According to the latest market research study released by Technavio, the global zirconium market is expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 7% during the forecast period 2016-2020.
This market research report by Technavio provides an in-depth analysis of the market in terms of revenue and emerging market trends. The report also includes an up-to-date analysis and forecasts for various market segments and all geographical regions.
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Technavio research analysts categorize the global zirconium market based on end-use type:
Global zirconium market share by end-use type 2015
|
Ceramics |
56.83% |
|
Chemicals |
15.42% |
|
Foundry |
13.22% |
|
Refractories |
12.33% |
|
Others |
2.20% |
Source: Technavio
The top four revenue contributing end-use segments are discussed below:
Global zirconium market for ceramics
In 2015, the ceramics segment accounted for around 57% of the global zirconium market. Zircon can be used in many ways that include an opacifier for ceramic tiles, and zircon sand used as glaze emulsion in ceramics. The ceramics industry includes tableware, sanitary ware, and tiles and has the basic applications of zirconium. Besides this, it is used in some diesel and jet engines and owing to its capacity to withstand high temperature, zircon is also used in the manufacturing of laboratory equipment.
“Zirconia has properties like high strength, ductility, malleability, and extreme resistance to heat and corrosion by other agents. These characteristics make its application easy and account for its extensive usage for various purposes. Zirconia also has significant application in portable devices., For instance, in 2016, Apple patented its protective zirconia insertion for portable devices,” says Ajay Adhikari, a lead analyst at Technavio for research on metals and minerals.
Zirconia outsmarts aluminum in many ways which include its property as scratch resistance and radio transparency. It is due to its radio transparent nature that zirconia never interferes in wireless communication signals and radio waves. Emerging economies such as China, Brazil, and India and developed economies such as the US, Spain, Italy, and Japan have the highest demand for zircon sand in ceramics applications.
Global zirconium market for chemicals
The chemicals segment accounted for around 15% of the global zirconium market in 2015. Zirconium is manufactured from zirconium oxychloride (ZOC) and the zirconium chemicals are popular for its low level of environment pollution. It is widely used in applications such as ware materials, fuel cells, automobile and industrial catalysts, dielectric and piezoelectric devices, and oxygen sensors. Zirconium chemicals can also be used for the surface coating of paper and cardboard. The zirconium sulfate is used for minor tanning of leather and coating titanium dioxide pigments, while zirconium hydroxide is used for producing advanced zirconium dioxide powders.
Global zirconium market for foundry
In 2015, the foundry segment accounted for around 13% of the global zirconium market. In the foundry industry, zirconium is widely used for various purposes such as sand casting, aluminum casting and investment casting. Owing to its property of giving a fine and smooth finish to castings and increasing resistance to metal penetration, zircon is extensively used in the steel industry for facings on foundry molds. It is a perfect material for foundry mold as it does not change volume like silica. Besides this, zircon is a good heat conductor and has high strength, and helps in fighting the slag reaction. The key revenue generators of this industry are Japan and the US, these countries have the highest demand for zirconium in foundry applications.
Global zirconium market for refractories
In 2015, the refractories segment accounted for around 12% of the global zirconium market. Refractories is used mostly in the form of zircon, alumina-zirconia-silica, or zirconia. This segment uses zirconium for various applications such as in steel making refractories, glass tank refractories, and flow control nozzles. Unlike zirconia which can be used in basic refractory environments, zircon-based refractories find their usage under acidic environments. Zirconia is popularly used in glass contact areas in glass furnaces due to its low reactivity with molten glass. Also, it hardly gets wet, which makes the process easy. There are different types of zircon refractories including high dense zircon brick, fused cast zirconia brick, fused cast skid rail block, zirconia-mullite brick, and others.
The top leading vendors operating in the global zirconium market are:
- Alkane
- Exxaro Resources
- Iluka Resources
- Kenmare Resources
- Richards Bay Minerals (RBM)
- Tronox
Other prominent vendors in the market include Astron, Chemours, Cristal Mining, Luxfer, Molycorp, and Titanium.
A more detailed analysis is available in the Technavio report titled, ‘Global Zirconium Market 2016-2020’. Technavio also customizes reports by other regions and specific segments upon request.
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