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Acrylonitrile Market Developments
November 17, 2022
Acrylonitrile (ACN) and its polymer blends are vital chemical products used in a wide range of applications, like clothing, car making, electronics and electrical goods, toys, medical items, personal care products, aeronautics, engineering, to name only a few. Acrylonitrile is …
Liquid Crystal Polymers Market: Challenges & Opportunities
November 8, 2022
Liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) form a family of polymer substances that can possess the dual properties of both crystals and liquids. LCPs feature multiple valuable properties, such as a very high flow without flash propensity; flame retardancy; excellent chemical inertness …
Polyvinyl Chloride Market Dynamics
October 26, 2022
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), represented by a wide range of homo- and copolymers, has laid the groundwork of the modern thermoplastic industry and acts as a workhorse material for multiple consuming sectors. Thanks to its copolymerization capacity for forming blends and …
Polybutadiene Rubber Market Dynamics
October 17, 2022
Polybutadiene (polybutadiene rubber or BR, including its high/low cis-trans isomers) and its copolymers with styrene (styrene-butadiene rubber or SBR) account for over 60% of the current total synthetic rubber production, which makes them the most popular synthetic rubbers in the …
Acrylic Acid Market Dynamics
October 5, 2022
Acrylic acid is an important chemical intermediate within complex production chains where it is typically converted into polymers. Further, these polymers are used in the production of a variety of industrial and consumer goods. Subject to its end use, acrylic …
Styrene Acrylonitrile Market: Trends & Challenges
September 26, 2022
Styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) and its blends with other materials belong to a large family of engineering thermoplastic plastics. This type of plastics is mostly used in high-performance applications with rather stringent requirements for their properties. Therefore, styrene acrylonitrile resins are …
Vinyl Chloride Market: Trends & Dynamics
September 15, 2022
Vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is a vital chemical intermediate embedded in very complex chlor-vinyl production and commodity-provisioning systems. As such, it is an indispensable element within the following commodity chain: feedstock ethane or naphtha (subject to a production route), ethylene, …
Methyl Methacrylate Market: Sustainability Megatrend
September 7, 2022
Methyl methacrylate (MMA) is a monomer and a raw material of acrylic resin. In this capacity, it is an element of complex methacrylate value chains, which may include varied feedstock materials (e.g., isobutylene, ethylene, methanol, and carbon monoxide), MMA itself, …
Polystyrene Market: Trends & Challenges
August 29, 2022
Polystyrene (PS) belongs to the “Big Six” group of plastics, known for its ubiquity and popularity (global PS production capacity accounts for over 15 mln mt/y as of 2022). Polystyrene popularity hinges on the following: reasonable prices, a well-balanced mix …
Polycarbonate Market: Recent Dynamics & Key Drivers
August 15, 2022
Polycarbonate belongs to a class of linear polyesters and thermoplastic polymers, which traditionally demonstrate broad variability of parameters and compositions, subject to specific and often customised requirements. Polycarbonate grades are usually subdivided into extrusion- and injection moulding-based or general-purpose and …
Potassium Chloride Market: Trends & Challenges
July 22, 2022
Potassium chloride (KCl; muriate of potash or MOP) belongs to a group of naturally occurring potassium-bearing minerals. Other important salts, that contain the element potassium in water-soluble form, include potassium sulphate, potassium-magnesium sulphate, and potassium nitrate. In contrast to other …
Propylene Oxide Market Trends
July 13, 2022
Propylene oxide (PO) is an important chemical intermediate used to manufacture a wide range of chemical derivatives (e.g., polyether polyols, propylene glycols, and propylene-based glycol ethers) which are further converted to other derivatives (e.g., urethanes, unsaturated polyesters, etc.) and end-products, …
Ethylbenzene Market: Challenges & Trends
July 4, 2022
