Cobalt nitrate is widely used, and the cost of raw materials supports the increase in product prices.

Cobalt nitrate, a type of nitrate, has the molecular formula Co(NO3)2. It appears as red crystal, is toxic, easily deliquescent, and is soluble in water. The aqueous solution is red, and is soluble in acids, ethanol, acetone, and methyl acetate. Such organic solvents can lose four crystal waters when heated, and can be decomposed by continued heating, and the products are nitrogen oxides. Cobalt nitrate is an inorganic oxidant that can fuel fires in burning materials, and may cause explosion hazards when mixed with organic matter, reducing agents, flammable materials, etc.

According to the “2021 Cobalt Nitrate Industry Investment Feasibility Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, cobalt nitrate has a wide range of uses and can It is used as a raw material for the preparation of sodium cobalt hexanitrite, cobalt naphthenate and other products; it can be used to prepare desulfurization catalysts and is used as a chemical catalyst in the petrochemical industry; it can be used as an analytical reagent for the analysis and determination of potassium and other elements; it can be used Produces pigments, decolorants, ceramic colorants, paint and ink desiccants, rubber adhesives, invisible inks and other products; can be used as feed additives, cyanide poisoning antidote; can be used to make picture tube glass shells; can be used as vitamin B12 Additives etc.

my country’s cobalt nitrate production companies include Nantong Beixin New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Huaihua Hengan Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Zibo Linzi Millennium Chemical Co., Ltd., Changzhou Yanghu Cobalt Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jinshan Tingxin Chemical Reagent Factory, etc. There are a large number of cobalt nitrate production enterprises in my country, but the number of large-scale enterprises is relatively small, and the industry structure is relatively fragmented. As environmental protection policies become stricter, more companies that are weak, do not have the ability to upgrade equipment and processes, and do not meet standards in scale and environmental protection requirements are forced to withdraw from the market.

In 2020, the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia and the home isolation and epidemic prevention policy have led to the rapid expansion of the number of people working and studying online around the world, driving the market demand for PCs, tablets, and smartphones, and the demand for lithium-ion batteries has subsequently increased. Since the second half of 2020, as the epidemic has been brought under control, the electric vehicle market has gradually recovered, production and sales have resumed growth, and lithium-ion power battery consumption has increased rapidly. Cobalt is an important raw material for cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries, and its demand is rising rapidly.

Global cobalt resource reserves are limited. Based on current demand trends, it is expected that cobalt resources will be exhausted within ten years. Congo (DRC) is the world’s largest cobalt ore producer, but its political situation has been unstable in the past two years, so global cobalt ore production has continued to decline. Cobalt production has decreased while demand has grown rapidly. The market supply has exceeded demand, driving the price of cobalt to continue to rise. The prices of cobalt salts, cobalt oxides, etc. have also continued to rise. As a downstream product of cobalt, the price of cobalt nitrate has also increased.

Industry analysts people said that in 2021, the growth rate of 3C electronics demand will gradually slow down, but the electric vehicle industry is still developing rapidly, and the momentum Batteries have become an important driver of cobalt demand growth. It is expected that in 2022, the field of ternary precursors for power batteries will continue to drive the demand for cobalt, and cobalt prices are expected to continue to run at high levels. Cobalt nitrate is one of the downstream products of cobalt. Supported by raw material costs, the price is expected to remain at a high level in 2022.