Cheap export of adsorbents: technologies and trends? 

Cheap export of adsorbents: technologies and trends?

When people talk about cheap exports, many people immediately think about low quality or dumping. But in the adsorbents segment, everything is not so clear. Cheapness often does not depend on raw materials, but on logistics, packaging and, more importantly, on the production technology itself, which allows you to reduce costs without fatal damage to key characteristics. This is what I would like to speculate on, based on what you see on the market.

Where does this “cheapness” come from?

If we take China, and it is now the main player in this field, then there are several sources there. The first is scale. Factories that make silica gels or activated carbons on stream have completely different figures for energy consumption and the purchase of raw materials. The second is process optimization. It is no secret that many European technologies are morally outdated and are simply expensive to modernize. And in China, new production facilities are often built from scratch, immediately for modern, more energy-efficient lines. This is not always about the theft of intellectual property; often it is simply the application of well-known engineering solutions, but in a more rational way.

But there are also pitfalls. 'Cheap' does not mean 'universal'. Often under this brand there is a product with a narrow specification, say, for drying gases in not the most critical processes. Try to use it for fine purification of pharmaceutical substances - and that’s all, problems. Therefore, a buyer who is chasing only a low price must clearly understand for what purposes he needs it. I myself saw how a batch of cheap silica gel, which worked perfectly in one region, in another, with higher air humidity during storage, simply compacted into a monolith even before loading into the columns. We lost everything - both product and time.

Another point is packaging. Often savings come from bags. It would seem like a small thing. But if a multilayer bag with a polyethylene liner is replaced with a simple kraft paper one, the adsorbent can pick up moisture in the container during sea transportation. And its activity will drop by 10-15% even before use. Saving a couple of dollars per unit of packaging then turns into huge losses in efficiency. This is a classic mistake when ordering the 'cheapest' option.

Technological trends that are changing the market

The current trend is not to reduce the cost of raw materials, but to increase efficiency. Let's say modified zeolites. The base itself may be inexpensive, but after modification - ion exchange, for example - they obtain a selective capacity for specific molecules. Such a product can no longer be called simply a ‘cheap adsorbent’; it is a specialized solution, and its price is appropriate. But its use can significantly reduce the overall costs of the cleaning process, because less material and fewer regeneration cycles are required.

The second is form. There are more and more requests for extruded (molded) adsorbents rather than crushed ones. Crushing is cheaper to produce, but produces more dust and subsidence in the column. Molded pellets, although more expensive to produce, provide consistent low pressure drop and long service life. Exporters who invest in extrusion equipment benefit in the long run because their product goes into higher-tech and critical applications.

And third is data. There are manufacturers who do not just sell bags of granules, but accompany the product with detailed data: adsorption isotherms for different substances, kinetics, data on abrasion resistance specifically for this batch. This requires a serious laboratory base. For example, a design instituteChengdu Yizhi Technology Co.(their website isyzkjhx.ru), created on the basis of a chemical company, just one of those. They are not just salespeople, they can calculate the process and select the type of adsorbent for the specific task of the customer. This is the next level, where the price per kilogram is not the main argument. Their capital of 120 million yuan indicates serious investments in the technological and engineering part.

Logistics as part of the cost

There are many nuances here that are not written about in textbooks. Let's say exports from China to the CIS. By land via Kazakhstan - longer, but often more stable in terms of delivery time, especially for moisture-sensitive materials. By sea to the Baltic ports - cheaper for freight, but then long customs clearance and also transportation by rail are added. Adsorbents are not dangerous cargo, but they are bulky and heavy. Savings on freight can be eaten up by the cost of transshipment and downtime.

We once tried to order a large batch of activated carbon via the most cost-effective sea route with a long transshipment. As a result, the coal arrived with a high ash content - apparently, it had picked up something in the ports. Laboratory analysis indicated deviation from specification. I had to use it on less critical operations, essentially losing money. Since then, we have always included a more reliable, albeit slightly more expensive route in the price. Cheap export is often a lottery if you do not control the chain to the end.

Packaging, again. For sea transportation, a container with humidity control or at least high-quality sealed big bags is required. Many suppliers save money and put standard bags in a container, and then there is condensation inside. And it’s good if it’s silica gel, which can then be regenerated. What if it’s a zeolite that irreversibly loses its structure? Total losses.

Real cases and mistakes

Let me give you an example from practice. There was a request from one plant forcheap adsorbentsfor drying air in the compressor room. We bought standard silica gel roll-on from China at the lowest price. Everything worked for six months, and then efficiency dropped sharply, and the compressor rotors began to corrode. It turned out that the silica gel had a high content of water-soluble chlorides (a byproduct of cheap production), which were washed out by condensation moisture and entered the system. The repair cost tens of times more than what was saved on the purchase. Moral: in equipment-related processes, saving on adsorbent is the riskiest path.

Another case, positive. It was necessary to select an adsorbent to capture organic vapors in a small production facility. The budget was limited. After consultations with technologists, including studying materials from the mentionedChengdu Yizhi Technology Co., settled on modified activated carbon of the middle fraction. He was more expensive than herself