News
Pumice Market: Functional Versatility & Current Challenges
January 18, 2022
Pumice is a rock material of volcanic origin with a variety of useful commercial applications. Being a safe and effective industrial abrasive, it is used in multiple industries, like glass making, electronics, etc. Likewise, it is applied in cleaning, polishing, …
Propylene Glycol Market Demonstrates Mixed Dynamics
January 10, 2022
Propylene glycols (mono-, di-, tri-propylene glycols and higher glycols) represent a group of chemicals with a wide range of applications, including the production of unsaturated polyester resins, specialty plasticizers, cosmetics, and personal care products (e.g., scent carriers), laundry products, pharmaceuticals, …
Ammonia Market: Challenges & Opportunities
December 27, 2021
Ammonia is an indispensable and multifunctional chemical commodity and intermediate with a key role in the agribusiness sector and especially in the production of liquid nitric fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, urea, DAP/MAP, or aqua ammonia. The current shortage of …
Ethanol Market: in Search of a New Equilibrium
December 17, 2021
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is an important chemical compound that is used in a wide range of applications, such as the production of transport fuel blends, sanitizers, disinfectants, cosmetic products, paints, pharmaceuticals, beverages, preservatives for biological specimens, to name only a …
Chlorine Market: Prospects & Challenges
December 8, 2021
Chlorine is an important chemical commodity and intermediate used in a huge variety of applications, including the production of plastics, polymers, solvents, paints, textiles, agrochemicals, refrigerants, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, electronics, automotive parts, consumer products, to name only a few. The …
Ammonium Sulphate Market Challenges & Prospects
November 29, 2021
Ammonium sulphate is a popular fertilizer, though this chemical has a variety of other uses, for instance, in water treatment, food industry, pharmaceuticals, woodworking, paper industry, to name just a few. Like all synthetic fertilisers, its current position on the …
Polyacetal (Polyoxymethylene, POM) Market Dynamics & Challenges
November 18, 2021
Polyacetal or polyoxymethylene (POM) is an aliphatic polymer and a formaldehyde-based engineering thermoplastic. In line with other polymers, it is characterised by functional versatility, finding uses in construction materials, gearboxes, conveyor belts, valves, consumer electronic devices, garden equipment, footwear, nuclear …
Dioctyl Phthalate Market Challenges & Opportunities
November 9, 2021
Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) belongs to a class of phthalic acid esters or phthalates used predominantly as plasticizers, which are added to polymers to modify their flexibility, hardness, viscosity, processability, durability, and other vital characteristics. As such, DOP is a very …
Ortho-Xylene Market: Strong Demand & Rising Feedstock Costs
October 28, 2021
Ortho-xylene (o-xylene) is one of the three xylene isomers, together with meta-xylene and para-xylene (when all three are mixed with ethylbenzene and other hydrocarbons, they form mixed xylenes). Being aromatic hydrocarbons with natural occurrence in petroleum and coal tar, xylenes …
Methyl Ethyl Ketone Market: Trends & Challenges
October 19, 2021
Methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is a petroleum-based chemical used primarily as a solvent. Its application range includes the following segments: paint and coating systems, synthetic rubber (halogenated butyl rubber), lacquers, varnishes, printing inks, lubricating oils, tapes, rubber-based industrial types of …
Vinyl Chloride Monomer Market: Mixed Regional Dynamics
October 6, 2021
Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is an extremely important building block of the whole chemical industry, leading to the production of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which consumes the bulk of manufactured VCM. In turn, PVC is a bridge between polymer and chlorine …
Polybutylene Terephthalate Market: Varied Regional Dynamics & Good Prospects
September 27, 2021
Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is a polyester resin and a high-performance engineering plastic material with a wide range of applications, including the automotive sector, household appliances, packaging, electrical items, and electronics. PBT is manufactured by either polycondensation of terephthalic acid or …
Ethylene Dichloride Market: Challenges & Trends
September 15, 2021
Ethylene dichloride (EDC) or 1,2-dichloroethane is an important intermediate within complex chlor-vinyls production and commodity chains or networks. One of the most widespread networks of such kind includes the following items: ethylene, chlorine/caustic soda, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), …
