Silica Flour Market Expected to Reach $876.3 Million by 2031—Allied Market Research

The global silica flour market size was valued at $520.0 million in 2021, and is projected to reach $876.3 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% from 2022 to 2031.

Silica flour is produced by finely grounding mined crystalline silica rocks. Silica flour is white, amorphous powder that is insoluble in water. It is also known as ground silica sand with a high silica sand which exhibits 98% of silica sand. It has high melting point, good permeability, and high mechanical strength. It has a wide range of applications in the fiberglass, oil & gas, glass and clays, ceramic and refractory, and other end use sectors.

Increase in global population, improvement in standard of living, and rise in purchasing power of consumer have led them to seek for unique construction material for designing their homes. Ceramics are one of the distinctive materials used in both residential and commercial construction including tiles, washbasins, kitchen countertops, and others where grounded silica is used extensively as glassifying and melting agent. This acts as a driving key for the silica flour market.

Silica flour is present in the paints, coatings, glasses, rubber, and tiers. There is a risk associated with these products when a person has a prolonged exposure to the silica and may cause silicosis diseases which in turn leads to eye irritation, heart related problems, skin related issues, and others. However, there are some restraints like the government restrictions on the use of silica flour concentration and the availability of alternative substitutes for silica flour has disturbed the market growth. These factors are adversely impacting the growth of the global silica flour market.

Rapid infrastructure development and increase in demand from the automotive sector has led to rise in iron & steel production in both developed and developing economies such as the U.S., China, and India. The silica flour has considerably low thermal expansion, high melting point, and resistant to metal deformation properties owing to which it is used as coating material in iron & steel sector. In addition, developments in modern theme-based building & construction sector has surged the demand for glass that is used in manufacturing windowpanes, doors, and other building parts where silica flour is used as glassifying agent. It is used predominantly in glass manufacturing units owing to low thermal expansion capacity and high melting point.

The silica flour material market forecast is segmented on the basis of by type, application, and region.

By type, the market is segregated into quartz and cristobalite. The quartz segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2021, with 66% of total share. This is attributed to the fact that rise in industrial sector, glass manufacturing units, ceramics, paints, and others where quartz are increasingly used for providing glossy finish to masonry walls, covering, and flooring in various residential and commercial building construction projects. This is anticipated to increase the demand for silica flour in the quartz segment.

By application, the market is fragmented into fiberglass, glass and clay, oil well cement, ceramic and refractory, foundry, and others. The fiberglass application segment dominated the global market, with 35% of the total share in 2021. The extensive demand for fiberglass in building & construction has led the silica flour-based fiberglass manufacturers to produce highly efficient fiberglass used in wall coverings, fire protection, and other applications. These factors augment the growth of the fiberglass segment in the global silica flour market.

Region-wise, the silica flour market forecast is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific silica flour market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, and accounted for a major silica flour market share in 2021, with 43% of the total share. The cement manufacturing sector in China is experiencing rapid growth, which has forced silica flour manufacturers to produce high quality silica flour for high temperature applications in kilns, furnaces, incinerators, and others.

Key players operating in the global silica flour market analysis include AGSCO, Adwan Chemical Industries Co. Ltd, Delmon Group of Companies, Hoben International Limited, Opta Minerals Inc., SCR-SIBELCO NV, Sil industrial minerals, PolyOne Corporation, Sanitized AG, and BioCote Limited.

Key findings

• By type, the quartz segment accounted for about 66% of global silica flour market share in 2021, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period.
• By application, the fiberglass segment is the fastest-growing application segment in the global silica flour market and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% during 2021–2031.
• By region, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate, registering a CAGR of 5.9%, during the forecast period.
• By region, North America dominated the silica flour market with more than 43% of the share, in terms of revenue, in 2021.