CHINA RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE

2009 

Research Report of 

Chinese Oxalic Acid 

Industry, 2009 www.shcri.com

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W W W . S H C R I . C O M

Research Report of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry, 2009

Description

Oxalic acid is an important basic organic raw material, mainly used to produce the

pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics, borneol, pharmaceutical intermediate synthesis, the

precipitant extracts in the rare earth metals, dye deoxidizer, tanning agents and cleansing agents of

the metal equipments etc. with the application expansion of the oxalate in the pharmaceutical and

pesticide synthesis, the demands for the oxalate were steadily increased over the previous years.

At present, the demands volumes of the oxalate in the world are about 400 thousand tons. In 2008,

the yields of the oxalic acid in China exceeded 200 thousand tons and the export volumes were

around 50 thousand tons.

The traditional industrialization production methods of the oxalic acid mainly concluded sodium

formate process, oxidation process, oxo process, glycol oxidation process, propylene oxidation

process and carbon monoxide coupling process etc. At present, the manufacturing process of the

oxalic acid is through the coal chemical route and the costs are low. The major mechanism lies in

the later period, which hydrolyzes parts of the intermediate products dibutyl oxalate and generates

oxalic acid and methanol. The methanol can be further used to produce nitrous acid methyl ester,

which is used to produce dimethyl oxalate so as to achieve the goals of cyclic utilization. During

the coupling process, when producing 1-ton glycol, 2-ton oxalic acid has been produced at the

same time.

Oxalic acid is mainly used to produce the tetracycline, aureomycin and terramycin etc. in the

pharmaceutical industry. The development of these pharmaceutical products largely depends on

the export tendency. With the development of Chinese pharmaceutical industry, it is predicted that

the demands for the oxalic acid in Chinese pharmaceutical industry will be increased gradually.

Another important use of the oxalic acid is the smelting of the rare earth. According to the

statistics, the smelting of the rare earth per ton needs 1.4 tons oxalic acid. In 2008, the demands

for the oxalic acid in Chinese rare earth industry were beyond 100 thousand tons.

At present, the largest oxalic acid manufacturer in China is Yuanping Chemicals Co., Ltd with the

annual yield capacity of 70 thousand tons. In 2008, its actual yields exceeded 40 thousand tons.

The other domestic manufacturers are all in small scales and low concentration. The traditional

industrialization production method of the oxalic acid has to use sulfuric acid and lead, leading to

serious menace to the environment.

Apart from Tongliao Jinmei Chemicals Co., Ltd capable of producing the oxalic acid by synthesis

of the nitrate carbonyl, other manufacturers generally adopt the carbohydrate nitric acid oxidation

process, glycol mixed acid oxidation process and propylene nitric acid oxidation process etc.

Besides, the sodium formate additive process, comparatively polluted the environment, has been

replaced in the world.

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Research Report of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry, 2009

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Tongliao Jinmei Chemicals Co., Ltd is planning to construct coal-made glycol project with the

annual yield of 1.2 million tons. It is predicted that the investments total 10 billion Yuan (1.43

billion USD) and the project plans to be completed in three periods: the total investment amounts

in the first period are about 2 billion Yuan (280 million USD) for the construction of the

150-thousand-ton glycol project and 40-thousand-ton oxalic acid project. It is predicted that the

first period project will be completed in August 2009 and can produce 60-thousand-ton glycol and

40-thousand-ton oxalic acid within 2009, which will enable to produce 150-thousand-ton glycol

and 100-thousand-ton oxalic acid in 2010; the second period 400-thousand-ton glycol project is

predicted to start in the middle March 2010 and be completed in the end of September 2010.

After the oxalic acid project of Tongliao Jinmei Chemicals Co., Ltd in operation, it is predicted

that it will tightly hit the present Chinese oxalic acid market. Many medium and small oxalic acid

manufactures will be replaced because of the costs and environmental protection. On the occasion,

it is probable to cut down the oxalic acid price sharply, which will be steadily rising after massive

small enterprises withdraw the market.

The international financial crisis, which broke out in the latter half of 2008, had affected the

exports of Chinese oxalic acid. Yuanping Chemicals Co., Ltd, the largest domestic oxalic acid

manufacturer, had shut down the overall normal oxalic acid production lines because of the order

shortage and transferred to engage in the research and production of the oxalic acid used in the

electronic and rare earth industry.

Compared with other chemical products, the price of the oxalic acid fluctuates slightly with the

influences of international financial crisis. In the beginning of 2008, the offering price of 99.6%

oxalic acid from Yuanping Chemicals Co., Ltd was 5.5 thousand Yuan (786 USD) per ton and

increased to 7 thousand Yuan (1 thousand USD) per ton later and again decreased to 5 thousand

Yuan (714 USD) per ton and 5.5 thousand Yuan (800 USD) per ton in the beginning of 2009.

More following information can be obtained in this report:

- Overview on the Development of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry

- Production Technology Routes of Chinese Oxalic Acid

- Imports and Exports of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry

- Demands of Chinese Oxalic Acid Market

- Major Manufacturers and Their Operations of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry

- Influences of International Financial Crisis on Chinese Oxalic Acid Exports

- Influences of International Financial Crisis on the Downstream Industries of Chinese Oxalic

Acid Industry

- Development Trends of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry

- Investment Opportunities of Chinese Oxalic Acid Industry

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