Acetic Acid Market: Rising Demand Amid Tight Supply
September 6, 2021
Acetic acid is a large-tonnage industrial chemical involved in complex commodity networks of different feedstock materials, intermediates, and end-products. Among the most common intermediates of these networks, one can mention the following: vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), acetic anhydride, acetate esters …
Butyl Acetate Market Is in Search of New Balance
August 26, 2021
Butyl acetate (BAC) is an acetic acid n-butyl ester and an important chemical intermediate, associated with upstream markets such as oxo-alcohols. Butyl acetate finds an outlet in a variety of applications, including the automotive, food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, as …
Polyvinylidene Fluoride Market: Strong Performance amid Growing Demand
August 16, 2021
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) is a fluorine-containing polymer. It is manufactured by dehydrochlorination of 1,1,1-chlorodifluoroethane or by dechlorination of 1,2-dichloro-1,1-difluoroethane. KF (Kureha), Kynar (Arkema), Hylar, and Solef (both Solvay) are among the most famous PVDF tradenames. Polyvinylidene fluoride is used in …
Asia-Pacific Purified Terephthalic Acid Market: Trends & Challenges
August 5, 2021
Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is a large-tonnage chemical commodity and intermediate with the main outlet in the production of polyester fibre and non-fibre applications such as PET bottles, PET films, and engineering plastics. The packaging and plastics sectors are doing …
Polyarylsulfones Market Demonstrates Strong Performance
July 14, 2021
Polyarylsulfones or sulfone polymers, like polysulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polyethersulfone, and polyetherimide, belong to a class of heat-resistant high-performance amorphous specialty polymers. The product range of sulfone polymers is extremely diverse with hundreds of different formulations, which are used in vital applications …
Monoethylene Glycol Market: Rising Demand and Tight Supply Amid Uncertainty
July 2, 2021
Ethylene glycols (mono-, di-, tri- and poly-glycols) are indispensable intermediates with vital applications like resins, deicing, and heat transfer fluids, fibres, packaging materials, paper, leather, latex paints, antifreeze solutions, explosives, dehydrating agents, industrial solvents, cosmetics, construction materials, electrical goods, and …
Caprolactam Market: Challenges & Trends Amid Current Uncertainty
June 24, 2021
Caprolactam is an important chemical intermediate, which is primarily used for the production of nylon 6 fibres (about 63% of caprolactam output) and nylon 6 engineering resins (about 33% of caprolactam output). Nylon 6 fibres are indispensable in textile, carpet, …
Epichlorohydrin Market: Key Prospects & Challenges
June 16, 2021
Epichlorohydrin (ECH) is an important chemical mainly used in the production of epoxy resins, which derive from the reaction of epoxy compounds with phenols. Apart from epoxy resins with their multiple applications in the automotive and electronic industries, epichlorohydrin finds …
Expandable Polystyrene Market: Prospects & Challenges
June 7, 2021
Polystyrene and its copolymers pertain to the styrenics segment of the polymer industry and comprise an important group of plastics, alongside polyolefins and polyvinyl chloride. Expandable polystyrene (EPS), which is a rigid cellular form of polystyrene, exhibits excellent performance in …
Polyvinyl Alcohol Market: Innovation, Sustainability & Interdependence
May 28, 2021
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH or PVA) is a structurally isomeric, acetylene-based polymer used in a large variety of applications. Its functional palette could be really wide and limitless, including polyvinyl alcohol blends with other polymers, and comprise such areas as adhesives, …
Butadiene Rubbers Market: Key Prospects & Challenges
May 21, 2021
Butadiene rubbers belong to an extensive family of elastomers and are noted for their excellent performance with respect to elasticity, abrasion resistance, glass transition temperature, and low-temperature flexibility. Apart from butadiene rubbers, elastomers comprise such versatile products as styrene-butadiene rubber, …
Polyphenylene Sulphide Market: Prospects & Trends
May 10, 2021
Polyphenylene sulphide is a versatile high-performance engineering polymer, which is available in a range of compositions with other materials and manufactured in a wide assortment of grades. Its processing modes vary, while its commodity forms could be also diverse and …