synthetically, but this process requires a significant amount of energy and produces large quantities of waste by-products, making it much less cost-effective than natural soda ash production. 

Because of the processing cost advantages of trona and the large natural reserves of trona in the U.S., particularly in Green River, Wyoming, all U.S. soda ash is naturally produced. By contrast, due to a lack of trona, the majority of the soda ash that is manufactured in the rest of the world is produced synthetically. Other U.S. producers are OCI Chemical Corporation, Solvay S.A., The General Chemical Group Inc., in which a majority stake is owned by Tata Chemicals Limited, and Nirma Limited. 

Approximately 52 percent of U.S. soda ash production served export markets in 2010, with approximately 31 percent of U.S. soda ash production exported through the American Natural Soda Ash Corporation (“ANSAC”). ANSAC is the foreign sales association of Wyoming U.S. soda ash producers established in 1983 under the Webb-Pomerene Act and subsequent legislation. Since its creation, ANSAC has been successful in coordinating soda ash exports, taking advantage of the inherent cost benefits of U.S. produced natural soda ash and leveraging its large scale of operations to the benefit of its member companies. Consequently, U.S. exports of soda ash have increased over fivefold in the last 25 years. 

## peroxygens 

Hydrogen peroxide is typically sold for use as a bleach or oxidizer. As such, it often competes with other chemicals capable of performing similar functions. Some of our specialty peroxygen derivatives (e.g., persulfates and percarbonates) also function as bleaching or oxidizing agents. Environmental regulations, regional cost differences primarily due to transportation costs, and technical differences in product performance factor into the decision to use hydrogen peroxide or one of its derivatives rather than another product. Since these considerations vary by region, the consumption patterns vary in different parts of the 

## source and availability of raw Materials 

Our raw material requirements vary by business segment and include mineral-related natural resources (trona ore and lithium brines), processed chemicals, seaweed, specialty wood pulps and energy sources such as gas, coal, oil and electricity. Raw materials represented approximately 25 percent of our 2010 costs of sales and services, and no one raw material represented more than 10 percent of our total raw material purchases. 

## patents 

We own a number of U.S. and foreign patents, trademarks and licenses that are cumulatively important to our business. We do not believe that the loss of any one or group of related patents, trademarks or licenses 

world. Hydrogen peroxide is sold in aqueous solutions, usually 70 percent, 50 percent or 35 percent by weight. 

The North American and European pulp and paper industry represents approximately 65 and 70 percent, respectively of North American and European demand for hydrogen peroxide. In these markets, hydrogen peroxide is used as an environmentally friendly bleaching agent to brighten chemical, mechanical and recycled pulps as well as to treat a wide range of mill pollutants in the waste stream. The North American and European paper markets are mature, and new investment in pulp and paper capacity is largely focused in Asia and South America. The other North American and European hydrogen peroxide producers are EKA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Akzo Nobel N.V, Arkema Inc., Evonik Industries AG, Kemira Ovj, and Solvay S.A. 

## zeolites and silicates 

Zeolite has a network structure which facilitates the exchange of cations, enabling it to soften hard water in detergents. Environmental regulations limiting or banning the use of sodium tripolyphosphate in detergents have facilitated the introduction of Zeolite as builder in detergents. The properties of zeolites make them very suitable for specific applications such as adsorption, separation, ion exchange and others. In addition, the zeolite network structure can be modified to produce specialty zeolite products designed to meet sophisticated market demands. We are currently working on applications to meet these demands. The main European Zeolite producers are PQ, Industrial Zeolite and FMC. 

Soluble silicates are very versatile inorganic chemical products. They are produced by combining various ratios of sand with alkali to obtain a variety of products used in many industries. The applications of silicates include detergents, ceramics, paper, foundry, construction, rubber, agriculture, textiles and production of other chemicals. Due to their relatively low price and high logistic cost the silicate market is very fragmented with mostly local production. The main European producers are PQ, Cognis and FMC. 

We extract ores used in Industrial Chemicals’ manufacturing processes from mines (e.g. trona in North America). Raw materials used by Specialty Chemicals include lithium brines, various types of seaweed that are sourced on a global basis and specialty pulps which are purchased from selected global producers. Raw materials used by Agricultural Products, primarily processed chemicals, are obtained from a variety of suppliers worldwide. Through December 31, 2010, our Huelva facility purchased the raw material, phosphorous rock, from others. 

would have a material adverse effect on the overall business of FMC. The duration of our patents depends on their respective jurisdictions. Their expiration dates range through 2030. 

