Hydrogen peroxide: Overview
From paper bleach to chip cleaning and plastics
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is made almost entirely by the anthraquinone process: hydrogen reduces an anthraquinone in solvent, air re-oxidises it and releases peroxide, which is extracted into water and concentrated to 35-70%. World output is roughly 6 Mt a year on a 100% basis (indicative), worth about $5 billion. Pulp and textile bleaching were the original uses; dedicated plants of 230 kt or more now feed HPPO propylene oxide units. It matters for climate because its hydrogen comes from natural gas, and because it replaces chlorine bleaching.
Volume about 6 Mt a year, 100% basis (indicative, basis: producer capacity statements; no public statistical total found); India about 0.14-0.35 Mt (2024-25) Market value $5.2 billion (2023), forecast $8.8 billion by 2032 Growth about 6% a year in value to 2032 (GMI); India 4.85% a year in volume, 2026-2031 (Mordor) Global Market Insights (2024); Mordor Intelligence via GII (2026); India market note (Google Sites, 2024)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulp and paper bleaching (chemical and mechanical pulp, deinking) | 35% | about 2.1 Mtbasis | Peroxide brightens mechanical pulp without dissolving fibre and is a key stage in elemental-chlorine-free bleaching of kraft pulp. It leaves no chlorinated by-products, which pulp mills value under effluent rules. Global Market Insights (2024); share indicative | Chlorine dioxide (kraft pulp) Sodium dithionite (mechanical pulp) Ozone |
| Chemical synthesis: HPPO propylene oxide, caprolactam (ammoximation), epichlorohydrin, peracetic acid, percarbonate | 35% | about 2.1 Mtbasis | HPPO makes propylene oxide with water as the only by-product, avoiding the chlorohydrin route's salt waste and the co-products of PO/SM. Evonik's 230 kt/yr Jilin plant was built to supply a neighbouring HPPO plant. Evonik (2014); stoichiometry; share indicative | Chlorohydrin and PO/SM or PO/TBA routes for PO Cumene-based PO |
| Textile bleaching | 8% | about 0.48 Mtbasis | Peroxide bleaches cotton and blends before dyeing with little fibre damage. India, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the big cotton processors, are large users. Mordor via GII (2026); share indicative | Sodium hypochlorite Enzymatic bleaching |
| Environmental uses: wastewater, odour control, gold-mine cyanide destruction, soil remediation | 10% | about 0.6 Mtbasis | Peroxide oxidises sulphides, cyanide and organics and leaves no residue. Advanced oxidation with UV or ozone treats hard-to-degrade pollutants. Indicative | Chlorine and hypochlorite Ozone Caro's acid (mining) |
| Electronics: ultra-pure peroxide for wafer cleaning (SC-1, SC-2, piranha) | 4% | about 0.24 Mtbasis | Mixed with ammonia or acids, ultra-pure peroxide strips particles and metals from wafers at each process step. Demand follows wafer starts and new fabs. GMI (2024, qualitative); share indicative | Ozonated water in some steps |
| Food, aseptic packaging, disinfection and cosmetics | 8% | about 0.48 Mtbasis | Peroxide sterilises cartons and bottles in aseptic filling lines and is a broad-spectrum disinfectant that breaks down to water and oxygen. Indicative | Peracetic acid Steam and UV sterilisation |
From raw material to user
- Hydrogen supply About 0.06 t of hydrogen per t of 100% H2O2 (stoichiometric 0.059), usually from steam methane reforming or chlor-alkali by-product hydrogen.
- Hydrogenation An alkyl-anthraquinone dissolved in a mixed solvent (the working solution) is hydrogenated over a palladium catalyst.
- Oxidation Air oxidises the hydroquinone back to anthraquinone, releasing H2O2 into the working solution.
- Extraction and purification Water extracts the peroxide at about 25-45%; the working solution is recycled.
- Concentration Vacuum distillation gives 50%, 60% or 70% commercial grades; electronic grade is further purified.
- Distribution Stabilised solutions move by road tanker and IBC to mills and plants within a few hundred km, or by pipeline to HPPO units.
Made from (commodity table)
Gas Natural gasThree things to know
- Each tonne of H2O2 (100%) needs about 0.06 t of hydrogen, so cheap hydrogen and power set the cost (stoichiometry).
- One HPPO plant can absorb a world-scale peroxide plant: Evonik built 230 kt/yr at Jilin for a single propylene oxide customer (Evonik, 2014).
- India moved into surplus from late 2022 after anti-dumping duties on six Asian suppliers lapsed in June 2022 (Chemical Market Analytics, 2023).