Segment and Geographic Area Information Summarized Financial Information by Reportable Segments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales	$ 992,564	$ 879,747	$ 885,052	$ 832,064	$ 921,699	$ 777,748	$ 853,874	$ 821,629	$ 3,589,427	$ 3,374,950	$ 3,071,976
Adjusted EBITDA									1,036,781	1,006,664	885,480
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation	$ (90,391)	$ (155,070)	$ (154,198)	$ (133,569)	(129,596)	(129,745)	(302,461)	(131,760)	(533,228)	(693,562)	(54,850)
Depreciation and amortization									213,484	200,698	196,928
Utilization of inventory markup											23,095
Restructuring and other									5,877	3,838	17,056
Gain on sale of business					$ 8,277	$ 0	$ (218,705)	$ 0	0	(210,428)	0
Gain on acquisition									0	0	(6,221)
Acquisition and integration related costs									20,684	19,377	33,954
Gain on sale of property									(14,411)	0	0
Interest and financing expenses									57,695	52,405	115,350
Income tax expense									88,161	144,826	431,817
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									26,970	5,285	(16,125)
Windfield tax settlement									17,292
Legal accrual										27,027
Environmental accrual										15,597
Albemarle Foundation contribution										15,000
Indemnification adjustments										25,240
Note receivable reserve										28,700	28,730
Other									23,035	14,237	6,046
Reportable Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Adjusted EBITDA									1,124,015	1,103,196	989,436
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									841,398	1,120,325	792,496
Depreciation and amortization									197,179	185,931	182,409
Utilization of inventory markup											23,095
Restructuring and other									0	0	0
Gain on sale of business										210,428
Gain on acquisition											6,221
Acquisition and integration related costs									0	0	0
Gain on sale of property									0
Interest and financing expenses									0	0	0
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									0	0	0
Windfield tax settlement									17,292
Legal accrual										0
Environmental accrual										0
Albemarle Foundation contribution										0
Indemnification adjustments										0
Note receivable reserve											0
Other									3,380	7,368	(2,343)
Reportable Segments | Lithium
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,358,170	1,228,171	1,018,885
Adjusted EBITDA									524,934	530,773	446,652
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									341,767	428,212	342,992
Depreciation and amortization									99,424	95,193	87,879
Utilization of inventory markup											23,095
Restructuring and other									0	0	0
Gain on sale of business										0
Gain on acquisition											6,221
Acquisition and integration related costs									0	0	0
Gain on sale of property									0
Interest and financing expenses									0	0	0
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									0	0	0
Windfield tax settlement									17,292
Legal accrual										0
Environmental accrual										0
Albemarle Foundation contribution										0
Indemnification adjustments										0
Note receivable reserve											0
Other									1,685	7,368	(1,093)
Reportable Segments | Bromine Specialties
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,004,216	917,880	855,143
Adjusted EBITDA									328,457	288,116	258,901
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									279,945	246,509	218,839
Depreciation and amortization									47,611	41,607	40,062
Utilization of inventory markup											0
Restructuring and other									0	0	0
Gain on sale of business										0
Gain on acquisition											0
Acquisition and integration related costs									0	0	0
Gain on sale of property									0
Interest and financing expenses									0	0	0
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									0	0	0
Windfield tax settlement									0
Legal accrual										0
Environmental accrual										0
Albemarle Foundation contribution										0
Indemnification adjustments										0
Note receivable reserve											0
Other									901	0	0
Reportable Segments | Catalysts
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									1,061,817	1,101,554	1,067,572
Adjusted EBITDA									270,624	284,307	283,883
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									219,686	445,604	230,665
Depreciation and amortization									50,144	49,131	54,468
Utilization of inventory markup											0
Restructuring and other									0	0	0
Gain on sale of business										210,428
Gain on acquisition											0
Acquisition and integration related costs									0	0	0
Gain on sale of property									0
Interest and financing expenses									0	0	0
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									0	0	0
Windfield tax settlement									0
Legal accrual										0
Environmental accrual										0
Albemarle Foundation contribution										0
Indemnification adjustments										0
Note receivable reserve											0
Other									794	0	(1,250)
All Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									165,224	127,186	128,914
Adjusted EBITDA									49,628	14,091	13,878
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									41,188	6,018	5,521
Depreciation and amortization									8,440	8,073	8,357
Utilization of inventory markup											0
Restructuring and other									0	0	0
Gain on sale of business										0
Gain on acquisition											0
Acquisition and integration related costs									0	0	0
Gain on sale of property									0
Interest and financing expenses									0	0	0
Income tax expense									0	0	0
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									0	0	0
Windfield tax settlement									0
Legal accrual										0
Environmental accrual										0
Albemarle Foundation contribution										0
Indemnification adjustments										0
Note receivable reserve											0
Other									0	0	0
Corporate
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net sales									0	159	1,462
Adjusted EBITDA									(136,862)	(110,623)	(117,834)
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									(349,358)	(432,781)	(743,167)
Depreciation and amortization									7,865	6,694	6,162
Utilization of inventory markup											0
Restructuring and other									5,877	3,838	17,056
Gain on sale of business										0
Gain on acquisition											0
Acquisition and integration related costs									20,684	19,377	33,954
Gain on sale of property									14,411
Interest and financing expenses									57,695	52,405	115,350
Income tax expense									88,161	144,826	431,817
Non-operating pension and OPEB items									26,970	5,285	(16,125)
Windfield tax settlement									0
Legal accrual										27,027
Environmental accrual										15,597
Albemarle Foundation contribution										15,000
Indemnification adjustments										25,240
Note receivable reserve											28,730
Other									19,655	$ 6,869	$ 8,389
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Net income (loss) attributable to Albemarle Corporation									73,000
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									64,800
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | Reportable Segments
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									64,766
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | Reportable Segments | Lithium
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									64,766
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | Reportable Segments | Bromine Specialties
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									0
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | Reportable Segments | Catalysts
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									0
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | All Other
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									0
Mineral Resources Limited Wodgina Project | Stamp duty tax | Corporate
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Acquisition and integration related costs									$ 0