Basis of Presentaion	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation: In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Albemarle Corporation and our wholly-owned, majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries (collectively, “Albemarle,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company”) contain all adjustments necessary for a fair statement, in all material respects, of our condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our consolidated statements of income and consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 and our consolidated statements of changes in equity and condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. Income tax expense for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017 includes expense of $5.1 million due to an adjustment in the Company's deferred tax liabilities for basis differences in Chilean fixed assets related to the three-month period ended September 30, 2016. The Company does not believe this adjustment is material to the consolidated financial statements for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017, the three- or nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016, or the year ended December 31, 2016. Other comprehensive income for the three-month period ended September 30, 2016 includes an adjustment of $12.5 million to reduce the Foreign currency translation on the Company’s investment in the Windfield Holdings Pty. Ltd. joint venture related to the three month period ended March 31, 2016. There is no impact to the results for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2016. The Company does not believe this adjustment is material to the condensed consolidated financial statements for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2016 or September 30, 2016. All other adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 28, 2017. The December 31, 2016 condensed consolidated balance sheet data herein was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States (“U.S.”). The results of operations for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Certain reclassifications have been made to the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto to conform to the current presentation. In addition, for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company began reporting its acquisition and integration related costs and restructuring and other costs in Cost of goods sold, Selling, general and administrative expenses and Research and development expenses. See Note 2, “Acquisitions,” and Note 12, “Segment Information,” for further details. As described further in Note 3, “Divestitures,” on December 14, 2016, the Company closed the sale of its Chemetall^® Surface Treatment business to BASF SE. Financial results of this business have been presented as discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of income and excluded from segment results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016.

Basis of Presentation:

In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of Albemarle Corporation and our wholly-owned, majority-owned and controlled subsidiaries (collectively, “Albemarle,” “we,” “us,” “our” or “the Company”) contain all adjustments necessary for a fair statement, in all material respects, of our condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, our consolidated statements of income and consolidated statements of comprehensive income for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 and our consolidated statements of changes in equity and condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. Income tax expense for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017 includes expense of $5.1 million due to an adjustment in the Company's deferred tax liabilities for basis differences in Chilean fixed assets related to the three-month period ended September 30, 2016. The Company does not believe this adjustment is material to the consolidated financial statements for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2017, the three- or nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016, or the year ended December 31, 2016. Other comprehensive income for the three-month period ended September 30, 2016 includes an adjustment of $12.5 million to reduce the Foreign currency translation on the Company’s investment in the Windfield Holdings Pty. Ltd. joint venture related to the three month period ended March 31, 2016. There is no impact to the results for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2016. The Company does not believe this adjustment is material to the condensed consolidated financial statements for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2016 or September 30, 2016. All other adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on February 28, 2017. The December 31, 2016 condensed consolidated balance sheet data herein was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States (“U.S.”). The results of operations for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Certain reclassifications have been made to the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto to conform to the current presentation. In addition, for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company began reporting its acquisition and integration related costs and restructuring and other costs in Cost of goods sold, Selling, general and administrative expenses and Research and development expenses. See Note 2, “Acquisitions,” and Note 12, “Segment Information,” for further details.

As described further in Note 3, “Divestitures,” on December 14, 2016, the Company closed the sale of its Chemetall^® Surface Treatment business to BASF SE. Financial results of this business have been presented as discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of income and excluded from segment results for the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2016.