Reasons for the accelerated growth in the development of China's barium sulfate industry.

Gemme

02-18-2020 16:32:54

After deep processing of barite ore, precipitated barium sulfate, high-gloss barium sulfate, ultrafine barium sulfate, and nano barium sulfate are produced. These products not only meet the needs of various industries but also bring significant benefits to the plastics and rubber industries. As an affordable and high-quality filler, its widespread application in practical use is gradually becoming more popular.

After deep processing of barite ore, precipitated barium sulfate, high-gloss barium sulfate, ultrafine barium sulfate, and nano barium sulfate are produced. These products not only meet the needs of various industries but also bring significant benefits to the plastics and rubber industries. As an affordable and high-quality filler, its application range is gradually expanding.

More than 50% of barite production is used in petroleum and geological drilling. According to statistics, one ton of barite powder is consumed for every 30 meters drilled, leading to a high consumption rate. In the chemical industry, there is a fixed relationship between the production of various barium salts and the consumption of barite raw materials, resulting in significant barite consumption.

China is the country with the richest barite ore resources in the world. Barite ore resources are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, and Fujian. As the consumption of mineral resources continues to increase, our environment is also facing new challenges. The demand for barite ore in various industries in China is constantly increasing, and there has been a significant change in the demand for barite ore in the foreign market as well.

The demand in the coatings and paint industries is particularly high, directly driving the strong demand for barite. In 1996, the world's barite production was 4.415 million tons, an increase of 1.35% compared to 1995. Currently, China has become the largest producer of barite in the world and is also the largest exporter of barite globally.

In the 1990s, the annual export volume of barite and its products was generally between 1.5 to 2 million tons. In 1996, the export volume of barite and barium salts was 2.058 million tons, with an export value of 121 million US dollars, of which 1.86 million tons were barite and 198,000 tons were barium chemical products. The main export countries include the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and South Korea. China imports very little barite, only a small amount of barium chemical products. Other major producing countries include Mexico, the former Soviet Union, the United States, India, Turkey, and Morocco.

Barium sulfate, also known as barite, contains impurities such as CaCO3, which can be detected using dilute HCl or dilute HNO3. Natural BaSO4 is used in the production of coatings or paper and can be used as a white pigment (zinc barium white [ZnS.BaSO4] ZnSO4 + BaS = ZnS.BaSO4). It can also be used as a raw material and filler for paint, ink, plastic, and rubber. In the chemical field, it is used to produce BaCl2 and other barium compounds. Precipitated barium sulfate is relatively pure and is mainly used in medicine as an oral agent for gastrointestinal examinations, known as a barium meal.

Precipitated barium sulfate is one of the few stable salts among sulfates. It is mainly used as a weighting agent for drilling muds in oil and gas exploration and is an important mineral raw material for extracting metallic barium and producing various barium compounds. Important industrial barium compounds include barium carbonate, barium chloride, barium sulfate, barium nitrate, barium hydroxide, barium oxide, barium peroxide, barium chromate, barium manganate, barium chlorate, zinc barium white, and polysulfide barium.

Barium compounds are widely used as raw materials and fillers for rubber, plastics, pigments, coatings, paper, textiles, paints, inks, welding rods, barium-based lubricants, oil refining, beet sugar manufacturing, artificial silk, pesticides, bactericides, rodenticides, explosives, green fireworks, signal flares, tracer bullets, and medical X-ray indicators. They are also used in glass, ceramics, leather, electronics, building materials, and metallurgy.

Barium sulfate has high fillability and can be applied to all coating series, such as primers and thick coatings. Its low specific surface area, particle size distribution, and easy flowability make it less abrasive during processing. Barium sulfate is recommended for use in automatic primer surface layers and maintains excellent topcoat performance even at high fill rates. It is superior to most other fillers, especially in chemically resistant coatings. Its inert nature makes it insoluble in water, acids, alkalis, and organic intermediates. The excellent gloss and fine particle size of barium sulfate provide long-term protection for topcoats exposed to the elements.

Barium sulfate is recommended for topcoats as it can increase surface hardness and color stability. When applied to PP (about 25%), it can make the PP surface resemble ABS without affecting its inherent properties, providing high gloss and hardness. Surface barium sulfate can achieve a filling rate of up to 80% of its weight, effectively isolating noise in drainage pipes, speakers, and sound systems. When applied to curtains, it increases weight, and when used in household appliance casings, it offers high gloss, good color tone, scratch resistance, and dimensional stability.