# Water treatment chemicals: Movement

Why liquid coagulants rarely travel far from the plant

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/water_treatment/movement/

What this tab covers How it moves between countries: share of output traded, physical form and transport, the largest exporters and importers, main routes, India's trade, and handling rules in transit.

#### Trade in 2024 UN Comtrade, HS 382499
 World exports $43.3 bn 126 reporting exporters · about 14.8 m t Largest exporter China 13.7% of world exports Largest importer China 15.4% of world imports India imports $1.15 bn
exports $342.8 m #12 importer · #21 exporter

#### Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows
 Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 382499: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

#### HS 382499: largest exporters

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **China** | 13.7% | $5.93 bn | 4.86 m |
| **Germany** | 13.5% | $5.82 bn | 2.14 m |
| **United States** | 12.3% | $5.32 bn | 1.03 m |
| **Japan** | 10.5% | $4.54 bn | 416k |
| **Ireland** | 7.5% | $3.25 bn | 80k |
| **South Korea** | 5% | $2.17 bn | 388k |
| **France** | 4.7% | $2.02 bn | – |
| **Netherlands** | 4.3% | $1.84 bn | 749k |

#### HS 382499: largest importers

| Country | Share | Value (US$) | Tonnes |
|---|---|---|---|
| **China** | 15.4% | $6.83 bn | 2.17 m |
| **United States** | 14.1% | $6.24 bn | 874k |
| **Germany** | 6.6% | $2.93 bn | 1.30 m |
| **Hungary** | 4.4% | $1.95 bn | 132k |
| **Mexico** | 3.9% | $1.72 bn | – |
| **South Korea** | 3.8% | $1.70 bn | – |
| **France** | 3.2% | $1.42 bn | 561k |
| **Japan** | 3.1% | $1.37 bn | 631k |

 UN Comtrade 2024, reported by each country (exports by exporters, imports by importers), all partners. Some countries (for example Russia and Iran) do not report, so their shares are missing. HS codes can be broader than the tile: check the code before reading a share as the whole market.

#### How it moves

| Measure | Figure |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Share traded** | small for coagulants (liquid, low value, made locally); larger for polyacrylamide powder, phosphonates and specialty biocides; no published share |  |  |
| **How it moves** | Liquid coagulants travel by road tanker over short distances. Polyacrylamide moves as powder in bags or as emulsion in IBCs, in containers. Hypochlorite is made near use because it decomposes. |  |  |
| **Routes and chokepoints** | China to South and South-East Asia and the Middle East for polymers and phosphonates; Europe and US to the rest of the world for specialty biocides and programmes. |  |  |
| **India** | . Polyacrylamide is largely imported (indicative). HS 382499: India imported $1.15 billion (2.6% of world imports, rank 12) and exported $343 million (0.8% of world exports, rank 21) (UN Comtrade 2024). |  |  |
| **Handling in transit** | Ferric chloride solution UN2582, class 8; sodium hypochlorite solution UN1791, class 8; aluminium chloride solution UN2581, class 8; polyacrylamide polymer is not classified as dangerous goods. |  |  |

## Other sections

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