CAS 1310-58-3 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) under IECSC

KOH · 氢氧化钾

Status: Listed. Potassium hydroxide is on the IECSC public portion as a foundational alkali hydroxide. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. **Potassium hydroxide IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals** (Skin Corr. 1A + Acute Tox. 4 oral classification). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for production / storage / distribution (parallel to caustic soda batch 1). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog. China dominates global production (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr KOH equivalent) led by Sinopec Beijing, Wansheng Chemical Anhui, Hubei Sanonda, Qingdao Soda Industry Shandong, Hubei Yihua. Beijing has actively encouraged KOH capacity expansion to support biodiesel + alkaline-battery + K2CO3 industrial chains.

Potassium hydroxide is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required, parallel to caustic soda batch 1). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog. 9% VAT export rebate is structural margin support. China dominates global production (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr KOH equivalent) led by Sinopec Beijing, Wansheng Chemical Anhui, Hubei Sanonda, Qingdao Soda Industry Shandong, Hubei Yihua. Membrane-cell electrolysis of KCl brine is dominant production route (~95%). **KCl feedstock cost layer is dominant** (~50-60% of KOH production cost): China is world's largest K-fertiliser / KCl importer (from Belarus, Russia, Canada, Israel) so KCl feedstock cost flows through to KOH price. Capacity additions 2024-2026 (Wansheng Chemical Phase 2, Sinopec Beijing expansion, Hubei Sanonda) extend Chinese dominance toward ~55%. KOH is the **K-analogue of caustic soda** (batch 1 mirror) at ~30:1 smaller market scale.

Listing and threshold

Substance Potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) (CAS 1310-58-3), KOH
Regime China Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC), administered by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
Jurisdiction People's Republic of China
Status Listed
Tonnage threshold No new-substance threshold applies. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required regardless of volume

Classifications under this regime

  • Listed in China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog
  • GB/T 1919-2014 specification applies for industrial-grade potassium hydroxide (Chinese national standard)
  • GB/T 1919-2014 covers minimum 95.0% purity (industrial-grade), Na2O contamination, Cl contamination, Fe2O3 contamination
  • GACC export classification: HS 281520 (potassium hydroxide solid) or HS 281530 (potassium hydroxide solution)
  • China dominates global production (~50%, ~3-4 Mt/yr KOH equivalent); ~95% via membrane-cell electrolysis of KCl brine
  • GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 8 (corrosive), UN 1813 (solid) / UN 1814 (solution)

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required** for any party producing, storing, or distributing potassium hydroxide
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment of bulk KOH
  • Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
  • No specific export-restriction or quota system applies (unlike urea / DAP fertilisers)
  • VAT export rebate currently 9% for industrial-grade KOH (HS 281520 / 281530) per inorganic chemicals chapter rebate schedule; verify before invoicing
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution
  • Chinese capacity additions 2024-2026 (Wansheng Chemical Anhui Phase 2, Sinopec Beijing expansion, Hubei Sanonda) extend Chinese capacity dominance toward ~55%
  • KCl feedstock economics: ~1.4 tonnes KCl per tonne KOH via membrane-cell electrolysis. China imports significant KCl from Belarus + Russia + Canada + Israel (China is the world's largest K-fertiliser importer)

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin potassium hydroxide exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. The export-side documentation pack focuses on the Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain (producer / forwarder / port operator each hold permits), the GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and ADG 7.7 Class 8 transport documentation. Major Chinese producers (Sinopec Beijing, Wansheng Chemical Anhui, Hubei Sanonda, Qingdao Soda Industry Shandong, Hubei Yihua) compete with EU domestic producers (Solvay, Akzo Nobel, BASF), Israeli ICL Group (Sodom Dead Sea brine), and Korean producers (LG Chem Yeosu, Hanwha Solutions Yeosu). The KCl feedstock cost layer is the dominant Chinese KOH economics layer (China is world's largest KCl importer; KCl feedstock cost = ~50-60% of KOH production cost).

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 281520 (solid) or 281530 (solution)
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 1919-2014 (minimum 95.0% purity)
  • GHS-compliant SDS in Simplified Chinese per GB/T 17519-2013 (effective 31 January 2014, references UN GHS 4th revised edition; verify against the current version of GB/T 17519 at https://www.codeofchina.com/standard/GBT17519-2013.html)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain documentation (producer / forwarder / port operator)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
  • GB 6944-2012 Class 8 dangerous-goods transport documentation

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain is the dominant operational complexity; permit lapses at any node trigger holds (parallel to caustic soda batch 1)
  • 9% VAT rebate is structural margin; verify rebate filing on each shipment
  • NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol)
  • NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog (lighter than acetone batch 15, methanol batch 3)
  • Major Chinese producers concentrated in northern + central + coastal provinces: Sinopec Beijing, Wansheng Chemical Anhui, Hubei Sanonda (Hubei), Qingdao Soda Industry Shandong, Hubei Yihua
  • **KCl feedstock cost layer is dominant** (~50-60% of KOH production cost). China is world's largest K-fertiliser / KCl importer (from Belarus, Russia, Canada, Israel); KCl feedstock cost flows through to KOH price
  • Membrane-cell electrolysis is dominant Chinese production route (~95%); diaphragm-cell at smaller scale
  • GACC sometimes blocks shipments if SDS is missing the Chinese-only fields (mainland-China emergency contact, GHS Chinese pictograms)

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for potassium hydroxide (caustic potash), see the CAS 1310-58-3 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of IECSC, see the IECSC glossary entry.

Need cross-jurisdiction compliance support on this substance? Run it through the REACH / TSCA / IECSC / AICIS / K-REACH checker, or send us the substance and the destination and we will quote FOB China and CIF / DDP landed including the regulatory work on the destination side.

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