How much for one kilogram of zirconia beads?
The price of Zirconium Balls fluctuates greatly and is influenced by various factors, ranging from tens of yuan to thousands of yuan per kilogram. As of 2024, the market price of ordinary industrial-grade zirconia balls, with a purity of around 95% and common particle sizes ranging from 5mm to 10mm, is approximately 100 to 300 yuan per kilogram. This type of zirconium balls is widely used in general grinding scenarios, such as the production grinding of common coatings and inks, and can meet the basic grinding requirements.
When the purity is raised to 99% or even higher, the price of zirconia balls reaching high-purity grade will increase significantly, reaching 500 to 1,000 yuan per kilogram. For instance, in the grinding process of positive and negative electrode materials for lithium batteries, due to the extremely high requirements for material purity and particle size uniformity, high-purity zirconia balls, with their low wear and high hardness, can ensure that the materials are not contaminated during the grinding process, thereby guaranteeing the stable performance of lithium battery products. Therefore, they are highly favored in such high-end application fields.
If it is nano-scale zirconia ceramic balls, due to the complex preparation process and strict technical requirements, the price is even more expensive, possibly exceeding 1,000 yuan per kilogram. Nanoscale zirconia ceramic balls are tiny and uniform in size. They play a crucial role in the polishing process of semiconductor chip manufacturing and in the production of precision components for high-end medical devices. Their high precision and excellent performance determine their high value.
In addition to purity and particle size, changes in raw material prices and market supply and demand relationships also have a significant impact on the price of zirconium balls. Zirconium ore, as a key raw material for the production of zirconium balls, if its supply is tight, such as when the output of major zirconium mining areas around the world declines due to policies, natural disasters and other factors, the cost of zirconium balls will inevitably increase, which in turn will drive up the price.
Conversely, if there are numerous zirconium ball manufacturing enterprises in the market with sufficient supply, but the downstream demand grows weakly due to economic conditions and other reasons, the price may face downward pressure. For instance, during the period from 2021 to 2022, due to the instability of the global supply chain and the soaring prices of raw materials, the prices of zirconium balls generally rose to varying degrees.