Overview of the Development of Silicon Micro Powder Industry

Silicon micropowder is a non-toxic, tasteless and pollution-free inorganic non-metallic material. Its main component is SiO2. It is a kind of non-metallic mineral products, which is made of natural quartz, fused silica and other raw materials through multiple processes such as primary selection, crushing, grinding and precision classification. Silicon micro powder, as an inorganic non-metallic mineral functional powder material, can be widely used in electronic materials, electrical insulation materials, adhesives, special ceramics, precision casting, paint coatings, inks, silicone rubber, functional rubber, advanced building materials and other fields.

At present, only a few countries in the world, such as China, Japan, South Korea, and the United States, have the production capacity of silicon micro powder. The quartz sand resources in China are mainly distributed in Fengyang, Anhui Province, Donghai, Jiangsu Province, Guangxi and other places. The downstream market in China is still concentrated in economically developed regions such as East China and South China, while domestically strong silicon micro powder production enterprises are mainly distributed in economically developed areas and areas rich in raw materials, concentrated in areas such as Lianyungang in Jiangsu, Fengyang in Anhui, and Huzhou in Zhejiang. Among them, Donghai County in Lianyungang, Jiangsu is a large silicon micro powder production base in China, and it is also an area that has been engaged in the research, development, and production of electronic grade silicon micro powder for a long time.

From the perspective of the industrial chain, the profit level of the silicon micro powder industry is jointly affected by the upstream quartz, fused silica and other raw material markets and the development level of the downstream application industry. There are significant differences in the profit levels of production enterprises within the industry. Production enterprises with strong research and development capabilities, advanced technological equipment, and core technology for process control, capable of producing high-quality products and operating on a large scale, have stable profits and generally high profit levels.

From the perspective of industry enterprise scale, although China is rich in quartz and has a wide distribution of mineral sources, with nearly a hundred small and large silicon micro powder factories nationwide, they are basically township enterprises. Due to the small scale and single variety of production enterprises, which use conventional processing equipment in non mineral industries, there is a lack of systematic control measures in the process. The purity, particle size, and product quality stability of silicon micro powder products are poor, and they cannot compete with imported products. At present, the main products produced domestically are ordinary angular crystalline silicon micro powder and angular molten silicon micro powder. High end silicon micro powder products represented by spherical silicon micro powder, ultrafine silicon micro powder, etc. are still mainly produced by enterprises in developed countries such as Japan and the United States. At present, there are very few enterprises in China that can produce high-purity and ultrafine silica micro powders, mainly distributed in areas such as Lianyungang and Xuzhou in Jiangsu, and Huzhou in Zhejiang. Among them, Donghai County in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province has more than 40 silicon micro powder enterprises, more than 100 production lines, and an annual output of over 300000 tons of silicon micro powder. Electronic grade silicon micro powder, electrical grade silicon micro powder, and electrical grade silicon micro powder account for 70%, 60%, and 40% of the domestic market, respectively. They can produce more than 100 types of silicon micro powder products in more than 10 categories, and have a large-scale silicon micro powder enterprise in China - Lianyungang Haosen Mineral Products Co., Ltd.

Due to its excellent performance as a functional powder filling material, silicon micro powder products play a crucial role in the performance of downstream products. Therefore, research and development work around silicon micro powder products has been ongoing, aiming to improve product fineness and purity, simplify production processes, and reduce costs. These are all directions for technological innovation. In this regard, domestic enterprises represented by Lianyungang Haosen Mineral Products Co., Ltd. have conducted numerous technological breakthroughs and accumulated a lot of experience. Multiple technological breakthroughs have been achieved in terms of diversifying production materials, improving product purity, and innovating production processes. Although the production capacity and technological level of the domestic silicon micro powder industry have grown rapidly in recent years, its competitiveness in the international market is still weak. Developed countries such as Japan have monopolized the market for high value-added silicon micro powder products by leveraging their technological and research and development advantages. At the same time, it should be noted that due to the lack of a national association for the silicon micro powder industry, the industry's technical standards have not been established, and product standards have not been unified, which to some extent restricts the rapid development of the industry and further improvement of its technological level.