Several industrial technologies for global hydrofluoric acid production
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In recent years, the domestic hydrogen fluoride industry has developed at a rapid pace. During the period from 1999 to 2001 alone, the demand for and production of hydrogen fluoride in China increased by more than 20% on average each year compared to the previous year. By 2001, the actual production volume reached 142,500 tons (in terms of pure content). However, the fluorine chemical industry in developed countries has developed even more rapidly, leading to a year-on-year increase in the demand for and production of hydrogen fluoride, its raw material. According to statistics, by the year 2000, the world’s total production of hydrofluoric acid (in pure form) reached 1.45 million tons, with developed countries and regions such as Western Europe, the United States, Japan, and Mexico accounting for over 70% of this total. Our country accounts for only 8%, and compared to developed countries, our production level is very low; there is still much room for development. At present, almost all methods for producing hydrofluoric acid in the world rely on the fluorite-based process, which is costly, energy-intensive, and complex, and it also relies on extremely limited fluorite resources. To date, there are no reports in China on research or industrial trials regarding the production of hydrofluoric acid using fluorosilicic acid, a by-product from the phosphate fertilizer industry, as raw material ； Some developed countries have carried out research in this area. Specifically, the U.S. Bureau of Mines has developed synthetic artificial calcium fluoride (fluorite), which is then used to produce hydrofluoric acid using traditional fluorite-based processes; however, the key conditions for this technology are not yet fully established. The second is the sodium fluorohydrogenide thermal decomposition method, developed by Dublin Chemical Company in Ireland and ISC Chemical Company in the UK, and for which industrial trials have been conducted; this process is relatively complex and has not yet been put into industrial use. Third is the thermal decomposition method of fluorosilicic acid used by the Swiss company Basf, which is still in the experimental research stage; this method requires a high concentration of fluorosilicic acid, and the concentration of fluorosilicic acid produced as a by-product in wet phosphatic fertilizer (acid) production is difficult to meet such requirements. Fourthly, according to reports on the process developed by the American company Vermeer Power Gas for producing hydrofluoric acid by decomposing fluorosilicic acid with sulfuric acid, this technology has been successfully applied in a large phosphatic fertilizer factory in Poland. Compared to the fluorite method, it simplifies the production process significantly and reduces production costs greatly. This post was last edited by lchy on 2008-11-15 15:29]
I visited a small fertilizer factory in the south; its annual production capacity is only 200,000 tons. The by-product produced there, fluorosilicic acid (with a concentration of 30%-40%, more or less), can generate an income of 3 million yuan, which is truly astonishing. In the phosphate fertilizer industry, the fluorosilicic acid produced as a by-product is not recovered by many companies; it is instead wasted, which is a great shame. Using by-product fluorosilicic acid as a raw material to produce hydrofluoric acid is very inexpensive in terms of raw materials. Also, I wonder what the price of hydrogen fluoride products is?
The technology for producing hydrogen fluoride from fluorosilicic acid, a by-product of phosphate fertilizers, is already well-developed; many research institutions in China have conducted studies on this! However, due to the unstable price of hydrogen fluoride, domestic demand is for anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, which results in large phosphorus compound fertilizer manufacturers failing to make use of fluorosilicic acid! :)
The unstable price of hydrogen fluoride indicates an unstable hydrogen fluoride market as well as unstable industries that rely on hydrogen fluoride. Could someone list the downstream industries of hydrogen fluoride and the trends in its demand? Let’s see if there’s a market here for everyone to make money
I heard that Hongfu Company has introduced a production technology for manufacturing anhydrous hydrogen fluoride using fluorosilicic acid. I wonder if the plant has been put into operation and how it is performing If anyone who knows knows, please introduce them.
Hongfu has been put into operation, and the products are now available!
We are also working on developing fluorine-based chemical products. At present, the fluorine produced as a by-product of wet phosphoric acid is mainly used to manufacture sodium fluosilicate, and the returns from this are quite good. I wonder which companies in China are doing well in the fluorine chemical industry at present?
Henan Duofu Duofu Chemical does well in this area
In China, no company yet has a mature technology for producing anhydrous hydrogen fluoride from fluorosilicic acid; there are always various problems. To date, only the Wengfu Group has managed to implement this process on an industrial scale, but there are still some issues, with equipment problems being the main one. The other projects remain in the pilot stage or fail after that stage.
What was said on the 9th floor is correct! Many domestic reports are nothing but nonsense!
We are utilizing an expert’s patented technology to attempt to produce hydrofluoric acid or anhydrous hydrogen fluoride starting from ammonium fluoride. However, the approval process for producing ammonium fluorosilicate is very strict; we are still going through the necessary procedures, and we look forward to good news from us.