Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert – February 2020

The purpose of this blog is to identify chemical and metal shortages reported on the Internet.  The sources of the information reported here are primarily news releases issued on the Internet.  The issue period of the news releases is February 2020.

Section I below lists those chemicals and metals that were on the previous month’s Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert list and continue to have news releases indicating they are in short supply. Click here to read the January 2020 Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert list.

Section II lists the new chemicals and metals (not on the January alert).  Also provided is some explanation for the shortage and geographical information.  This blog attempts to list only actual shortage situations – those shortages that are being experienced during the period covered by the news releases.  Chemicals and metals identified in news releases as only being in danger of being in short supply status are not listed.

Section I.

None

Section II.   Shortages Reported in February not found on the Previous Month’s List

Chemicals used in dye industry: India; supply not keeping up with demand

Gravel: Nebraska, USA; supply not keeping up with demand

Reasons for Section II shortages can be broadly categorized as: 

1.  Mining not keeping up with demand: none

2.  Production not keeping up with demand: none

3.  Government regulations: none

4.  Sources no longer available: none

5.  Insufficient imports:  none

6.  Supply not keeping up with demand: chemicals used in dye industry; gravel

Calcium Carbonate – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the third in a series of blogs I plan to write providing use, price, and production data on high-use inorganic and organic chemicals.  Click here to see the first blog in this series and a list of chemicals to be featured.  This blog provides data on calcium carbonate (CaCO3).

Uses.  Uses of calcium carbonate include:

Ø  As a filler and additive in products such as papers, plastics, paints, coatings, resins, rubbers, tablets, personal care, and food;

Ø  In drilling fluids;

Ø  In construction materials;

Ø  In agriculture as soil conditioners and plant nutrients;

Ø  As a cleaning agent;

Ø  In various industrial processes such as iron production and flue gas desulfurization;

Ø  In animal feed; and

Ø  In medical applications such as an anti-acid treatment, osteoporosis prevention, and kidney disease.

Calcium carbonate is found in about 4% of the earth’s crust, primarily in minerals calcite, aragonite, and vaterite, from which it is extracted.  Calcium carbonate is one of the most widely utilized of earth materials.

Calcium carbonate can be processed into forms and sizes including course (crushed), powder, fine, ultra-fine, and nano sizes.  Its use depends on these forms and sizes.

Calcium carbonate can also be synthesized by mixing calcium hydroxide with carbon dioxide.

Calcium carbonate processed from minerals is known as ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and calcium carbonate synthesized is known as precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC).  Precipitated calcium carbonate can have properties making it more suitable in some applications compared to ground calcium carbonate.

Prices.  Calcium carbonate 2019 metric ton (mt) prices appearing on the Internet for both ground and precipitated calcium carbonate are in the $100 to $200 per mt range.  Prices vary according to the forms, sizes, and other factors.  Prices for very course or very fine, including nano, are outside this range.

Production.  2019 calcium carbonate production estimates are in the 130 to 135 million mt range.  Assuming a 2019 average price for calcium carbonate of $150 per mt (see prices above) and an estimated 2019 production of 132.5 million mt, estimated revenues from calcium carbonate sales in 2019 are around $20 billion ($150 per mt times 132.5 million mt).

Bromine – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the second in a series of blogs I plan to write providing use, price, and production data on high-use inorganic and organic chemicals.  Click here to see the first blog in this series and a list of chemicals to be featured.  This blog provides data on bromine.

Uses.  The highest use of bromine is in compounds that have flame retarding capabilities.  These compounds are added to flammable products and should the products catch fire, liberated bromine acts to suppress/retard processes occurring in the fire (combustion).  About 50% of bromine use is in fire-retarding compounds.  Other bromine uses (as compounds containing bromine) include:

Ø  In fluids used in enhancing drilling-related activities, e.g., in oil and gas wells;

Ø  In water treatment;

Ø  In removing mercury from gas emissions;

Ø  In the dye industry;

Ø  In photographic processes;

Ø  As a catalyst;

Ø  In pharmaceutical products;

Ø  In flow batteries;

Ø  In the rubber/tire industry; and

Ø  In agriculture.

Elemental bromine, which is a liquid at room temperature, has no substantial uses, other than to react to form compounds used as given above.

Prices.  2018 metric ton (mt) prices appearing on the Internet and calculated from revenue and mt production data (e.g., estimated $3.0 to $3.4 billion bromine sales divided by estimated 600,000 to 700,000 mt bromine production amounts) is in the $4,200 to $5,700 per mt range.

Production.  2018 bromine production estimates are in the 600,000 to 700,000 mt range.  And revenues from bromine sales are in the $3.0 to $3.4 billion range.  Most bromine is produced in the United States, Israel, Jorden, and China.  Three companies (Israel Chemicals, Ltd.; Albemarle; and Lanxess) account for the majority of bromine production.  Bromine is found in seawater, underground brine deposits, and other water reservoirs such as the Dead Sea.  Global bromine demand roughly correlates with gross domestic product growth. 

