News
Titanium Dioxide Market: Subdued Demand & Possible Responses
January 25, 2017Titanium, which is obtained from different titanium-containing minerals, like ilmenite, rutile or anatase, is used in the production of pigments, paints, coatings, plastics, paper cosmetics, food additives, ceramics, textiles, titanium metal, welding electrodes, as well as in a number of …
Growing Environmental & Health Concerns Overshadow Arsenic Market Prospects
January 13, 2017Arsenic and its compounds are firmly associated with toxicity and environmental risks. Detrimental impact of arsenic is a well-known fact. Its dangerous concentrations have been found in many parts of the world, while numerous remediation technologies and approaches combatting arsenic …
Varied Dynamics of Global Urea Market Leads to Uncertainty and Overcapacity
January 6, 2017The current situation on the global urea market can be characterised by a fairly large degree of uncertainty, which might be typical for end-of-the-year seasonal fluctuations when players are apprehensive on the verge of a new crop-sowing season and unsure …
Bio-Acetic Acid May Substitute Petroleum-Based Analogue in Future
December 22, 2016Bioplastics could become viable substitutes for petroleum-based products, and bio-acetic acid may be a good example of such substation. Of course, the capacity to substitute petroleum-based products by ‘green’ alternatives depends on multiple factors, including their production costs, oil prices, …
Possible Reinvigoration on the US PVC Market May Be Adversely Impacted
December 15, 2016Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) acts as a generic name for a group of PVC compounds manufactured by transforming vinyl chlorine monomer (VCM) into PVC resins with the help of additives to easily mold them and optimize their qualities with respect to …
Multiple Ethylene Expansion Projects are Underway
December 6, 2016Ethylene is one of the most versatile and important chemical components and intermediates used for downstream chemical processing in order to obtain a wide range of consumer and industrial products. Ethylene economics and market are enormous in size and complexity. …
Construction of New Integrated Petrochemical Complexes in Underway on Toluene Market
November 28, 2016Toluene is an aromatic hydrocarbon used in various applications. It is involved in production chains of multiple chemicals as an intermediate or precursor. In such role, toluene is often associated with the operation on integrated petrochemical complexes or chemical hubs, …
Mixed Sentiments on Purified Terephthalic Acid Market
November 17, 2016Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is a raw material used to make polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and PET-based products (fibres, films, etc.), which in turn find application in versatile downstream products, like clothing, carpets, car parts, food containers, engineering plastics, to name …
Strategic Partnerships Present Rising Trend within Feldspar Sector
November 10, 2016Feldspars are mainly used in industrial applications, including production of glass containers, ceramics (incl. tiles and sanitary ware), fillers, glass fibre insulation, fillers, extenders and other commodities. Relative content of feldspar in some feldspar-consuming product groups, % The current trends …
Controlled Release Urea Fertilizers Form New Trend of Fertilizer Industry
October 27, 2016The market for controlled release fertilizers (CRF) is expected to demonstrate a robust growth as the demand for them will continue to rise due to their enhanced efficiency, high flexibility, improved transportability and reduced environmental impact. Products like Agrium’s XCU® …
Tight Supply and Market Uncertainty Drive Ethyl Acetate Prices Up in Europe
October 20, 2016Ethyl acetate (ETAC), an ether of acetic acid and ethyl alcohol, finds application in various products and industries. Such versatility makes prediction of ETAC market behaviour a complex task, which might foster a feeling of uncertainty for its manufacturers and …
Support from Lawmakers Has Major Impact on Biodiesel Market
October 12, 2016Policy making and regulation play a central role in the future development of biodiesel market in many regions of the world. It is also quite common that public opinion, at least in democracies, is instrumental in shaping the national and …
Polyisobutylene Market Demonstrates Strong Positive Dynamics
October 4, 2016The market for conventional and highly reactive polyisobutylene (PIB) demonstrates quite positive and upwards trends, which results in capacity expansion, construction and debottlenecking. For instance, TPC Group, which is one of the largest polyisobutylene producers in the USA (the US …
Bisphenol A Market Demonstrates Mixed Dynamics
September 26, 2016The global bisphenol A (BPA) market is currently demonstrating a mixed dynamics. BPA prices in two main BPA-producing regions, Europe and Asia, are moving upwards thanks to various factors. These factors include the increase in feedstock prices; tightening of the …
Current Rise in Butadiene Prices Adversely Affects Margins of SBR Producers
September 16, 2016Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) is a mixture of butadiene and styrene, in which the amount of butadiene exceeds that of styrene by roughly three times. As such, SBR market behaviour is very sensitive to the fluctuations of prices for butadiene and …
Current Precarious Macroeconomic Situation Affects Steel Markets
September 9, 2016Steel supply and demand reflect, though with some time lag, global and regional macroeconomic trends. These macroeconomic trends may vary in its temporal dimension since, for instance, the curtailments in the US steel industry of the 1980ies, caused by growing …
Health and Environmental Concerns Restrains Talc & Pyrophyllite Market Growth
September 2, 2016Talc and pyrophyllite are two monoclinic minerals with similar physical properties and respective magnesium-based and aluminium-based composition, each belonging to the same sub-class of phyllosilicates. The products made on their basis are quite versatile and applicable in various areas. The …
Chemicals Industry Leads Global Salt Consumption
August 26, 2016Production of industrial chemicals accounts for about 63% of the total consumption of salt, and as such, it is the biggest single application segment for salt. The whole branches of the chemical industry, like the chlor-alkali industry, are associated with …
Polystyrene End-Use Sectors Exhibit Different Dynamics
August 19, 2016Polystyrene application sectors exhibit different dynamics, both temporarily and geographically. This dynamics is governed by various factors. Packaging industry is a major outlet for global polystyrene production, especially in Asia, which might be considered a world leader in packaging. However, …
Innovation as Indispensible Component of Polypropylene Market
August 9, 2016Polypropylene is a highly sustainable and versatile thermoplastic polymer, which is being utilized in a wide range of applications thanks to its unique features. Polypropylene enjoys well-deserved popularity in many industries, including food packaging, electrical appliances, equipment, consumer goods, automotive …
High-density Polyethylene Market is Vibrant, Volatile and Bullish
July 25, 2016High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most commonly used plastics found in multiple products in different applications. Physical, chemical and safety-related properties of high-density polyethylene make it a highly durable, chemically non-reactive and environmentally safe material. Its versatility, wide …
Uncertainty as a New Trend of European Expandable Polystyrene Market
July 13, 2016Building and construction applications are the largest outlet for expandable polystyrene (EPS), accounting for around two-thirds of its demand, though construction-related EPS application grows faster than EPS use in packaging. Other promising expandable polystyrene applications include furniture and sports accessories. …
Brexit to Impact Regional Potassium Sulphate Markets
July 7, 2016Britain’s vote to leave the European Union has already rendered certain detrimental effect on the European and primarily UK fertilizer markets. The British fertilizer market is not particularly big, with clear predominance of NPK fertilizers and just a very small …
Bromine Market Monopolization Increases Vulnerability
June 30, 2016The market for bromine and its derivatives may be defined as relatively oligopolistic with just a few countries controlling the bulk of the market. There are three major bromine-producing areas: North America (the United States), Middle East (Israel and Jordan) …
Demand for Bismuth may Run Counter to China’s Export Policies on Strategic and Critical Materials
June 21, 2016Bismuth application areas are diverse but the bulk of the metal is used in metallurgical (metallurgical additives, alloys), pharmaceutical and chemical (incl. pigments and cosmetics) industries. Other uses include electronics, ammunition, ceramics, catalysts, recycling of uranium nuclear fuels, to name …