Downstream Market Structure of Soda Ash in China
China's soda ash consumption field is wide, of which about 4% is used in the food industry, which belongs to edible soda ash; The remaining 96% of consumption belongs to industrial soda ash, which is widely used as a raw material or auxiliary additive in industrial production. In the industrial consumption of soda ash, the relatively large plate is glass (flat glass, photovoltaic glass, daily glass), and other plates such as the chemical industry (inorganic salts), detergent industry (laundry detergent, synthetic detergent, soap), alumina industry, printing and dyeing industries, the consumption of soda ash is relatively dispersed, and the proportion is relatively small.
1. The glass industry dominates the market (74%)
Float glass (40%)
As a traditional application field, float glass is mainly used in construction and automotive glass, and its production needs to consume a lot of heavy alkali. In recent years, affected by the fluctuation of real estate demand, the growth rate of float glass production capacity has slowed down, but it is still the largest single demand plate for soda ash .
Photovoltaic glass (19%)
Photovoltaic glass has benefited from the expansion of the new energy industry and has become the fastest growing segment. Although the production rhythm of photovoltaic glass is restricted by industry profits, in the long run, its capacity planning is huge, and the demand for soda ash forms continuous support .
Domestic glass (15%)
Daily glass includes bottles, jars, utensils and other products, mainly using light alkali. The demand in this field is stable and the market share remains rigid .
2. Other industrial applications (15%)
Sodium silicate (5%)
Sodium silicate (paucine) is used in the manufacture of adhesives, detergents, etc. It belongs to the field of inorganic salts, and the demand is closely related to the chemical industry cycle .
Sodium bicarbonate (4%)
Sodium bicarbonate is baking soda, mainly used in food processing, medicine and other fields, the consumption structure is more dispersed .
Detergent (3%)
As the raw material of soap and synthetic detergent, the demand for light alkali is stable, but affected by environmental protection policies, some substitutes may squeeze the market space .
MSG (3%)
The demand for soda ash in the food processing industry is mainly concentrated in the production of condiments such as monosodium glutamate, and it fluctuates less.
3. Emerging and fragmented areas (11%)
Lithium carbonate (3%)
The new energy automobile industry chain drives the growth of demand for lithium carbonate, which needs to use soda ash in the production process, but the current proportion is still low, and the future potential depends on the lithium technology route and policy support .
Aluminum oxide (1%)
Soda ash is used as an additive in aluminum oxide production, and the demand is limited and dispersed .
Other (7%) includes scattered fields such as printing and dyeing and water treatment, with small demand but diverse application scenarios.
The downstream industry of soda ash has clear requirements for the use of light and heavy alkali, and the phenomenon of mixed use of light and heavy alkali rarely occurs. In the downstream industry of soda ash, the flat glass industry is the main consumer of heavy alkali, and the daily glass, detergent, alumina and other industries mainly consume light alkali. Some enterprises in the field of inorganic salts use heavy alkali, and some enterprises use light alkali.
From WeChat pubic account "Alkali addition process".
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