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Acrylonitrile Market Dynamics & Resilience
February 19, 2021
Acrylonitrile is an important commodity chemical with multiple uses and advantageous properties, like enhanced elasticity or good compatibility within polymer blends. As a monomer, it is primarily used in the production of acrylic and modacrylic fibers. This application segment accounts …
Phthalic Anhydride Market Scenario amid Macroeconomic Recovery
February 12, 2021
Phthalic anhydride is an important chemical intermediate, which is produced via the oxidation of o-xylene and naphthalene or mixed feed. Phthalic anhydride participates in the production of (saturated and unsaturated) polyester resins, polyols, plasticizers, alkyd resins, flame retardants, coatings, engineered …
Sulfuric Acid Market Demonstrates Mixed Regional Dynamics and Cautious Optimism
February 4, 2021
The current situation on the global sulfuric acid market remains unstable, though there are some signs of optimism. It is clear that the Covid-19 pandemic had a very lasting and profound impact on the chemical and other industries. This impact …
Hydrogen Peroxide Market Resilience During Coronavirus Pandemic
January 28, 2021
Hydrogen peroxide is an important commodity chemical used in various applications, among which the pulp and paper industry acts as the main outlet. With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous agencies and media reported about the rising demand for …
Polyphenylene Oxide Market Trends in Times of Crisis
January 19, 2021
Polyphenylene oxides (or polyphenylene ether) represent a group of thermoplastic polymers that are manufactured via oxidative dehydrogenation of 2,6-disubstituted phenols. Being fully miscible with polystyrene, polyphenylene oxides actually are blends of polyphenylene ether with other polymer products (and additive packages), …
Global Cumene Market Shows Robust Performance
January 8, 2021
The trends in the global cumene market are guided mainly by its important role in combined phenol/acetone production. Phenol and acetone production, in turn, leads to the manufacture of multiple chemical intermediates (methyl methacrylate, bisphenol-A, etc.) and end products, including …
Mixed Prospects in Sodium Chlorate Market
December 28, 2020
The application of sodium chlorate (NaClO3), also known as chlorate of soda, is predominantly orientated at two segments. Firstly, it is used in chlorine-free pulp bleaching in the pulp and paper industry. It is considered to be an environmentally preferred …
Global Bentonite Market Demonstrates Strong Resilience
December 16, 2020
The current state of the market for bentonite and its products is negatively impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic reduced the overall demand in multiple bentonite-consuming sectors, deteriorated the functioning of distribution networks, and violated the operation of …
Phosphate Rock Market: Major Issues & Top Trends
December 3, 2020
The essential need in food security and the growing demand for agricultural products has laid the groundwork for the phosphate market development. Phosphate rock is used predominantly (up to 95%) in the production of different types of fertilizers (both solid …
Acrylic Acid Market Shows Lucrative Growth Potential Despite Current Macroeconomic Turbulence
November 19, 2020
Acrylic acid is an important chemical compound, which acts as an element of extensive value chains with end uses in products like plastics, paints, textiles, lacquers, coatings, surfactants, adhesives, detergents, water treatment products, hygiene items, to name only a few. …
Polyphthalamide Market Remains Under Pressure from Global Macroeconomic Uncertainty
November 12, 2020
Polyphthalamide (PPA) represent a group of multi-functional thermoplastic synthetic resins, which belong to the class of crystalline semi-aromatic polyamides with aromatic groups in their polymer backbones. They, especially when blended with other polymers, demonstrate good dimensional and heat stability (it …
COVID-19 Impact on US Perchloroethylene Market
November 5, 2020
Perchloroethylene (PERC), also known as tetrachloroethylene or tetrachloroethene, is a versatile chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent. It is used for dry cleaning, metal degreasing, paint stripping, adhesive thinning, insulating and cooling (in electrical transformers), paper coating, leather/textile treatment, and other applications. It …
Ethylene Dichloride Market Demonstrates Complex Dynamics
October 28, 2020
