Silicon Carbide Manufacturers
There are over 200 state-owned silicon carbide smelting enterprises with an annual production capacity of more than 2.2 million tons (including over 1.2 million tons of green silicon carbide blocks and about 1 million tons of black silicon carbide blocks). Most smelting transformers have a power rating of 6300~12500kVA, with the largest being 32000kVA. There are over 300 processing enterprises for producing grit and micro powder, with an annual production capacity of over 2 million tons. In 2012, China's silicon carbide capacity utilization rate was less than 45%. About one-third of smelting enterprises have production lines for processing grit and micro powder. Silicon carbide processing enterprises for grit and micro powder are mainly distributed in Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other provinces.China's silicon carbide smelting production technology, technical equipment, and energy consumption per ton have reached world-leading levels. The quality level of black and green silicon carbide raw blocks is also world-class. The gap between China's silicon carbide and the world's advanced level is mainly concentrated in four aspects: First, large-scale mechanical equipment is rarely used in the production process, and many processes rely on manual labor, resulting in low per capita silicon carbide output; Second, in deep-processed silicon carbide products, quality management of granular sand and micro powder products is not sufficiently refined, and product quality stability is insufficient; Third, there is a certain gap in performance indicators of certain cutting-edge products compared with similar products in developed countries; Fourth, carbon monoxide is directly emitted during the smelting process. Foreign major enterprises have basically achieved closed smelting, while almost all silicon carbide smelting in China is open smelting, with all carbon monoxide directly emitted. In 2012, Chinese enterprises developed closed smelting technology, achieving full recovery of carbon monoxide, but there is still a long way to go before it is popularized across the industry.
According to data from the Silicon Carbide Expert Committee of the Abrasives and Abrasive Tools Special Committee of the China Machine Tool Industry Association, as of the end of 2012, global silicon carbide production capacity reached over 2.6 million tons, with 13 countries having a capacity of over 10,000 tons, accounting for 98% of the global total capacity. Among them, China's silicon carbide capacity reached 2.2 million tons, accounting for 84% of the global total capacity.
China's silicon carbide smelting enterprises are mainly distributed in Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan and other places, accounting for about 85% of the total capacity.
In 2012, under the slowdown of China's economic development, production conditions were generally unsatisfactory. Coupled with the struggling photovoltaic industry, silicon carbide, as a basic raw material for refractories, abrasives, and the photovoltaic industry, saw a sharp decline in both exports and domestic sales. Green silicon carbide micro powder processing enterprises were even trapped in the debt chain of the photovoltaic industry, with most smelting enterprises not operating or shutting down shortly after starting.
In 2012, China's black silicon carbide capacity was not fully utilized. On one hand, sales were slow, inventory consumption was slow, and capital was tied up; on the other hand, downstream industry consumers took a long time to pay back, and arrears were serious, leading to tight capital chains for some enterprises.
In 2012, the main production areas of black silicon carbide in China were Ningxia and Gansu. The original capacity in Qinghai and Xinjiang was gradually phased out. Including the smelting capacity of Hubei Danjiangkou Hongyuan, the total capacity was 769,000 tons. The total output in 2012 was about 340,000 tons, and the capacity utilization rate of black silicon carbide smelting enterprises was about 44.5%.
The main production areas of green silicon carbide smelting in China are Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, and Sichuan. Sichuan mainly relies on hydropower stations for electricity supply. Affected by power shortages during the dry season, production time is only from April to October, with a maximum of six months of production. However, smelting furnaces in Sichuan were hardly operating normally, mainly due to weak market demand and difficulty in consuming inventory. In the first three quarters of 2012, the operating rate of Chinese steel plants was low. Only after October did steel plants increase their operating rate, slightly increasing the consumption of raw materials and refractories, and consuming some inventory.
Market Demand
According to customs statistics, in 2012, China exported 164,700 tons of silicon carbide, a year-on-year decrease of 23.83%; exports were $275 million, a year-on-year decrease of 44.28%; the average export price was $1,671.53 per ton, a year-on-year decrease of 26.84%. Both export volume and price dropped significantly. The total volume of licenses issued for the year was 171,000 tons, accounting for 104% of the annual export volume. The main export destinations for silicon carbide produced were the United States, Japan, South Korea, and some European countries.
China's silicon carbide export situation from 2010 to 2012: tons; ten thousand USD; USD/ton
| Year/Month | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Export Volume | 223,151.32 | 216,232.18 | 164,695.08 |
| Export Value | 43,798.52 | 49,404.67 | 27,529.26 |
| Unit Price | 1,962.73 | 2,284.80 | 1,671.53 |