Ethylbenzene is an aromatic hydrocarbon used predominantly in the co-production of styrene, which is indispensable in the manufacturing of polystyrene and a myriad of other polymers. As such, the market for ethylbenzene closely follows that of styrene. Various vertically integrated …
Sodium Chlorate Market Trends & Challenges
June 15, 2022
Sodium chlorate (chlorate of soda; NaClO3) is an industrial salt used in a variety of applications and available in two forms, crystalline, and solution. It is manufactured from sodium chloride and water via a highly energy-intensive electrolysis process. Its main …
Phthalic Anhydride Market Dynamics & Trends
June 7, 2022
Phthalic anhydride (PA) is a versatile chemical product manufactured either from orthoxylene (o-xylene or OX) or naphthalene. It is used as an intermediate to make phthalate plasticizers, polyester resins, polyols, alkyd resins, flame retardants, coatings, engineered plastics, insecticides and fungicides, …
Perchloroethylene Market Challenges
May 30, 2022
Perchloroethylene (abbreviated as PERC or PCE; synonyms: tetrachloroethylene or tetrachloroethene) belongs to a diverse and wide group of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs), which occupy a vital role in the modern chemical and other industries. Perchloroethylene is manufactured with the help of …
Calcium Chloride Market: Quick Recovery Amid Challenges
May 19, 2022
Calcium chloride (molecular formula: CaCl2) belongs to a class of alkaline earth metal chlorides. It is also a chemical commodity with an extremely wide range of applications. This versatility stems from its useful physical and chemical characteristics, like high hygroscopic …
Biodiesel Market: Challenges & Prospects
May 12, 2022
Biodiesel fuels contain fatty acid alkyl/methyl esters, based on renewable and biodegradable biomass. The main pathways for biodiesel production include either chemical methods (e.g., via reactions of esterification and transesterification in the presence of methanol and catalysts) or enzymatic methods …
Feldspar Market Dynamics & Trends
May 5, 2022
Feldspars belong to a group of naturally occurring aluminium tectosilicates with diverse specifications. Feldspars vary with respect to their content, impurities, physical characteristics, etc. For instance, the most common feldspar types are those containing combinations of calcium, potassium, and sodium, …
Adipic Acid Market: Recent Developments and Emerging Challenges
April 25, 2022
Adipic acid (ADA) is a chemical precursor and the most important dicarboxylic acid from a commercial point of view. It is utilised in the production of key technical polymers, like polyamides, polyesters, and polyurethanes. These polymers act as building blocks …
Chlor-Alkali Market: Prospects & Challenges
April 13, 2022
The market for chlor-alkali products acts as a cornerstone of the modern chemical industry and a myriad of other industries, thus participating in the formation and operation of a complex system of interacting raw materials, derivatives, intermediates, and end-products. At …
Polyphenylene Sulphide Market: Robust Growth & Innovations
April 5, 2022
Polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) is a high-performance polymer designed to excel in such characteristics as thermal stability, chemical resistance, mechanical strength, dimensional stability, flame resistance, and ease of processability. As a polymer, it is highly customizable and able to form composites …
Ethylene Market: Current Challenges & Opportunities
March 30, 2022
Ethylene is an important chemical building block, which is indispensable in the production of multiple downstream products. Among such products, one can list polyethylene (incl. low-density polyethylene and linear low-density polyethylene), ethylene oxide (an intermediate for ethylene glycols and polyethylene …
Hydrogen Cyanide Market to Hinge on Behaviour of End-Use Sectors
March 22, 2022
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is a chemical intermediate which is used to manufacture a wide range of products. For instance, hydrogen cyanide directly reacts with sodium hydroxide solution to produce sodium cyanide, which is in turn employed to extract gold, silver …
Epichlorohydrin Market: Opportunities & Challenges
March 16, 2022
Epichlorohydrin (ECH) is a vital chemical intermediate which is indispensable in the production of epoxy resins. The latter are in turn important in the production of anti-corrosive coatings for multiple industries. Epichlorohydrin is also used to manufacture textiles, paper, inks, …