Driven by the application market and export market, the barium sulfate industry has broad development prospects.
Barium sulfate, also known as barite, is a non-metallic mineral raw material with the chemical formula BaSO4. It appears as a white amorphous powder, odorless and tasteless, insoluble in water, dilute acid, alcohol, and soluble in hot concentrated sulfuric acid. According to different production processes, barium sulfate can be divided into two categories: natural barium sulfate and precipitated barium sulfate. Barium sulfate has the advantages of stable chemical properties, excellent weather resistance, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance and the ability to absorb harmful x-rays and gamma rays. It is widely used in plastics, rubber, coatings, batteries, ceramics, spices, medical and other fields. .
Among them, coatings and medical treatment are two important application fields of barium sulfate. From the perspective of the coating field, barium sulfate is used as a filling material and coating to absorb radiation, isolate noise, etc., and is widely used in mid-to-high-end coatings, paints, inks and other fields; from the medical field, barium sulfate is used for X-ray dual contrast imaging Agent, high-density gastrointestinal contrast agent, usually mixed with low-density gas and used for X-ray gastrointestinal imaging.
my country has abundant natural barium sulfate reserves, and barium sulfate mineral resources are widely distributed in 21 provinces and cities across the country. In 2021, domestic natural barium sulfate reserves will be approximately 38 million tons. Among them, Guizhou is the province and city with the richest reserves of natural barium sulfate in my country, accounting for 35% of the national total; followed by Hunan, Guangxi, Gansu, and Shaanxi, the reserves account for more than 10%. Barium sulfate is a widely used industrial raw material and pharmaceutical raw material. In recent years, its market demand has been increasing amid the rapid development of its application fields. According to the “Barium Sulfate Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center, in 2021 The domestic market demand for barium sulfate is 1.952 million tons; the output is 2.831 million tons.
At this stage, the domestic barium sulfate market supply and demand are unbalanced, and the output is much higher than the market demand. However, in recent years, my country’s barium sulfate production has not only met domestic market demand, but also met export market demand. Currently, the scale of domestic barium sulfate exports continues to expand. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, domestic natural barium sulfate exports in 2021 will be 924,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 70.7%, and the export value will be US$140.32 million, a year-on-year increase of 59%; precipitated barium sulfate The export quantity was 120,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, and the export value was US$77.95 million, a year-on-year increase of 26.9%. At present, our country has become one of the largest producers and sales countries of barium sulfate in the world, and the industry has broad room for development.
Industry analysis personnel said that the leading domestic barium sulfate companies mainly include Hongxing Development, Jiarong Radiation, Yuantai Radiation, Fengfan Radiation, Qunxin Powder, Zhenzhong Radiation, Demao Minerals, etc. In recent years, against the background of the rapid development of the domestic barium sulfate application market and the continuous expansion of the export market, its market demand has continued to increase and its scale has continued to expand, and the industry development prospects are good. At present, my country has become the world’s largest producer of barium sulfate, and domestic production continues to increase. In the future, as the application field of barium sulfate continues to develop, its demand will continue to escalate. Therefore, local companies will need to continue to improve their production technology levels in the future, thereby promoting domestic barium sulfate products. Developing towards high-end products with higher content, finer particle size, higher activity and better chemical stability.