SILICATES MARKET ANALYSIS

Silicates are compounds that contain oxygen and silicon, and are the most abundantly found minerals on Earth. The silicate compound’s crystal structure contains isolated SiO₄ tetrahedra, or in the form of chains, groups, and sheets joined through one or more than one oxygen atoms. Silicates are divided into several subcategories such as nesosilicates, sorosilicate, inosilicates, cyclosilicates, tectosilicates, and phyllosilicates.

Silicates have significant application in both natural and artificial form. Natural silicates include granite, garnet, and gravel; whereas artificial silicates are ceramic glass, water glass, and Portland cement. The silicates market has been segmented on the basis of product and application. The product segment includes potassium silicate, magnesium silicate, lithium silicate, and sodium silicate. On the basis of application, silicates have application in end use industries such as wastewater treatment, automotive, construction, adhesives, chemicals, detergents, cosmetics, paper, and agriculture.

Commercial sodium silicate is used in detergents, automotive, construction, adhesives, chemicals, and water treatment. Sodium silicate has high demand in the construction industry owing to its ability to inhibit porosity of materials such as plasters and concrete. Potassium silicates find major application in the agriculture industry to increase potassium in the soil. Furthermore, owing to its ability to soften water, potassium silicate is used in the process of manufacturing detergents. Magnesium silicate finds application in personal care industry, for manufacturing cosmetics, paper, and pharmaceuticals, particularly as an absorbent in talcum powders. Lithium silicates are used in the construction industry as hardening agents in concrete, and to improve durability of floor coatings.

Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Middle East are the largest markets for silicates, with Asia Pacific dominating the global market in terms of market share, revenue, and consumer demand. The region is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period owing to the presence of populated economies such as China and India who are experiencing an increase in gross domestic product, disposable income, and purchase parity. Furthermore, the rapid industrialization and rising demand for construction materials in the region is expected to facilitate the growth of the market.

Some of the prominent players in the global silicates market are Zhejiang Jiashan Dechang Powdered Materiai Co., Ltd., Evonik Industries AG, PPG Industries, BASF SE, W.R. Grace & Co., Huber Engineered Materials, PQ Corporation, Z.Ch. Rudniki SA, CIECH Group, Glassven C.A, Oriental Silicas Corporation, Silmaco NV, BEKO Troyan, Industrial Chemicals Ltd, SIEKEM d.o.o, Qingdao Dongyue Sodium Silicate, MAGNIFIN, and Aromachimie Company Ltd,.

Silicates Market Key Developments: 

• In July 2016, a division of J.M. Huber Corporation, invested for the commercial production capacity of its patented Spherilex amorphous precipitated spherical silica and silicate technology at its Hamina, Finland production facility. This investment helped the company in gaining a further growth in terms of the global silicates market.
• In December 2016, Evonik Industries AG acquired the silica business of a US based company J. M. Huber. This acquisition is helped the company is expanding its position in North America and Asia. Moreover, this acquisition helped the company is expanding its product portfolio.
• On 25^th April 2019, BASF SE invested in the modernization and improvement of its existing silica plant at its Düsseldorf-Holthausen, Germany site. This plant is developed so as to meet the company’s rising demand in case of silicates and thereby strengthen the company’s leadership in the West European silicates markets.