Hydrofluoric Acid Market

The global hydrofluoric acid market is expected to grow at a rate of 5.35% during the forecast period and is attributed to the growing demand for fluorine compounds for industrial purposes and the increased demand for hydrofluorocarbons and hydrofluoroolefins. However, the regulations on the use of hydrofluorocarbons are hampering the growth of the market during the forecast period. Nevertheless, the growing application of hydrofluoric acid in glass etching and cleaning applications along with the growth of the real estate sector in the Middle East & Africa region is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the players in the global market.

According to the World Health Organization, presently around 3.8% of the global population is experiencing depression across the age spectrum and globally around 280 million individuals are diagnosed with depression. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance data on depressive disorders have highlighted that approximately 17.3 million adult population in the US are affected by depressive disorder in 2017. In 2018, around 1.9 million global population in the age group 3 to 17 have been identified with depression. Depression has become a more common health problem among US Citizens stated the Professor of the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, University of New York in an article published in the U.S. News & World Report L.P. This is further justified by the 2015-2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health data reported that there has been a continuous increase of incidence of depression over the past five years and 17.2% of the young adults in the age group 18-25 years were experiencing depression among other age groups.

Similar were the trends in various other countries in the world including Australia, the UK, India, etc. For instance, the National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing conducted by the Australian government stated that in 2020-2021 21.4% of Australians had suffered a 12-month mental disorder before the survey period. Health and Safety Executive of the UK data reveals that from 2021 to 2022, around 17 million workdays in the country have been lost due to issues including depression, stress, or anxiety due to work issues. India among all the countries in the globe has the highest number of depressed individuals stated by WHO in its 2014 report and the National Mental Health Survey 2015-2016 highlighted that 15% of the adult population in India needed intervention to overcome the issue. The increasing incidence and prevalence of depression disorders are boosting the demand for Fluoxetine also called Prozac, which predominantly used hydrofluoric acid as its key ingredient in chemical synthesis.

Further, Hydrofluoric acid is used in the manufacturing of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides that are rich in fluorine and also plays an important role as a catalyst in the alkylation process in the manufacturing of petroleum. The use of the acid boosts the yield of crude oil, the efficiency of the process, and the quality of the petrol. The increasing demand for nutrient-rich pesticides and escalating demand for petroleum oil and products are positively impacting the growth of the market. Thus, the increasing demand for fluorine compounds for industrial purposes is driving the growth of the market during the forecast period.

Glass is a widely used product in various devices including solar cells, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, and optical devices. For all these applications, the glass needs to have a textured surface for better function of the product. For instance, to achieve higher efficiency in solar cells, effective light absorption and light management are necessary which is achieved using surface texturing. Increasing demand for thin film silicon in solar cell manufacturing in line with expanding scientific studies by various academic and research institutes has been boosting the adoption of hydrofluoric acid, one such research by Sungkyunkwan University, Korea and Korea Electronics Technology Institute, Korea on the chemical etching of glasses in hydrofluoric acid-based solution in 2017 has highlighted the benefits of wet etching using hydrofluoric acid over the dry plasma etching. The benefits and advantages of wet etching are the low-cost and simplified process apart from its ability to produce well-controlled surface structures. In addition, the property of hydrofluoric acid-based etching helps in dissolving the glasses without any change in their color and is increasingly used in the commercial production of bathroom mirrors that uses acid etching for printing designs.

Another widespread use of hydrofluoric acid in various cleaning solutions including car washes, rust removers, toilet cleaners, detergents, brick and stone cleaning, etc. The ability of hydrofluoric acid to dissolve metal items, concrete, silica, and various metallic oxides comes off as an advantage in the formulation of cleaning formulations. However, hydrofluoric acids are known to cause heat burns and environmental issues, the increasing concern regarding environmental safety and health is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the players in the market to develop innovative and environment-friendly hydrofluoric acid-based etching and cleaning solutions.

Hydrofluorocarbons are potent greenhouse gases that have high flammability and cause damage to human health and the heart. The high concentrations of hydrofluorocarbons have the potency to cause suffocation. These gases are the potential causes of global warming and are commonly found in the products like aerosols, refrigerators, air conditioners, and foam that are made using hydrofluoric acid predominantly in their manufacturing process. Owing to the toxicity and health hazards, hydrofluorocarbon usage is highly regulated. US Montreal Protocol, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, F gas regulation (517/2014/EU), and EU MMR regulation (525/2013/EU) are some of the most common international rules that are regulating hydrofluorocarbons. The Kigali Amendment in the Montreal Protocol has included hydrofluorocarbons under the phase-down list which includes the substances that need to be excluded from usage.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates, the phasedown of the hydrofluorocarbons globally by 2100 is expected to result in avoiding a 0.5-degree Celsius in terms of global warming levels. In line with the regulations, organizations, and governments are taking several initiatives to phase out the use or substitute the hydrofluorocarbons in various application areas. For instance, the federal government is taking measures to replace the hydrofluorocarbons through the Federal Acquisition Regulation implementation in the General Services Administration, Department of Defense, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration that mandates procuring alternatives wherever possible and feasible to alleviate the health hazards and toxicity of the hydrofluorocarbons. Moreover, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to restrict the use of hydrofluorocarbons in some of the application areas including aerosols, air conditioning, refrigeration gases, heat pump products, and equipment by January 1, 2025. The above-said regulation on the use of hydrofluorocarbons is expected to hamper the growth of the market during the forecast period.