Hydrofluoric acid: the most important intermediate in the fluorine industry chain

Hydrofluoric acid is an important raw material for the preparation of many important industrial substances and polymers, and is widely used in electronic and electrical appliances, medicine, metallurgy, chemical industry, light industry, pesticides, daily use, construction, and military fields.Under normal conditions, hydrogen fluoride is a colorless, pungent and toxic gas.Its aqueous solution, hydrofluoric acid, is the most important intermediate in the fluorine chemical industry chain, with strong corrosivity, and is a toxic and hazardous chemical.Hydrofluoric acid is mainly produced by the action of sulfuric acid on fluorite, and can be used as a precursor of organic fluorine compounds and metal fluorides, as well as as as as a catalyst and solvent.Its downstream main products include fluoride salts, fluoropolymers, refrigerants, and fluorinated fine chemicals.At present, the largest application market of hydrofluoric acid in China is the fluorocarbon industry (the main products are refrigerants, etc.), accounting for 64.6% of the total consumption of hydrogen fluoride.The second is fluorine containing fine chemicals, accounting for about 13.6%.With the wide application of fluorine chemicals, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, as the most basic fluorine chemical product, its market is constantly expanding.Refrigerant used in refrigerators and air conditioners, difluoromethane used in the production of fluoroethylene, pharmaceutical and pesticide intermediates, fluoride salts, fluorinated electronic chemicals, fluorinated coatings, fluoroplastics, fluororubber, and so on, have all developed rapidly in recent years.Hydrofluoric acid can be mainly divided into aqueous hydrofluoric acid and anhydrous hydrofluoric acid.Water hydrofluoric acid is weakly acidic and can be used as the main raw material for dry and wet aluminum fluoride, as well as for pickling metals, etching glass and silicon crystals, and as a catalyst.Anhydrous hydrofluoric acid is strongly acidic and is mainly used in the production of electronic grade hydrofluoric acid.It is an important production raw material in the fluorine chemical industry chain, and can be used to produce organic and inorganic fluorides and fluorine refrigerants.

1.The supply side of hydrofluoric acid is under pressure in terms of environmental protection and is greatly affected by policies 

As hydrofluoric acid is a highly toxic chemical product with strong irritation and corrosivity, most fluorine chemical enterprises use chlorinated substances to react with hydrogen fluoride, which can produce organic fluoride and other by-products.Even some fluorine chemical enterprises may experience chlorination, cracking, polymerization, and other reactions in their production processes.There are many potential safety risks in the entire fluorine chemical production, and it is necessary for the production enterprise to clarify the risk factors in the fluorine chemical production, implement safety precautions, and ensure production safety.As the requirements for environmental protection and safe production have become increasingly clear in the past decade, various ministries and commissions have issued a series of documents to strengthen the management of the fluorine chemical industry.Relevant policies cover all aspects of the hydrofluoric acid supply chain, especially the production process and industrial layout of hydrofluoric acid.The measures and guidance issued by the government clearly require the industry to optimize its layout, strengthen management and constraints, and the industry entry threshold continues to increase.The production capacity distribution of hydrofluoric acid and fluorite in China is similar, mainly concentrated in Jiangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Inner Mongolia. Currently, China's hydrofluoric acid production capacity totals 2.665 million tons.

2.Electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is a high-end product of hydrofluoric acid

Electronic grade hydrofluoric acid, also known as high purity hydrofluoric acid, is one of the general wet electronic chemicals for semiconductors.Wet electronic chemical products in China mainly include hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid, ammonia and hydrofluoric acid. During the "13th Five Year Plan" period, China's consumption structure of wet electronic chemicals, with sulfuric acid accounting for 31.24%, hydrogen peroxide accounting for 29%, ammonia water accounting for 8%, and hydrofluoric acid accounting for 5%, is a relatively important raw material for wet electronic chemicals.Electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is generally prepared from anhydrous hydrofluoric acid after chemical pretreatment, distillation purification, and ultrafiltration.The development of electronic grade hydrofluoric acid industry in Chinese Mainland started late. According to different uses, electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is divided into EL, UP, UPS, UPSS, and UPSSS, among which UPSS and UPSSS are high-end semiconductor grades.

3.Electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is mainly used in the field of integrated circuits

Electronic grade hydrofluoric acid is mainly used for chip cleaning and etching in the three major fields of integrated circuits, solar photovoltaic, and liquid crystal displays.It can also be used as an analytical reagent to prepare high-purity fluorinated chemicals. Among them, the integrated circuit field is the largest downstream application field, accounting for about 47%.The electronic grade hydrofluoric acid industry is thriving and at a stage of rapid development.In recent years, China's production capacity of electronic grade hydrofluoric acid has continued to increase.In 2020, the domestic production capacity was 270000 tons, with a compound annual growth rate of about 15.4% from 2010 to 2020. Although the growth rate has decreased in 2019-2020, the quality of electronic grade hydrofluoric acid used in chip manufacturing in semiconductor enterprises has a significant impact on the yield, electrical performance, and reliability of integrated circuits. Driven by the trend of "China Core" and guided by national policies and market demands, domestic electronic grade hydrofluoric acid enterprises may vigorously promote the construction of "production, education, and research" platforms, establish a professional electronic chemical supporting system that integrates scientific research, production, and intelligent control, cultivate a group of high-end talents with rich practical experience facing industrial development, and break the current scattered production areas and numerous fragments in the domestic electronic grade hydrofluoric acid industry Due to the fragmented core technology and low investment, China's research and development level and production capacity of high purity electronic grade hydrofluoric acid will reach a new level.