The water glass market is showing a situation of increasing supply and demand, and the industry development trend is improving.

Water glass, also known as soda ash and soluble water glass, refers to a soluble alkali metal salt material composed of alkali metal oxides and silicon dioxide. When water glass is in its pure state, it appears as a colorless, transparent and viscous liquid. When it contains impurities, it appears light yellow or blue-gray in color. It is soluble in water and has strong adhesion, large specific surface area, high strength, good acid resistance and heat resistance. Strong, poor alkali resistance and other characteristics. Water glass is divided into two categories: sodium water glass and potassium water glass. Among them, sodium water glass is a sodium silicate aqueous solution with a molecular formula of Na2O·mSiO2; potassium water glass is a potassium silicate aqueous solution with a molecular formula of K2O·mSiO2.

There are currently two main categories of water glass production methods, namely dry method and wet method. The dry method of making water glass refers to the method of preparing water glass using quartz sand and soda ash as raw materials, grinding and mixing, calcining at high temperature in a furnace, and solid dissolution; the wet method of making water glass refers to using quartz sand and caustic soda as raw materials, and pressing Methods such as steaming reaction to directly produce water glass. Among them, the dry method of producing water glass is currently the mainstream method for preparing water glass in domestic industry.

Quartz sand and soda ash are the main raw materials for preparing water glass in domestic industry. Quartz sand comes from quartz mines. my country is rich in quartz mineral resources. Driven by geographical advantages, my country’s quartz sand output reached 92.354 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%; my country is one of the world’s major producers of soda ash, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics , China’s cumulative soda ash production in 2021 will be 29.133 million tons, a cumulative increase of 3.4%. At present, the output of quartz sand and soda ash in my country is on the rise, and the sufficient supply of upstream raw materials has created strong conditions for the steady increase of domestic water glass production. In 2021, my country’s water glass production has reached 5.093 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%.

Water glass has a wide range of uses. In the construction field, water glass is an important raw material for manufacturing refractory materials, quick-drying cement, acid-resistant cement, acid-resistant concrete, building repair materials, etc.; in the machinery field, water glass is used as a metal preservative, casting binder, etc. Raw materials; in light industry, water glass is mainly used in manufacturing scenarios such as detergents, water softeners, and sedimentation aids; in the chemical industry, water glass is the basic raw material for silicon compounds.

In addition, water glass also has good application prospects in petroleum, textiles, electronics, agriculture, ceramics, food, mining and other fields. According to the “Research Report on Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects of China’s Water Glass Industry from 2023 to 2027” released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that my country’s water glass market demand has exceeded 4.80 million tons in 2021, and the market size has reached 7.58 billion yuan.

Industrial analysts personnel said that under the current background of sufficient supply of upstream raw materials and continuous development of downstream application fields, my country’s water glass market has experienced a double supply and demand. The situation is rising and the development trend of the industry is improving. At present, the main domestic water glass manufacturers include Yuanli Co., Ltd., Huachang Water Glass, Runfeng Industrial, Tianying Chemical, Jiuyi New Materials, Yongfeng Chemical, etc. In the future, under the background of continuous upgrading of application market demand, the domestic water glass industry is expected to continue to upgrade in the direction of high quality and high-end, and the industry development potential is huge.