Fumed silica is a high-purity nanomaterial with excellent reinforcement, thickening, and thixotropy, widely used in fields such as silicone rubber, coatings, adhesives, and electronic materials. The global market size of gas-phase white carbon black will reach 6.188 billion US dollars in 2024, and is expected to increase to 8.133 billion US dollars in 2031, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0%. Domestic products will account for 58% of global production capacity by 2025, with a self-sufficiency rate of less than 30% for high-end products.
But the core technology and market for the preparation of fumed silica are mainly controlled by Germany, the United States, and Japan. The technological gap of domestically produced gas-phase white carbon black is mainly reflected in four dimensions: nanoscale precision control, surface chemical modification, mass production stability, and purity control, which are much more difficult than alternative processes such as precipitation. There is also the "patent blockade" of international giants, and the increasingly strict environmental and energy requirements are far behind those of international giants.
1、 Technical barriers
1. Structural control
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Case: German company Evonik achieved a reaction temperature field uniformity of over 98% through a 3D burner array patent (DE102018112345), while domestic equipment only achieved 85-90%.
2. Key indicator gap
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3. Surface modification process
The contact angle of domestically produced hydrophobic products is only 140 ° (international standard 150 °+), but the grafting process of domestically produced silane coupling agents is prone to local agglomeration (>200nm), while international giants achieve a hydroxyl density of 0.8/nm ² ± 0.1 through plasma modification.
2、 Scale and equipment
1. Scale production capacity: A single unit of equipment in foreign countries requires more than 6000 tons/year, while most domestic enterprises have a production capacity of less than 3000 tons/year, resulting in unit costs 25-30% higher than international standards, and a significant gap in scale effects.
2. Equipment gap: The price of imported hydrogen oxygen flame reactors exceeds 120 million yuan per set, while domestic alternatives (such as Jingjin equipment) are 40% cheaper, but have a continuous operation time of only 800 hours (international 2000 hours+). The investment in testing equipment for a single production line is even greater than that of international giants.
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3、 Raw materials and recycling
1. Raw material purification technology
Electronic grade requires metal impurities to be less than 0.3ppm. International companies use 8-level molecular sieves and cryogenic purification (-196 ℃) to achieve a purity of 99.99% for silicon tetrachloride. However, the purity of domestic polycrystalline silicon by-products is only 99.5%, requiring 8-level molecular sieve purification (a 40% increase in cost), resulting in electronic waste
The yield rate is less than 60%.
2. Environmental Protection and Energy Consumption
HCl recovery rate: international>99.99%, domestic about 99.5%. The operation cycle of domestic exhaust gas treatment system is only 60 days (international>2000 hours). The raw material of gas-phase silicon dioxide, chlorosilane, is a highly corrosive hazardous compound, and hydrogen is a flammable and explosive gas. The production equipment involves high-temperature pressure vessels, and the exhaust gas involves the treatment of strong corrosive gases such as hydrochloric acid, all of which have high requirements for environmental protection. The safety requirements for various production equipment are high during the production process, and industrial problems such as flammability, explosiveness, corrosion, toxic substances, and high temperature must be solved.
4、 Patent Wall and Giant Encirclement
1. Process Patent Wall
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2. Monopoly of modified technology patents
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3. Encirclement and suppression in high-end fields
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Evonik, Cabot, and Wacker have a total of over 800 patents in China, covering the entire industry chain nodes. Domestic substitution requires additional patent fees, further increasing the cost for enterprises.
5、 Standard barriers
1. Emission standard: The EU E153 requires polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to be ≤ 0.1mg/kg, and domestic enterprises generally need to add activated carbon adsorption equipment (increasing costs by 15%).
2. Occupational health: Nanoparticle protection must meet the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134 standard, and the filtration efficiency of domestic protective clothing is only 95% (international 99.97%).
3. Chinese companies face a technical validation cycle of over 36 months in international certifications such as REACH certification (EU) and FDA audit (US).
At present, the market for gas-phase white carbon black presents the characteristics of "high-end shortage and low-end surplus". Domestic products have achieved substitution in the mid-range field (silicone rubber fillers) (self-sufficiency rate of 75%), but they still lag behind in the high-end field (chip packaging/pharmaceutical carriers). The critical point of high-end transformation has arrived, and it is necessary to accelerate breakthroughs in electronic grade purity (exceeding 0.1ppm), surface modification technology (bypassing patents), and environmentally friendly production processes. In the future, it is expected to achieve a curve overtaking in the new energy field and gradually catch up with the intergenerational gap in high-end applications.