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Caprolactam Market: Riding the Wave of Global Demand and Sustainability Solutions
July 19, 2023
Caprolactam (CPL) or epsilon-caprolactam (as a member of the class of caprolactams) is a widely used chemical intermediate consumed to manufacture nylon 6 fibres (65% of CPL use) and polyamide engineering plastics (30% of CPL use). Nylon carpets, rugs, textiles, …
A Closer Look at the Global Bisphenol A Market: Demand, Regulations & Sustainability
July 11, 2023
Bisphenol A (bisphenol-A, BPA) or 2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane is a phenol/acetone-based intermediate chemical that is mainly used to manufacture polycarbonate resins (65% of BPA use) and epoxy resins (30% of BPA use). Polycarbonate resins are applied in such sectors as …
Polycarbonate Market: Driving Forces Behind the Growing Demand
July 4, 2023
Polycarbonates (PC) form an important group of highly customizable thermoplastic polymers and engineering plastics used in various consumer applications, medicine, packaging, electrical devices, the automotive sector, electronics, construction, and optical media. Demand for polycarbonate resins is on the rise in …
Butanediol Market: Navigating Major Trends & Challenges
June 27, 2023
Butanediol (1,4-butanediol or BDO) is a large-tonnage chemical, which is primarily used to manufacture industrial polymers, such as polyesters and polyurethanes. In this capacity, it acts within complex production chains or networks of derivatives or intermediates. For instance, tetrahydrofuran, which …
Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) Market: A Half-Year Review of 2023
June 20, 2023
Styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) resins belong to a commercially very important group of thermoplastic polymers. In general, around 60% of styrene output is used to manufacture thermoplastic polymers. The market for styrene acrylonitrile is tightly coupled with that for acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS). …
Potassium Chloride Market: A Journey Through Turbulence Toward Stability
June 9, 2023
Potassium chloride (KCl; muriate of potash or MOP) belongs to the group of mined and manufactured salts that contain the element potassium (K) in water-soluble form. Potassium chloride has approximately 62% of potassium oxide equivalent, which differentiates it from other …
Sulphuric Acid Market: Dynamics & Challenges
May 31, 2023
Sulphuric acid is a fundamental chemical building block, which is indispensable for various industries and applications, especially for manufacturing agricultural fertilizers, like monoammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and ammonium sulphate. In general, fertilisers account for nearly 60% of the world’s sulphuric …
Ammonium Sulphate Market: Overview of Major Challenges & Prospects
May 17, 2023
Ammonium sulphate belongs to a diverse group of sulphur-containing fertilizers. This group comprises more than twenty different commercially available fertilizers of four types. These types include fertilizers containing sulphates or elemental sulphur (or a mix of both), as well as …
Nitrobenzene Market: Applications & Current Trends
May 8, 2023
Nitrobenzene (NB) is an important chemical intermediate in the extensive value chain from benzene via aniline to chemical products such as methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), used to make rigid polyurethane foams. The nitrobenzene market is tightly coupled with that for …
Melamine Market: Challenges & Dynamics
April 26, 2023
Melamine (1,3,5-triaminotriazine) is a heterocyclic aromatic chemical and a triazine compound with a range of useful commercial properties. Melamine can react with formaldehyde to produce cross-linked melamine resins, which form an important class of thermosetting polymers. These melamine resins possess …
Ethyl Acetate Market: Overview & Recent Developments
April 13, 2023
Ethyl acetate (ETAC) is a valuable organic compound, firmly embedded in the acetyls group of petrochemical products. This group comprises such chemical products as methanol/ethanol (as feedstock), acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomer, butadiene acetate, acetic anhydride, and ETAC itself. Due …
Acetic Acid Market: Trends & Challenges
April 7, 2023
Acetic acid is an indispensable industrial chemical involved in complex value chains and intricate commodity networks, incorporating multiple stakeholders, manufacturing entities, and technological processes. Manufactured from ethanol or methanol (including bio-based materials), acetic acid is then transformed into a range …
Potash Market Dynamics
