XML 96 R78.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.6.0.2

Property, Plant and Equipment (Footnote) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions | 12 Months Ended |
--- | --- | ---
Dec. 31, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, at cost |  | $ 424.1
Minimum |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 2 years |
Minimum | Land improvements |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 5 years |
Minimum | Building and improvements |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 10 years |
Minimum | Machinery and equipment |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 2 years |
Minimum | Long term mineral rights and production equipment costs |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 7 years |
Minimum | Short-lived production equipment components, office and building equipment and other equipment |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 2 years |
Minimum | Production process equipment (intermediate components) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 8 years |
Minimum | Production process equipment (major unit components) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 20 years |
Minimum | Production process equipment (infrastructure and other) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 30 years |
Maximum |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 60 years |
Maximum | Land improvements |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 30 years |
Maximum | Building and improvements |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 45 years |
Maximum | Machinery and equipment |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 45 years |
Maximum | Long term mineral rights and production equipment costs |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 60 years |
Maximum | Short-lived production equipment components, office and building equipment and other equipment |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 7 years |
Maximum | Production process equipment (intermediate components) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 19 years |
Maximum | Production process equipment (major unit components) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 29 years |
Maximum | Production process equipment (infrastructure and other) |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |
Property, plant and equipment, useful life | 45 years |

X
- Definition Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Property, Plant and Equipment, Gross + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | alb_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationPropertyPlantandEquipmentGross
Namespace Prefix: | alb_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentUsefulLife
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MinimumMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_LandImprovementsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_BuildingAndBuildingImprovementsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_MachineryAndEquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=alb_LongTermMineralRightsAndProductionEquipmentCostsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=alb_ShortLivedEquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_EquipmentMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=alb_ProductionProcessEquipmentMajorUnitComponentsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=alb_ProductionProcessEquipmentInfrastructureAndOtherMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MaximumMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |