# Hydrofluoric acid

The gateway to all fluorine chemistry: fluorspar plus sulphuric acid gives HF, the feed for refrigerants, fluoropolymers, battery salts and chip etching.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/

Commodity chemicals · Acids & alkalis · No. 5

- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Minerals and salts
- about 3 Mt HF a year (2025, derived: about 6.5 Mt acidspar / about 2.1 t acidspar per t HF)
- 0.8 t CO₂e per t
- HS 281111
 Commodity chemicals · Acids & alkalis · Foundation · Matter

A splash of this acid can kill by draining your body's calcium, yet every fridge, phone battery and microchip depends on it.

Chart: Illustration: Hydrofluoric acid

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Acid-grade fluorspar is roasted with sulphuric acid in rotary kilns, and the HF gas is scrubbed and distilled to at least 99.9% purity; about 3 Mt is made a year.

##### Three things to know

1. Making 1 t of HF takes about 2.1 t of acid-grade fluorspar and 2.6 t of sulphuric acid, so whoever controls fluorspar controls HF.
2. In July 2019 Japan restricted high-purity HF exports to South Korea, forcing Korean chipmakers to find new suppliers fast.
3. India's Navin Fluorine opened a 40 kt/yr plant at Dahej in February 2026, lifting its capacity to about 60 kt/yr.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Fluorspar**Mined and floated to over 97% CaF2
2. 2 **Rotary kiln**Heated with sulphuric acid at 200-350 C
3. 3 **Purification**Scrubbed and distilled to 99.9% HF
4. 4 **Anhydrite**3.4-3.6 t gypsum-like waste per tonne
5. 5 **Conversion**Refrigerants, fluoropolymers, battery salts, chip etchants

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/hydrofluoric_acid/links/index.md)