Ethylene dichloride (EDC), also known as 1,2-dichloroethane, is inextricably embedded into the complex chlor-vinyls production networks, featuring a range of feedstock chemicals, intermediates, and end-use products. A key chain in these networks includes ethylene, chlorine, caustic soda, EDC, vinyl chloride …
Polybutylene Terephthalate Market Is Witnessing Unstable Recovery
October 19, 2020
Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) belongs to the class of polyesters within a broader category of polycondensates. Being a high-performance engineering plastic material with advanced parameters in rigidity and strength, abrasion/heat/hydrolysis resistance, processing capacity, flame retardancy, and dimensional stability, it is widely …
Magnesium & Its Compounds Market: Versatility, Innovation & Collaboration as Enablers of Good Prospects
October 8, 2020
Magnesium compounds, primarily magnesium oxide, are used mainly as refractory materials. The key refractory markets for magnesium oxide by industry are steel (about 70%), cement and lime, ceramics, metals, glass, chemicals, and others. The major producer of magnesium compounds is …
Carbon Black Manufacturers Show Strong Performance Despite Ongoing Crisis
September 29, 2020
Carbon black is a truly versatile commodity, though its functionality is mostly related to enhancing the performance of rubber products, predominantly in the sector of tire manufacturing and the automotive industry. This sector is now heavily affected by the economic …
Polyarylsulfones Market: Steady Development Amid Uncertainty
September 17, 2020
Amorphous polymers form an extensive group of chemical products of both low-performance (commodity types), mid-range, and high-performance character. The latter (i.e. high-performance amorphous polymers) constitute a small assortment of specialty polymers, which demonstrate high values of temperature resistance, as well …
Global Ammonium Nitrate Market: Good Prospects & Strong Fundamentals
September 8, 2020
The global ammonium nitrate market is currently performing well despite the serious economic crisis caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The wet winter season in Europe and North America means the necessity to maintain sufficient levels of nitrogen in soils, …
Increased Volatility of Global Ethylene Market
August 27, 2020
The current situation on the global ethylene market is somewhat similar to that which occurred during the 2008-2009 crisis, though the current COVID-19-induced crisis is much wider in scope. When economic conditions deteriorated severely at the end of 2008, the …
Fragile Equilibrium at Monoethylene Glycol Market
August 17, 2020
Ethylene glycols (mono-, di-, tri- and poly-) are vital as versatile intermediates used in a wide range of applications. They are central for the production of such important polymers as polyethylene terephthalate (used as polyester fibre and packaging products, e.g. …
Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate Copolymer Market Shows Resilience
August 6, 2020
The market for various copolymers of ethylene (ethene) with vinyl acetate is characterised by a significant degree of functional versatility owing to the intrinsic characteristics of these copolymers. Ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) can feature different ratios of monomers. So, modification …
Polyvinylidene Fluoride Market Demonstrates Strong Fundamentals
July 28, 2020
Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) belongs to the class of fluorine-containing polymers. When one evaluates the commercial volume of the market for fluorine-containing polymers, it is possible to ascertain that it is not particularly large as compared to that of other polymers, …
Varied Dynamics of Steel Markets
July 17, 2020
The global steel market, which is known to closely follow the macroeconomic trends, is inevitably impacted by the current economic slowdown, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (as of May 2020, total output in 64 leading crude steel-manufacturing countries was about …
Global Nitrobenzene Market Recovery Is Slow but Stable
July 7, 2020
Industrial manufacture of nitrobenzene began in the mid-19th century. Acting as an intermediate, it is tightly coupled with aniline and other downstream products since 95% of produced nitrobenzene is used for aniline production. Upstream-wise, nitrobenzene is the fourth largest outlet …
Dioctyl Phthalate Market: Can Challenges Outweigh Prospects?
June 24, 2020
Dioctyl phthalate [synonyms: DOP; bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate; DEHP] belongs to the class of phthalic acid esters (PAEs), which are mainly used in plasticizer-related applications in polymer products. Plasticizers are vital organic additives to polymers. Plasticizers are able to modify …