The sulfate industry is deeply committed to refined transformation and has established a comprehensive chemical raw material supply system with multiple product categories.

Sulfates, as a diverse category of inorganic chemical raw materials, cover numerous applications including industrial auxiliaries, fertilizer raw materials, water treatment agents, and building material additives. With the implementation of a one-stop centralized procurement system for 42 series of chemical raw materials, the integration of sulfate supply across all categories is accelerating, forming a complementary raw material supply chain with soda ash and chlorides, comprehensively covering the basic raw material procurement needs of various industries.

In terms of product structure, sulfates have formed a dual-track development pattern of bulk industrial salts and refined high-purity salts. Bulk sulfates such as ammonium sulfate, sodium sulfate, and magnesium sulfate rely on large-scale production facilities, focusing on the traditional essential markets of fertilizers, printing and dyeing, and papermaking. Refined sulfates such as aluminum sulfate, ferrous sulfate, and copper sulfate are extending towards high-purity electronic and reagent grades, suitable for high-value-added sectors such as new energy electrolytes, water treatment flocculants, and feed additives. The production process vigorously promotes the recycling of sulfur resources, utilizing byproducts of smelting sulfuric acid and chemical waste acid to produce sulfates, significantly reducing the consumption of primary sulfur ore. This aligns with the circular economy industrial policy. Many chemical industrial parks have centralized waste acid recycling and treatment centers, enabling local sourcing and production of sulfate raw materials.

The downstream market is steadily expanding, driven by the development of multiple industries. In the fertilizer sector, ammonium sulfate is a key raw material for nitrogen-sulfur compound fertilizers, and its usage in the production of fertilizers for cash crops is increasing year by year. In water treatment, aluminum sulfate and polyferric sulfate are core flocculants, with increased procurement driven by water environment governance projects. Sodium sulfate in the building materials and daily chemical industries maintains a rigid demand, while the production of daily detergents and artificial boards steadily consumes basic sulfate raw materials. One-stop centralized procurement connects sources from different production areas, helping downstream enterprises to centrally purchase sulfates along with supporting soda ash and chlorides, reducing the logistics and communication costs of separate procurement of multiple categories.

The normalization of environmental regulations is forcing the industry to eliminate outdated production capacity. High-energy-consuming small-scale sulfate production lines are gradually being shut down, and production capacity is increasingly concentrated in well-equipped chemical industrial parks. Industry insiders say that the sulfate industry will continue to leverage centralized procurement platforms to connect upstream and downstream sectors, develop iterative products around environmentally friendly new materials and new fertilizer additives, explore the application potential of refined sulfates in emerging industries, and promote the entire sulfate sector from extensive mass production to a new stage of refined and customized production.