Last year, I estimated total 2012 world production of Kr would be 97 million liters, production of Xe at 10.5 million liters, and Ne production at about 625 million liters. In my follow up plant-by-plant analysis, I found that the 2012 world production totals changed with the direction of global steel production and the addition of new air separation units (ASUs) with rare gases production.
Of the approximate 100 ASUs with crude Kr and Xe production operating in 2012, I confirmed production of Kr at 97 million liters annually. The Xe estimate for 2011, however, was a little high, with Xe production currently about 9.8 million liters. The Ne production estimate was a bit high as well. After reviewing the approximately 20 worldwide ASUs that produce Ne, I found my original estimate to be about 10 percent higher than the approximately 550 million liters actually produced in 2012 based on my new research. This difference was due to some ASUs with Ne production not operating their crude columns.
I predicted krypton would become tight in 2012—and it did early on—but demand fizzled out by 4Q12. Demand for krypton in insulated window manufacturing, a major application for this gas, recovered well from the 2009 recession but fell off as Europe went back into recession in 2012, slowing construction and related sales for windows, and causing a decline in Kr demand. The largest application for Kr—lighting—also flattened due to the changes in the energy efficiency regulations for light bulbs implemented in Europe, the US, and Australia. New energy efficient lighting, such as compact fluorescent bulbs and LED, do not require krypton. In addition, the new fluorescent tubes, some of which use Kr, now are half the diameter of the older tubes and use less gas.
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