Consolidating Guarantor Financial Information - Balance Sheet 1 (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 261,421	$ 2,489,768	$ 524,043	$ 477,239
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	626,965us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent	385,212us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent
Other accounts receivable	83,033us-gaap_OtherReceivablesNetCurrent	49,423us-gaap_OtherReceivablesNetCurrent
Intergroup receivable	0us-gaap_DueFromRelatedPartiesCurrent	0us-gaap_DueFromRelatedPartiesCurrent
Inventories	620,177us-gaap_InventoryNet	358,361us-gaap_InventoryNet
Other current assets	94,947us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent	66,086us-gaap_OtherAssetsCurrent
Total current assets	1,686,543us-gaap_AssetsCurrent	3,348,850us-gaap_AssetsCurrent
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	4,021,633us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross	2,620,670us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentGross
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	1,404,606	1,388,802
Net property, plant and equipment	2,617,027us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet	1,231,868us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentNet
Investments	652,972us-gaap_LongTermInvestments	194,042us-gaap_LongTermInvestments
Investment in subsidiaries	0alb_InvestmentinWhollyOwnedSubsidiaries	0alb_InvestmentinWhollyOwnedSubsidiaries
Other assets	180,212us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent	160,956us-gaap_OtherAssetsNoncurrent
Goodwill	2,709,670us-gaap_Goodwill	243,262us-gaap_Goodwill
Other intangibles, net of amortization	1,948,335	44,125
Intergroup receivable	0us-gaap_DueFromRelatedPartiesNoncurrent
Total assets	9,794,759us-gaap_Assets	5,223,103us-gaap_Assets
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	340,815us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent	231,705us-gaap_AccountsPayableCurrent
Intergroup payable	0us-gaap_DueToRelatedPartiesCurrent	0us-gaap_DueToRelatedPartiesCurrent
Accrued expenses	553,947us-gaap_AccruedLiabilitiesCurrent	166,174us-gaap_AccruedLiabilitiesCurrent
Current portion of long-term debt	471,809us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent	711,096us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent
Dividends payable	32,261us-gaap_DividendsPayableCurrent	21,458us-gaap_DividendsPayableCurrent
Income taxes payable	57,512us-gaap_AccruedIncomeTaxesCurrent	9,453us-gaap_AccruedIncomeTaxesCurrent
Total current liabilities	1,456,344us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent	1,139,886us-gaap_LiabilitiesCurrent
Long-term debt, less current portion	3,541,312us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent	2,223,035us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent
Postretirement benefits	55,298	56,424
Pension benefits	451,192	170,534
Intergroup payable	0us-gaap_DueToRelatedPartiesNoncurrent
Other noncurrent liabilities	241,971us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent	87,705us-gaap_OtherLiabilitiesNoncurrent
Deferred income taxes	801,312	56,884
Commitments and contingencies
Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity:
Common stock	1,122us-gaap_CommonStockValue	780us-gaap_CommonStockValue
Additional paid-in capital	2,049,309	10,447
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(362,282)	(62,413)	106,927	116,245
Retained earnings	1,421,234	1,410,651
Total Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity	3,109,383us-gaap_StockholdersEquity	1,359,465us-gaap_StockholdersEquity
Noncontrolling interests	137,947us-gaap_MinorityInterest	129,170us-gaap_MinorityInterest
Total equity	3,247,330	1,488,635	1,727,601	1,742,776
Total liabilities and equity	9,794,759	5,223,103
2014 Senior Notes \| Issuer
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,263	1,930,802	63,118	88,476
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	105,835	91,849
Other accounts receivable	12,518	19,033
Intergroup receivable	56,069	74,102
Inventories	201,563	201,006
Other current assets	88,100	45,901
Total current assets	466,348	2,362,693
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	1,737,949	1,726,690
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	1,060,877	1,047,372
Net property, plant and equipment	677,072	679,318
Investments	74,362	73,500
Investment in subsidiaries	6,963,998	1,551,071
Other assets	28,247	35,837
Goodwill	49,214	49,212
Other intangibles, net of amortization	20,282	20,834
Intergroup receivable	0
Total assets	8,279,523	4,772,465
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	119,879	122,479
Intergroup payable	40,939	18,097
Accrued expenses	154,992	84,619
Current portion of long-term debt	461,767	692,280
Dividends payable	32,261	21,458
Income taxes payable	0	1,396
Total current liabilities	809,838	940,329
Long-term debt, less current portion	2,218,848	2,214,755
Postretirement benefits	55,578	56,424
Pension benefits	125,659	128,238
Intergroup payable	1,804,370
Other noncurrent liabilities	52,263	51,936
Deferred income taxes	103,584	21,318
Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity:
Common stock	1,122	780
Additional paid-in capital	2,049,309	10,447
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(362,282)	(62,413)
Retained earnings	1,421,234	1,410,651
Total Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity	3,109,383	1,359,465
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	3,109,383	1,359,465
Total liabilities and equity	8,279,523	4,772,465
2014 Senior Notes \| Guarantor Subsidiaries
