News
COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak as Challenge for Ammonium Industry
March 26, 2020
The current and future behaviour of the chemical market and many related markets remain unpredictable when such expressions as nationwide lockdown and aggressive quarantine measures are getting firmly entrenched in daily activities. The coronavirus outbreak, in combination with other factors, …
Propionic Acid Market Prospects Remain Solid Despite Current Challenges
March 19, 2020
Propionic acid and its salts comprise a group of versatile products used in numerous applications. Their major application areas are in the agriculture and food industry or more specifically in the production of animal feed and food preservation. Propionic acid …
Kaolin Market Strategies as Response to Business Challenges
March 10, 2020
Kaolin group of minerals (kaolinite, dickite, nacrite, and halloysite) combines important industrial mineral products used in a variety of applications, including the manufacture of fire retardants, paper, and cardboard (for filling and coating), ceramics and porcelain, rubber products, paints, cosmetics, …
Styrene Acrylonitrile Market: Dynamics & Recent Trends
February 25, 2020
Styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) resins are thermoplastic copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrile, which find application in household and sanitary products, domestic electrical items, battery casings, pharma/cosmetic packaging, automotive industry, medicine and other applications. Though not as popular as polystyrene and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene …
Innovations Act as Major Driving Force of Polyphenylene Sulphide Market
February 17, 2020
Polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) is a high-performance engineering aromatic polymer and thermoplastic material with superior characteristics of such parameters as thermal stability, chemical resistance, mechanical strength, dimensional stability, and flame resistance. A number of polyphenylene sulphide features allows manufacturing a large …
Pumice Market Sentiments Remain Positive in Construction Sector
January 30, 2020
Construction materials remain the major outlet for pumice, especially in the production of concrete admixtures/aggregates and lightweight building blocks. An economic recession can cause a downturn in the construction sector, thus weakening the demand for pumice and analogous building materials. …
Diatomite Market: Current Trends, Strategies & Issues
January 23, 2020
Diatomite, also known as diatomaceous earth or kieselgur, is a naturally occurring mineral. It has a minimal detrimental effect upon humans and the environment, though the issue of diatomite waste disposal can be quite serious if protective measures are neglected. …
Global Polystyrene Market: New Developments & Projects in 2020
January 16, 2020
The global and regional polystyrene markets are directly influenced by the feedstock styrene monomer price fluctuations. Styrene monomer prices are in turn driven by oil prices. The present political instability in the Middle East was instrumental in raising the current …
Nafine Group Leads Global Sodium Sulphate Market
December 19, 2019
China is a leading player in the global market for sodium sulphate with respect to both consumption and production. China accounts for almost 60% and 64% of sodium sulphate production and consumption worldwide, respectively. Its sodium sulphate production significantly exceeds …
Global Potassium Sulphate Market: New Entrants and 4R Strategy
November 21, 2019
The market for potassium sulphate, also known as sulphate of potash (SOP), has been historically growing at an average rate of about 2% per year. The current demand for this type of fertilizer has been on the rise due to …
Vertical Integration as Viable Strategy in Silicon Market
October 10, 2019
Despite a highly oligopolistic character of the global silicon market, the silicon industry, including its mining, smelting, refining and manufacturing operations, consists of a wide range of multiple-scale entities with a very broad line of products, reaching out to various …
Key Manufacturers of Polymethyl Methacrylate Need to Adapt to Market Fluctuations
September 23, 2019
Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a multifunctional polymer commodity, involved in complex networks of chemical products, which are especially extensive in the upstream direction. These upstream products may involve benzene, propylene, acetone and methyl methacrylate (MMA), which themselves can have various …
Bismuth Market Variability and Potential
September 12, 2019
Bismuth has been gaining popularity due to its versatility, ecological friendliness, a remarkable degree of non-toxicity for heavy metal, noncarcinogenic character, and other useful properties. It should be also stated that, despite non-toxicity and small amounts in the environment (relative …
Versatility, Innovation and Environmental Friendliness as Key Indicators of Successful Calcium Chloride Market Performance
September 5, 2019
Application of calcium-containing solutions, like calcium chloride, to fruits and vegetables is known to extend shelf-life of horticultural products, as well as improve their quality and prevent rotting effects. Since horticultural products are indispensable sources of minerals and vitamins, the …
Melamine Market: Poor Demand amid Ample Supply
August 28, 2019
The global and regional melamine markets are known for their volatility coupled with seasonality. The summer of 2019 was not an exception. The Chinese melamine market is currently struggling with excessive supply and poor demand in an effort to stabilize …
New US Regulation of Beryllium Exposure Will Positively Affect Labour Safety
August 21, 2019
Beryllium is a lightweight and super-strong metal whose combination of unique properties safeguards its application in various sectors, associated with added value and high technologies. Despite its privileged status, it is characterised by a distinctive degree of toxicity and a …
Bentonite Market Drivers and Challenges in Corporate and Regional Dimensions
August 13, 2019
Bentonite-based products are known for their extra-wide functional versatility, non-toxicity, low degree of substitutability and a capacity to be integrated with highly innovative technical decisions. In some applications, bentonite importance is paramount. For instance, bentonite is a component of a …
Current Butadiene Rubbers Market Challenges
August 5, 2019
Butadiene rubbers are a part of an elastomer family, which comprises natural rubber (NR), styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBRs), polybutadiene rubber (PBR), butyl rubber (IIR) and ethylene-propylene-diene-monomer rubber (EPDM). The global market for butadiene rubbers is currently in transition. Since the bulk …
Mixed Dynamics of Regional Butyl Acetate Markets
July 25, 2019
The current dynamics of the regional butyl acetate markets is varied. In early July 2019, the European butyl acetate market was rather stable with ample supply and poor demand from the end-markets. Major butyl acetate manufacturers, like Oxea (a 140,000 …
US Aromatics Market: Volatility & Complex Dynamics
July 18, 2019
Seasonal factors are regularly instrumental in shaping much of the dynamics of the US market for octane-enhancing aromatics like benzene, toluene, and mixed xylenes. In accordance with this logic, summertime, when the automobility-enhanced demand for gasoline always increases, acts as …
Purified Terephthalic Acid Market Dynamics
July 11, 2019
Upstream feedstock paraxylene costs are among the key factors that affect purified terephthalic acid (PTA) prices. Currently, paraxylene prices at some regions are demonstrating a downward trend amidst robust supply and a decrease in the demand for its derivatives. This …
Recent Developments in Cyclohexane Markets
July 4, 2019
Cyclohexane is inextricably embedded into the sophisticated chemical, production and commercial chains which run from basic petrochemicals to end-products. Cyclohexane is derived via benzene hydrogenation to produce a cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone mixture, which later acts as a raw material for adipic acid …
Propylene Glycol Market Has Bright Prospects
June 20, 2019
The name of propylene glycol actually combines a family of chemical compounds. This family comprises the following chemicals: monopropylene glycol (it accounts for the largest production volume among all chemicals in this family), dipropylene glycol and tripropylene glycol. These are …
Adipic Acid Market Fundamentals Remain Strong
June 13, 2019
The global and regional markets for adipic acid (ADPA) are volatile, with supply-demand balance, seasonality, turnaround schedules, production disruptions, facility expansions and environmental regulation acting as major factors affecting the markets. However, the fundamentals of these markets remain strong. The …
Lanxess Takes Lead in Production of Elemental Bromine and Bromine-Based Flame Retardants
June 6, 2019
Bromine-based flame retardants remain one of the main bromine outlets. In general, the flame retardant additives market is expected to grow by 3-4 % per year. Many companies view this bromine application area as highly prospective. For this reason, in …