Consolidating Guarantor Financial Information - Statement of Income 1 (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 884,404	$ 599,843
Cost of goods sold	625,938	404,244
Gross profit	258,466	195,599
Selling, general and administrative expenses	135,765	78,104
Research and development expenses	26,492	22,572
Restructuring and other charges, net	0	17,000
Acquisition and integration related costs	59,523	0
Intercompany service fee	0	0
Operating profit	36,686	77,923
Interest and financing expenses	(35,746)	(8,773)
Intergroup interest and financing expenses	0
Other income (expenses), net	49,957	1,143
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	50,897	70,293
Income tax expense (benefit)	14,140	13,190
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	36,757	57,103
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	10,392	8,901
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	47,149	66,004
Loss from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	(1,769)
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries	0	0
Net income	47,149	64,235
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(4,034)	(7,652)
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	43,115	56,583
2014 Senior Notes | Issuer
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	378,172	376,324
Cost of goods sold	258,124	261,593
Gross profit	120,048	114,731
Selling, general and administrative expenses	40,517	55,769
Research and development expenses	13,368	14,156
Restructuring and other charges, net		3,000
Acquisition and integration related costs	38,880
Intercompany service fee	5,665	5,070
Operating profit	21,618	36,736
Interest and financing expenses	(26,656)	(8,798)
Intergroup interest and financing expenses	(5,914)
Other income (expenses), net	28,568	208
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	17,616	28,146
Income tax expense (benefit)	10,892	10,371
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	6,724	17,775
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	2,019	1,936
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	8,743	19,711
Loss from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	(413)
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries	34,372	37,285
Net income	43,115	56,583
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	43,115	56,583
2014 Senior Notes | Guarantor Subsidiaries
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	0	0
Cost of goods sold	0	0
Gross profit	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses	0	0
Research and development expenses	0	0
Restructuring and other charges, net		0
Acquisition and integration related costs	0
Intercompany service fee	0	0
Operating profit	0	0
Interest and financing expenses	(10,771)	0
Intergroup interest and financing expenses	9,061
Other income (expenses), net	(50,052)	0
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	(51,762)	0
Income tax expense (benefit)	(6,928)	0
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	(44,834)	0
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	0	0
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	(44,834)	0
Loss from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	0
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries	62,630	0
Net income	17,796	0
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	17,796	0
2014 Senior Notes | Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	687,615	383,831
Cost of goods sold	546,776	303,361
Gross profit	140,839	80,470
Selling, general and administrative expenses	95,248	22,335
Research and development expenses	13,124	8,416
Restructuring and other charges, net		14,000
Acquisition and integration related costs	20,643
Intercompany service fee	(5,665)	(5,070)
Operating profit	17,489	40,789
Interest and financing expenses	1,681	25
Intergroup interest and financing expenses	(3,147)
Other income (expenses), net	71,441	935
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	87,464	41,749
Income tax expense (benefit)	11,068	2,674
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	76,396	39,075
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	8,373	6,965
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	84,769	46,040
Loss from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	(1,356)
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries	8,898	0
Net income	93,667	44,684
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(4,034)	(7,652)
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	89,633	37,032
2014 Senior Notes | Consolidating Adjustments
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Net sales	(181,383)	(160,312)
Cost of goods sold	(178,962)	(160,710)
Gross profit	(2,421)	398
Selling, general and administrative expenses	0	0
Research and development expenses	0	0
Restructuring and other charges, net		0
Acquisition and integration related costs	0
Intercompany service fee	0	0
Operating profit	(2,421)	398
Interest and financing expenses	0	0
Intergroup interest and financing expenses	0
Other income (expenses), net	0	0
Income from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	(2,421)	398
Income tax expense (benefit)	(892)	145
Income from continuing operations before equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	(1,529)	253
Equity in net income of unconsolidated investments	0	0
Net income (loss) from continuing operations	(1,529)	253
Loss from discontinued operations (net of tax)	0	0
Equity in undistributed earnings of subsidiaries	(105,900)	(37,285)
Net income	(107,429)	(37,032)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0
Net income attributable to Albemarle Corporation	$ (107,429)	$ (37,032)