Production capacity of silicon carbide

There are over 200 silicon carbide smelting enterprises in China, with an annual production capacity of over 2.2 million tons (including more than 1.2 million tons of green silicon carbide blocks and about 1 million tons of black silicon carbide blocks). The power of most smelting transformers is 6300~12500kVA, with a maximum smelting transformer of 32000kVA. There are over 300 sand processing and micro powder production enterprises with an annual production capacity of over 2 million tons. In 2012, the utilization rate of silicon carbide production capacity in China was less than 45%. About one-third of smelting enterprises have production lines for processing sand powder. Silicon carbide processing sand powder production enterprises are mainly distributed in Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Jilin, Heilongjiang and other provinces.

China's silicon carbide smelting production process, technical equipment, and single ton energy consumption have reached the world's leading level. The quality level of black and green silicon carbide raw blocks is also world-class. The gap between China's silicon carbide and the world's advanced level is mainly concentrated in four aspects: firstly, large-scale mechanical equipment is rarely used in the production process, and many processes rely on manpower to complete, resulting in lower per capita silicon carbide production; Secondly, in the deep processing of silicon carbide products, the quality management of particle size sand and micro powder products is not precise enough, and the stability of product quality is not sufficient; Thirdly, there is a certain gap in the performance indicators of some cutting-edge products compared to similar products in developed countries; The fourth is the direct emission of carbon monoxide during the smelting process. Major foreign enterprises have basically achieved closed smelting, while in China, almost all silicon carbide smelting is open smelting, with all carbon monoxide directly discharged. In 2012, Chinese enterprises developed closed smelting technology, achieving full recovery of carbon monoxide. However, there is still a long way to go before it is popularized throughout the industry.
According to the data of the Silicon Carbide Expert Committee of the Abrasive and Grinding Tool Special Committee of the China Machine Tool Industry Association, as of the end of 2012, the global silicon carbide production capacity reached over 2.6 million tons, with 13 countries having a production capacity of over 10000 tons, accounting for 98% of the global total production capacity. China's silicon carbide production capacity has reached 2.2 million tons, accounting for 84% of the global total production capacity.
Chinese silicon carbide smelting enterprises are mainly distributed in Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Sichuan and other regions, accounting for approximately 85% of the total production capacity.