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	2,054	0	0	0
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	0	0
Other accounts receivable	23,216	0
Intergroup receivable	49	0
Inventories	0	0
Other current assets	0	0
Total current assets	25,319	0
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	0	0
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	0	0
Net property, plant and equipment	0	0
Investments	4,891	0
Investment in subsidiaries	11,104,115	0
Other assets	12,319	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangibles, net of amortization	0	0
Intergroup receivable	3,311,271
Total assets	14,457,915	0
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	0	0
Intergroup payable	36	0
Accrued expenses	119,221	0
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Dividends payable	0	0
Income taxes payable	97,845	0
Total current liabilities	217,102	0
Long-term debt, less current portion	1,291,442	0
Postretirement benefits	0	0
Pension benefits	0	0
Intergroup payable	1,016,759
Other noncurrent liabilities	58,970	0
Deferred income taxes	0	0
Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity:
Common stock	0	0
Additional paid-in capital	12,352,346	0
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(496,500)	0
Retained earnings	17,796	0
Total Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity	11,873,642	0
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	11,873,642	0
Total liabilities and equity	14,457,915	0
2014 Senior Notes \| Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	257,104	558,966	460,925	388,763
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	521,130	293,363
Other accounts receivable	47,299	30,390
Intergroup receivable	40,953	18,097
Inventories	431,877	171,543
Other current assets	104,692	25,111
Total current assets	1,403,055	1,097,470
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	2,283,684	893,980
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	343,729	341,430
Net property, plant and equipment	1,939,955	552,550
Investments	573,719	120,542
Investment in subsidiaries	6,368,690	0
Other assets	152,245	125,119
Goodwill	2,660,456	194,050
Other intangibles, net of amortization	1,928,053	23,291
Intergroup receivable	1,817,653
Total assets	16,843,826	2,113,022
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	220,936	109,226
Intergroup payable	56,096	74,102
Accrued expenses	279,734	81,555
Current portion of long-term debt	10,042	18,816
Dividends payable	0	0
Income taxes payable	58,404	7,944
Total current liabilities	625,212	291,643
Long-term debt, less current portion	31,022	8,280
Postretirement benefits	0	0
Pension benefits	325,533	42,296
Intergroup payable	2,307,795
Other noncurrent liabilities	130,738	35,769
Deferred income taxes	710,047	35,566
Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity:
Common stock	6,808	6,808
Additional paid-in capital	12,117,045	553,172
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(686,412)	(51,073)
Retained earnings	1,138,091	1,061,391
Total Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity	12,575,532	1,570,298
Noncontrolling interests	137,947	129,170
Total equity	12,713,479	1,699,468
Total liabilities and equity	16,843,826	2,113,022
2014 Senior Notes \| Consolidating Adjustments
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	0	0	0	0
Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts	0	0
Other accounts receivable	0	0
Intergroup receivable	(97,071)	(92,199)
Inventories	(13,263)	(14,188)
Other current assets	(97,845)	(4,926)
Total current assets	(208,179)	(111,313)
Property, plant and equipment, at cost	0	0
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	0	0
Net property, plant and equipment	0	0
Investments	0	0
Investment in subsidiaries	(24,436,803)	(1,551,071)
Other assets	(12,599)	0
Goodwill	0	0
Other intangibles, net of amortization	0	0
Intergroup receivable	(5,128,924)
Total assets	(29,786,505)	(1,662,384)
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	0	0
Intergroup payable	(97,071)	(92,199)
Accrued expenses	0	0
Current portion of long-term debt	0	0
Dividends payable	0	0
Income taxes payable	(98,737)	113
Total current liabilities	(195,808)	(92,086)
Long-term debt, less current portion	0	0
Postretirement benefits	(280)	0
Pension benefits	0	0
Intergroup payable	(5,128,924)
Other noncurrent liabilities	0	0
Deferred income taxes	(12,319)	0
Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity:
Common stock	(6,808)	(6,808)
Additional paid-in capital	(24,469,391)	(553,172)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	1,182,912	51,073
Retained earnings	(1,155,887)	(1,061,391)
Total Albemarle Corporation shareholders’ equity	(24,449,174)	(1,570,298)
Noncontrolling interests	0	0
Total equity	(24,449,174)	(1,570,298)
Total liabilities and equity	$ (29,786,505)	$ (1,662,384)

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of liabilities incurred (and for which invoices have typically been received) and payable to vendors for goods and services received that are used in an entity's business. Used to reflect the current portion of the liabilities (due within one year or within the normal operating cycle if longer).

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Amount of currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. Includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits. Also includes short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Excludes cash and cash equivalents within disposal group and discontinued operation.

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