A variety of chromium chemicals are commercially sold with sodium dichromate being the most important chromium chemical. The total market of sodium dichromate in 2019 was USD 759.2 million¹. Other chromium chemicals are listed in Table 30‑2. The CrO₃ market is described as a mature market with less than 2,000 customers worldwide – growth rate was said to be “limited, with the exception of Asia”.² Chromium is generally under heavy scrutiny by environmental regulators.

Recent market development: In 2020, demand from the domestic and foreign leather and metal plating industries, in addition to many other linked sectors that use chromium chemicals as an input, was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. During the year, the chromium chemicals market contracted 20% due to the negative effects of the pandemic³.

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Kluchevsky Ferroalloy plant, owned by MidUral and already producing chromium metal and chromium alloys, are to build a new chrome chemicals and superalloys plant together with Turkish Yildrim Group. In 2019, the parties had begun the design of a double-degassing chromium production site at PJSC Kluchevsky Ferroalloy Plant. The consortium of MidUral Group and Yildirim Group were the first companies in the world to build a full-cycle chromium production chain: from ore mining to metal smelting.

Yildrium Group owns Etikrom, the largest marketable hard lumpy chromite ore producer in the world, and is the only high-quality high carbon ferrochrome producer in Turkey. ¹

MidUral Group is a vertically integrated chemical and metallurgical complex of production facilities, specialising in the production of chemical products from chromium salts, as well as the production of master alloys and ferroalloys for use in special-purpose metal production. MidUral Group includes production companies as PJSC Kluchevsk Ferroalloys Plant, JSC Russian Chromium 1915, LLC Kluchevsky Enriching Factory, Dirox S.A. (Uruguay), F.W. Winter Inc & Co (US) as well as trading companies RusChrome Gmbh (Germany) and InterChrome (Switzerland)².

Table 30‑2: The most important chromium chemicals, market size, key players and applications

The first step to producing chromium chemicals in Oman is to determine if the right ore type is present in the country. Next, to future proof chromium chemical production against any forthcoming restrictions in environmental and health regulations, it would be prudent to adopt technologies that overcome or reduce Cr(VI) content.

Processes have been developed to produce chromium chemicals without any Cr (VI) production. These methods tend to be early stage or pre-commercial but can potentially reduce investments related to toxic waste disposal and environmental contamination.

Technologies that have been developed include:

• Prof Animesh Jha from the University of Leeds recently developed a process based on a novel reduction reaction. The process produces sodium chromite (Na₂CrO₂) which can then be converted into Cr₂O₃ ¹.

• Sulphuric acid-based leaching was suggested to produce chromium salts from low Fe(II) chromite by Qing Zhao in collaboration with Prof Ron Zevenhoven².

• In 2004, Chinese researchers described a green manufacturing process of chromium compounds with higher Cr recovery yield and less Cr (VI) content in the residue compared to the traditional process. The process was tested at pilot scale at the time³.

Figure-13: Business canvas for chromium chemicals

Next steps

• Establish the chemical composition of Omani ores and their suitability for chemicals production

• Talk to existing chemical companies internationally about the possibility of establishing a chromium chemical plant in Oman

  • Discuss about the possibility of using a novel process which would avoid the formation of Cr (VI) during the process    

  • Table Error! No text of specified style in document.‑9. Potential partners to support chromium chemicals development.

    Name Institution	Expertise	Comment	URL, contact
    Prof Animesh Jha University of Leeds, UK	Author on “A novel reductive alkali roasting of chromite ores for carcinogen-free Cr6+-ion extraction of chromium oxide (Cr2O3) – A clean route to chromium product manufacturing”, 2020 Previous experience in Cr ore processing in India (e.g., successful extraction of Cr alloys at lower temperatures)	Currently, progressing this with an industrial partner which inhibits giving further information about this project at this stage	https://eps.leeds.ac.uk/chemical-engineering/staff/152/professor-animesh-jha A.Jha@leeds.ac.uk
    Qing Zhao, China	Author on “Recovery of chromium from residue of sulphuric acid leaching of chromite”, 20181.	Brief contact “We used the sulphuric acid leaching process to prepare chromium salt seven years ago, on an industrial scale. But it has closed for some reasons, not for technical reasons. For now, it is not used for commercial production”	zhaoq@smm.neu.edu.cn
    Yi Zhang,China	Author on “Green Manufacturing Process of Chromium Compounds”, 20042 . Publication shows a chromium production demonstration plant in Henan Province, China	Not contacted	http://english.ipe.cas.cn/pe/fas/200906/t20090612_6011.html
    Sisecam, Lanxess, Brother Enterprises and/or other players in the chemical industry to help set up a plant in Oman

     

Chromium-containing alloys have a wide range of uses from chemical processing to specialist alloys in the alloy and gas industry (Figure 31‑1). Some chromium containing ferrous alloys are manufactured in Oman by Jindal Shadeed. Currently, no non-ferrous alloys are being manufactured within the country. Non-ferrous chromium alloys require chromium metal as the raw material. Chromium metal is manufactured using chromium chemicals, including sodium dichromate and chromium (III) oxide, as the precursors. Currently Oman does not have chromium chemicals manufacturing facilities in place, thus any chromium chemicals would need to be imported. This makes it financially unviable as a business proposition. If an Omani company for the manufacture of chromium chemicals is established in the future, alloy manufacturing can be explored.

Figure 31‑1. Chromium alloys and their uses.