March 29, 2023
The term “potash” may refer to the group of potassium-rich salts extracted from subterranean deposits. These salts are vital for plant and animal nutrition. As such, their key area of application is in the form of mineral fertilizers to maintain …
Polyphenylene Sulphide Market Prospects
March 20, 2023
Polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) is a crystalline super engineering thermoplastic resin notable for its outstanding physical and mechanical properties, such as high heat and chemical resistance (it can withstand temperatures of over 150°C), excellent mechanical strength and dimensional stability, low toxicity, …
Feldspar Market: Challenges & Opportunities
March 9, 2023
The market for the feldspar group of minerals is represented by companies with extensive portfolios of industrial non-metallic minerals and mineral-based solutions. These companies operate across a broad range of industries. The key feldspar-consuming sectors include glass (e.g., automotive glass, …
Polyacetals Market: Dynamics & Trends
February 28, 2023
Polyacetals (polyacetal resins, polyoxymethylene products, or POM) may be structurally categorised as aliphatic polymers and functionally as highly customizable formaldehyde-based engineering thermoplastics. Due to their advanced properties (e.g., excellent mechanical properties, high resistance to wear, low VOC emissions, ease of …
Sulfur Market: Challenges & Developments
February 15, 2023
Sulfur is a nonmetallic element indispensable for modern chemical and other industries, acting as one of the most fundamental chemical building blocks. Manufacturing agricultural fertilizers, like phosphates and ammonium sulphate, is a main outlet for sulfur in the form of …
Iodine Market: Trends & Challenges
February 6, 2023
Iodine is a vital element and an important commodity with a broad range of medical, nutritional, industrial, and other applications. These applications specifically imply diagnostic contrast media, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, optical polarizing films (OPF), iodophors, and biocides in water treatment, to …
Ethanol Market: Prospects & Challenges
January 26, 2023
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is a non-toxic chemical compound used in a wide range of end-use sectors, namely transportation, food, cosmetics, medicine, and many other industrial applications. Ethanol or bioethanol (ethanol produced from sugarcane, corn, cassava, sweet sorghum, straw, and other …
Nitrile Rubber Market Trends
January 16, 2023
Nitrile rubber (also known as nitrile butadiene rubber and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, abbreviated as NBR) belongs to an extensive group of elastomers and is characterised by a wide-meshed, cross-linked copolymer structure, as well as high resistance to petrol/benzene, acids, alkalines, …
Polyethylene Terephthalate Market Challenges & Developments
January 5, 2023
Polyethylene terephthalate (abbreviated PET) is derived from the esterification of ethylene glycol with terephthalic acid. PET is a ubiquitous thermoplastic polymer, which finds application in multiple consumption sectors and products (e.g., packaging, textiles, film, etc.). Various countries have a well-developed …
Propylene Market Dynamics
December 22, 2022
Propylene is an indispensable basic chemical that helps to lay a robust groundwork for the global petrochemical industry. It is used as a feedstock to manufacture a broad range of vital chemical products applied in a myriad of consumption sectors. …
Polyisobutylene Market Development Trends
December 14, 2022
Polyisobutylenes (PIBs or polyisobutenes), including conventional PIBs (C-PIBs) and highly reactive PIBs (HR-PIBs), belong to the class of thermoplastic polymer materials (thermoplastic elastomers). They possess a range of useful properties, like excellent thermal and chemical stability, resistance to acids and …
Urea Market: Dynamics & Challenges
December 6, 2022
Urea is an important chemical commodity employed in various applications, including agriculture (e.g., plant, soil, and cattle nutrition), industry, pharmaceuticals, and other uses. As a nitrogen-rich organic plant and soil nutrient supplement, urea is an indispensable and valuable fertiliser. Therefore, …
Hydrogen Peroxide Market: Barriers & Enablers
November 28, 2022
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a versatile chemical compound with a range of useful properties, including oxidizing, cleaning, decontaminating, bleaching, and etching, as well as disinfectant, antiviral and anti-bacterial properties. These properties allow using hydrogen peroxide and its solutions in the …