Report on the Development Status, Market Prospects, and Investment Directions of China's Potassium Carbonate Industry in 2024

Potassium carbonate is a white crystalline powder and one of the important inorganic salts. Density is 2.428 ~ 3, melting point is 891℃, the boiling point is decomposed, molecular formula is K ₂CO ₃, and the molecular weight is 138.21. Soluble in water, the aqueous solution is alkaline, insoluble in ethanol, acetone and ether. Potassium carbonate can be divided into heavy potassium carbonate and light potassium carbonate, and their physical and chemical properties and applications are significantly different. 

The bulk density of heavy potassium carbonate products is 1.5 g/cm 3, which has small surface area and slow dissolution rate. Mainly used in the glass, ceramics and other industries; The bulk density of light potassium carbonate products is generally less than 0.8 g/cm 3, with a large specific surface area and fast dissolution speed, which significantly improves the yield and quality of the final product. Mainly used in food, medicine, pesticides and other high-end applications, and the price is higher than that of heavy potassium carbonate. 

In recent years, with the rapid growth of light potassium carbonate in pesticide, medicine, food and other new application fields, especially in pesticide field, the demand for potassium carbonate has been driven, leading to an increase in domestic output. According to statistics, by 2022, the capacity of potassium carbonate in China is 270000 tons, the output is about 204600 tons, and a demand is about 193600 tons. 

The application of potassium carbonate is becoming increasingly widespread in developed countries, with a higher proportion of usage in industries such as potassium glass, food, and medicine. However, in developing and third world countries, the use of potassium carbonate is still in its infancy. Therefore, the demand for potassium carbonate in both developed and non-developed countries is on an upward trend. Therefore, expanding the international market is one of the future development trends of potash industry in China.

At present, the application of potassium carbonate in medicine, fluorescent lamps and other fields is also expanding. With the development of science and technology, the application of potassium carbonate in other fields will be gradually expand. In recent years, driven by applications in food, pesticides and other fields, the demand for potassium bicarbonate in the domestic market is relatively small, and its demand keeps increasing.

The regional concentration of potassium carbonate industry and the development trend to large enterprises will become more obvious in the future. The integration of industry resources, mergers and reorganization, and the enlargement and strengthening of enterprises will lead to the adjustment of the competition pattern of potassium carbonate industry in the future. The competitive advantage will be further tilted to enterprises with technical advantages, channel advantages and scale advantages. In the future, the market concentration and capacity concentration of potassium carbonate industry in China will be further improved, and market competition will be more intense.