The primary use of ferric chloride is to remove impurities in water and for wastewater treatment. Ferric chloride is also one of the few water treatment chemicals that can isolate odors. Combined with industrial water applications and pretreatment prior to desalination, total water treatment accounts for more than three-quarters of the total global demand. Small amounts of advanced ferric chloride are used as catalysts for chemical reactions and as etchants in microelectronic products (printed circuit boards [PCBs]). the PCB market is mainly in Asia.
In industrialized regions (USA, Western Europe and Japan), the ferric chloride market is relatively mature. Although it is recognized as a highly effective flocculant and chelator for sludge and odor control, substitution of competing products will result in relatively flat demand. In Asia and the Middle East, where economic and population expansion has led to increased demand for water management, ferric chloride growth continues to be above average. Growth is likely to slow for Central and Eastern European countries that have largely completed compliance with EU regulations since joining the EU. Many countries in Latin America have been slow to invest in infrastructure or to adopt the necessary environmental and health legislation.
Ferric Chloride
In the United States, ferric chloride producers tend to have a regional rather than a national outlook because of high transportation costs. Over 80% of ferric chloride is sold in municipal tenders for municipal wastewater applications and drinking water treatment applications. Industrial water treatment applications and non-water treatment applications such as electronic and photographic etchants, metal surface treatment, and use as catalysts make up the remainder. Much of the etching activity has shifted to Asia; in the U.S., there is little use in electronic applications, especially PCBs.
In Western Europe, ferric chloride is used primarily as a coagulant in wastewater treatment and drinking water production. It is also used as an etchant for copper-based metals in printed circuit boards, as a precursor in the production of synthetic iron oxides and specialty pigments, and in the pharmaceutical industry as a precursor for iron-containing drugs for the treatment of anemia. Western Europe is witnessing steady growth with all countries installing facilities that comply with the EU legislation for clean water standards in the municipal and industrial sectors. Consumption is expected to stagnate over the forecast period as the water treatment market is largely mature.
Water treatment will remain the largest end use of ferric chloride in China; wastewater is extensively treated and recycled for industrial use and agricultural irrigation. Although industrial wastewater discharges have declined in recent years, domestic wastewater discharges are growing rapidly
In much of the rest of Asia, PCB production is the primary use of ferric chloride, accounting for about half of consumption. China and other Asian regions will continue to drive the overall global consumption of ferric chloride. As an ISO 9001 qualified company, we specialize in the manufacture and research of various kinds of chemicals, including water treatment chemicals, dyes intermediates, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and APIs. And our products are well-received by customers both at home and abroad. If you want to get more information about the best water treatment chemicals wholesale, welcome to contact us.
Global production capacities exceed demand significantly. Nameplate capacities are often larger than regional demand, which allows producers to vary production volumes opportunistically, and as a function of by-product availability and the price of hydrochloric acid. The markets in industrialized countries are mature, whereas demand in developing countries keeps growing with the increasing demand for water treatment, and more stringent regulations for the treatment of industrial wastewater.