatives. In the military industry, anhydrous hydrazine is mainly used as a raw material for rocket fuels. In civil projects, it is mainly used as an oxygen scavenger, reducing agent and polymerization catalyst; and also used as a raw material in the production of plastic foaming agents, airbag detonators, water treatment agents, pesticides (herbicides and plant growth inhibitors) and pharmaceuticals (such as isoniazid and furan aspirin) .
   Early on, there were three methods, using different raw materials, to produce hydrazine hydrate: the Raschig process (the chlorine-ammonia process), a urea process, and a ketone process. Then, in the 1960s, producers mainly used an ammonia oxidation process and the urea process. In the 1970s, a ketazine process and a hydrogen peroxide process were developed, and in the 80s, these two new processes accounted for 2/3 of the global total capacity for hydrazine hydrate, and the ammonia oxidation process accounted for 1/3, while the urea process was basically eliminated. Presently, the ketazine and hydrogen peroxide processes account for 87.3% of the global total capacity of hydrazine hydrate.
　　At one time, about 20 manufacturers made small quantities of hydrazine hydrate in China. (Most of them each had a production capacity of 80 t/a - 4000 t/a (100% hydrazine hydrate).) But now, only four of them still produce commercial hydrazine hydrate. Two of them - Weifang Weipeng Chemical Co Ltd and Chongqing Otsuka Huayi Chemical Co Ltd (Otsuka Huayi) - use the ketazine process, and the other two use the urea process. Their combined production capacity is 62 000 t/a. In 2010, they produced about 44 000 tons of commercial hydrazine hydrate (100%). In addition to 40% and 80% hydrazine hydrate products, they also produce 35%, 55%, 60% and 85% hydrazine hydrate products based on user requirements. China's hydrazine hydrate producers and their capacity, as of 2010, are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 China's commercial hydrazine hydrate producers in 2010                      (thousand t/a)
Producer    Capacity
Chongqing Otsuka Huayi Chemical Co Ltd    20
Yibin Tianyuan Group Co Ltd    15
Hunan Xiangyu Fine Chemical Co Ltd    15
Weifang Weipeng Chemical Co Ltd    12
Total    62
　　
   In addition, nine ADC foaming agent producers, such as Jiangxi Leping Electrochemical Hi-Tech Co Ltd, Jiangsu Sopo Chemical Co Ltd, Ningxia Risheng Fine Chemical Group Co Ltd, Fujian Longyan Chemical Corporation, and Fuzhou Yihua Chemical Co Ltd, also use the urea process to produce hydrazine hydrate for their own use. Their total production capacity of ADC is 160 000 t/a, equivalent to a hydrazine hydrate production capacity of 83 000 t/a (at the end of 2010), and all the hydrazine hydrate they produce is used internally.

China is basically self-sufficient in hydrazine hydrate

In 2010, China's self-sufficiency rate for hydrazine hydrate reached 93.6% (see Table 2). Otsuka Huayi's 20 000 t/a hydrazine hydrate unit was put into production in late 2010. Its capacity still has not been fully utilized. If the company's capacity is fully utilized, the production of hydrazine hydrate in China can fully meet the domestic market demand, and an oversupply situation may even arise. Imported hydrazine hydrate mainly comes from Germany, France, Korea and Japan (see Table 3).

Table 2 China's hydrazine hydrate supply and demand balance (thousand tons, thousand t/a)
Year    Capacity    Output    Imports    Exports    Apparent    consumption Self-sufficiency rate /%
2007    42    40    2    2    40    100
2008    42    38    1    0    39    97.4
2009    62    42    4    0    46    91.3
2010    62    44    4    1    47    93.6
                  
Table 3 Major import sources of hydrazine hydrate in China in 2007-2010               (ton, thousand US$)
Source        2007    2008    2009    2010
            Import volume    Import value    Import volume    Import    value    Import volume    Import value    Import volume    Import value
Germany    1220    2826    101    3813    2716    6557    1761    3840
France    512    1245    294    8757    1171    3242    1217    3163
Korea    289    777    156    4617    265    718    283    855
Japan    18    54    64    2112    0    2    252    783
Total    2039    4902    615    19305    4152    10519    3513    8641


Consumption of commercial hydrazine hydrate will grow

Most of China's hydrazine hydrate consumption is for the manufacture of ADC foaming agents, and those companies all have supporting light hydrazine hydrate units, so their commercial demand for hydrazine hydrate is relatively small. In the 1980s, only 30% - 45% of China's total output of hydrazine hydrate was for trade (including export). Besides the makers of ADC foaming agents, the pharmaceutical and pesticide industries are major consumers of hydrazine hydrate.
   It was learned that no ADC foaming agent producers in China purchase hydrazine hydrate to produce ADC foaming agents. However, the demand among China-based makers of pesticides and pharmaceuticals, and in other fields is increasing (see Table 4). In the next few years, such demand is expected to continue growing, so hydrazine hydrate has a very promising market prospect domestically.

Table 4 C