Benefiting from national policy support, the prosperity of the fluoromethane industry continues to increase

​ ​ ​ Monofluoromethane, also known as HFC-41, fluoromethane, and methyl fluoride, is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3F. Monofluoromethane appears as a colorless gas with a pungent odor and is easily soluble in ether and ethanol. Monofluoromethane has the characteristics of good chemical stability, flammability, non-toxicity and non-corrosion. As a special gas, it is widely used in plastic materials, metal materials, medicine, chemical industry, electronic products, semiconductors and other fields.

The main preparation methods of monofluoromethane include gas-phase fluorination and gas-phase hydrodechlorination. The gas-phase fluorination method uses methyl chloride and hydrogen fluoride as the main raw materials. Under the action of a catalyst, monofluoromethane is produced through a fluorination reaction; the gas-phase hydrodechlorination method refers to the conversion of monofluoro-monochloromethane or monofluorodichloride under the action of a catalyst. Methyl chloride is mixed with hydrogen and dechlorinated to produce monofluoromethane. After years of experience accumulation, my country’s monofluoromethane production technology has matured, driving its production capacity to continue to increase.

According to the “2022-2026 Monofluoromethane Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestion Report released by the Industrial Research Center, as A green, efficient new etching gas, fluoromethane has a wide range of applications, including electronic products, semiconductors, etc. In recent years, the prosperity of my country’s semiconductor industry has continued to increase. According to statistics from the China Electronic Materials Industry Association, the size of my country’s semiconductor materials market will reach 65.0 billion yuan in 2021. Monofluoromethane is mainly used for etching coatings in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Driven by downstream demand, my country’s monofluoromethane market continues to expand.

Under the “double carbon” goal, as an environmentally friendly gas, the industry development of fluoromethane is accelerating, and the country has introduced many policies to support it. The “Guidance Catalog for the First Batch Application Demonstration of Key New Materials (2021 Edition)” issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology was officially implemented on January 1, 2022. The document clearly included monofluoromethane in the catalog of key new materials for special gases. Benefiting from the support of national policies, the development prospects of my country’s fluoromethane industry will continue to improve.

The major global producers of monofluoromethane include Japan’s Central Glass Co., Ltd. (CGC), Japan’s Daikin Industries Co., Ltd. (DAIKIN), and the U.S. DuPont Company (DuPont). my country’s fluoromethane industry is highly concentrated, with leading companies occupying a dominant market position. Zhejiang Juhua Co., Ltd., Haohua Chemical Technology Group Co., Ltd. and Luxi Chemical Group Co., Ltd. are the main suppliers of fluoromethane in my country.

Industry analysts said that as an environmentally friendly special gas, fluoromethane is widely used in many industries. Driven by market demand, The future development space of the industry will continue to expand. Benefiting from the continuous breakthroughs in production and R&D technology of local enterprises, my country’s monofluoromethane production capacity continues to increase. Driven by positive factors such as national policy support and the continuous development and growth of leading enterprises, my country’s monofluoromethane will gain broad market prospects.