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World nitric acid consumption peaked in the late 1980s before declining significantly
through 1994. That decline was primarily related to economic turmoil in the
Eastern bloc countries. Since then, the market has exhibited a very marginal
upward trend. The major end use, ammonium nitrate (AN) fertilizer, is in decline
because of concerns about nitrate groundwater contamination in several regions,
and concern about the explosive nature of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. There
has also been a longer-term trend toward the use of solid urea, which has higher
nitrogen content and is less costly, that has resulted in a negative trend
in the use of solid AN fertilizer. World production and consumption increased
by about 12% between 1994 and 2006. Some growth is projected for liquid fertilizers
containing AN and in industrial applications that should result in a marginal
increase in world nitric acid consumption during the forecast period to 2011.
World nitric acid production in 2006 was estimated at about 51 million metric
tons. Most nitric acid is consumed captively and the merchant portion of the
market accounts for only about 10% of the total. International trade is minor.
The world’s average operating rate has increased recently, indicating
a much stronger market balance than previously.
It is estimated that AN production accounts for 75% of the world nitric acid
market. The AN market is approximately two-thirds fertilizer and one-third
industrial applications. Other non-AN fertilizer products account for about
7% of the world nitric acid market. The combined production of adipic acid,
nitrobenzene, and toluene diisocyanate (TDI) accounts for an estimated 13%.
Western Europe, the former USSR, the United States and Eastern Europe dominate
the market statistics. Together, these regions accounted for about 75% of world
capacity, production and consumption in 2006. The following pie chart shows
world consumption of nitric acid by region:
Since 1994, large production and consumption increases have occurred in the
former USSR, Socialist Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. The largest declines
have been in Western Europe.
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