Sulfuric acid is the most-produced chemical in the world, according to one source, with 36 million tons produced in the US each year, and a global total of 265 million tons.
However, Portland cement, which is used in concrete, is made on a vastly greater scale, at 4.4 billion tons per year, and the article argues that this should be considered a chemical for the purposes of the debate over the most-produced chemical.
Concrete differs from cement, with the latter being a binder that holds together sand and gravel to create a coherent mass used as a building material, while concrete is the finished product.
Cement production begins with the quarrying and crushing of limestone, and clay, and the result is heated in a kiln at 1500C to produce clinker, which is then ground to a fine powder to produce cement.
The cement is then shipped to concrete plants and mixed with sand and gravel in a suitable ratio, and water is added if necessary, depending on the distance to the site, before being poured on-site.
