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The principal products covered in this report are alumina trihydrate, aluminum oxide, aluminum chloride, aluminum sulfate (alum), alumina silicate and sodium aluminate. The major aluminum chemical from a commercial production and consumption standpoint is alumina trihydrate.
Alumina trihydrate is typically produced from bauxite via the Bayer process; the vast majority of production is calcined and used for aluminum metal production. This product review excludes these metallurgical uses, and focuses on the chemical markets for alumina trihydrate and the markets for the other mentioned aluminum chemicals.
Important alumina trihydrate end uses include:
- Flame retardant and reinforcement filler in plastics, elastomers, adhesives and other products
- Filler pigments and coatings in papermaking
- Precursor for production of activated and other specialty aluminas
- Raw material for production of aluminum-containing chemicals, such as Al2O3, AlCl3, Al2(SO4)3 and NaAlO2
The following pie chart shows consumption of alumina trihydrate for chemical applications in the major consuming regions:
Major uses for aluminum compounds other than alumina trihydrate include:
- High-quality papermaking (iron-free, white grade of aluminum sulfate, alum)
- Electrolyte flux in aluminum metal smelting (aluminum fluoride)
- Surface treatment of titanium dioxide (sodium aluminate)
- Water treatment (sodium aluminate, alum, polymerized and aqueous aluminum chloride)
- Pulp and paper (sodium aluminate, alum)
- Detergent builders (crystalline aluminosilicates)
- Catalysts (crystalline aluminosilicates, aluminum oxide, anhydrous aluminum chloride, sodium aluminate)
- Pharmaceuticals (hydrous aluminum chloride)
- Molecular sieves (crystalline aluminosilicates)
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