Israel Chemicals, Ltd.’s (ICL) 2018 annual report indicates that the company accounts for its bromine sales in one of four segments – the Industrial Products segment.  Revenues for this segment (mostly bromine sales) was $1.3 billion.  Revenues are from elemental bromine sales and from bromine compounds produced internally.  Segment operating profit was 27% of revenues ($350 million divided by $1.3 billion).  Such a percentage seems quite good.

Ammonia - Uses, Prices, and Production

With this blog, I plan to begin a series of blogs providing use, price, and production data on high use basic inorganic and high use basic organic chemicals, including many of the following:

Basic inorganic chemicals	Basic organic chemicals
Ammonia	Benzene and methylbenzenes
Bromine	Buta-1,3-diene
Calcium carbonate	Epoxyethane (Ethylene oxide)
Chlorine	Ethane-1,2-diol (Ethylene glycol)
Fluorine	Ethanoic acid (Acetic acid)
Hydrogen	Ethanol
Hydrogen chloride	Ethene (Ethylene)
Hydrogen fluoride	Formaldehyde
Hydrogen peroxide	Methanol
Iodine	Methyl tertiary-butyl ether
Nitric acid	Phenol
Oxygen, nitrogen and the rare gases	Propanone (Acetone)
Phosphoric acid	Propene (Propylene)
Phosphorus	Urea
Sodium carbonate
Sodium hydroxide
Sulfur
Sulfuric acid
Titanium dioxide

I begin with ammonia.  Data has been found researching the Internet.

Uses.   Ammonia has been used for over a hundred years as a fertilizer.  Greater than 80% of ammonia use is as a fertilizer.  Other uses include:

Ø  As a refrigerant in large-scale industrial coolers;

Ø  As raw material combined with other materials in producing plastics, fibers, explosives, dyes, pharmaceuticals, nitric acid, formaldehyde, amines, and nitriles;

Ø  In metal extraction;

Ø  In pollution abatement;

Ø  In rubber and leather manufacturing;

Ø  In pulp and paper manufacturing;

Ø  As a disinfectant; and

Ø  As a fuel.

Largest ammonia users are China (~33%); Russia (~8%); India (~8%); and the United States

(~6%).

The use of “green” ammonia as a fuel (see below under production about green ammonia production) is gaining momentum.  For example, the ocean shipping industry has initiatives for developing engines using green ammonia.  Also, Japan and other Asian countries have programs for developing hydrogen use as a fuel with green ammonia being the source of the hydrogen.  The green ammonia would be produced in countries with high concentrations of wind and solar energies and then transported to countries without lots of wind and solar energy, such as Japan. 

Prices.   The average 2019 global ammonia price is estimated to in the $300 per metric ton (mt) range.  Prices could be substantially higher or lower depending on the region and month.

Production.   Most 2019 production estimates are in the 170 to 180 million mt range.  A $300 per mt price would give revenues of $51 billion to $54 billion from ammonia sales (170 or 180 million mt times $300 per mt).  Most ammonia is produced starting with natural gas, naphtha, or coal as a raw material, from which hydrogen is produced.  Then nitrogen, which is separated out from air, is reacted with the hydrogen using the Haber-Bosch Process to produce ammonia.  About 50% of the cost of producing ammonia comes from the price of natural gas, naphtha, or coal.   This production method unfortunately is responsible for about 1 to 1.5% of total global carbon dioxide emissions.  Another ammonia production method with emerging interest is producing hydrogen, not from natural gas, naphtha, or coal, but from water using electrolysis and renewable energy (e.g., wind or solar).  Ammonia produced by this method is referred to as green ammonia.  An important incentive for this ammonia production method is greatly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.  Several companies are major producers of ammonia.  These include: Yara; BASF; CF Industries; Koch Industries; and OCI NV.

Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert – January 2020

The purpose of this blog is to identify chemical and metal shortages reported on the Internet.  The sources of the information reported here are primarily news releases issued on the Internet.  The issue period of the news releases is January 2020.

Section I below lists those chemicals and metals that were on the previous month’s Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert list and continue to have news releases indicating they are in short supply. Click here to read the December 2019 Chemical and Metal Shortage Alert list.

Section II lists the new chemicals and metals (not on the December alert).  Also provided is some explanation for the shortage and geographical information.  This blog attempts to list only actual shortage situations – those shortages that are being experienced during the period covered by the news releases.  Chemicals and metals identified in news releases as only being in danger of being in short supply status are not listed.

Section I.

Helium:  global; production not keeping up with demand

Palladium:  global; production not keeping up with demand

Section II.   Shortages Reported in January not found on the Previous Month’s List

None

Reasons for Section II shortages can be broadly categorized as: 

1.  Mining not keeping up with demand: none

2.  Production not keeping up with demand: none

3.  Government regulations: none

4.  Sources no longer available: none

5.  Insufficient imports:  none

6.  Supply not keeping up with demand: none