Phosphoric Acid – Uses, Prices, and Production

This blog is the eleventh 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 phosphoric acid.  The primary purpose of these blogs is to present estimates of recent price, production, and sales revenues for the chemicals.

Uses.  Uses of phosphoric acid include:

Ø  As a source of phosphate salts used as fertilizers (80 to 90% of use);

Ø  As a supplement in animal feeds (~6%);

Ø  In water treatment for removing various metal ions and in pH control;

Ø  As flavoring in food products;

Ø  In tooth pastes for pH control;

Ø  In surface treatment of metals to prevent corrosion, to clean surfaces;

Ø  As a dental cement; and

Ø  Others.

Prices.  An average 2019 global phosphoric acid price range is estimated to be $600 to $800 per metric ton (mt).   

Production.  Most phosphoric acid is made by treating phosphate-containing minerals with sulfuric acid.   Much of the difficulty in this process involves removing impurities.   For higher purity phosphoric acid, phosphorus is oxidized by heat and then added to water.

From the internet, estimated 2019 global sales of phosphoric acid is in the $35 billion range.  Using $35 billion of sales and an average per mt price of $700 (see Prices above) gives 50 million mt of phosphoric acid sold globally in 2019 ($35 billion divided by $700 per mt).