Propylene Oxide: Market Demand Driven by Downstream Industries
2018-05-25 00:59:46
Since the beginning of this year, with the large number of newly built and expanded installations in China, the supply and demand of propylene oxide has gradually shifted from being tight to tight, and the market price has also fallen from the high level of previous years. The demand for propylene oxide and its derivatives is rapidly growing. The import substitution of downstream derivatives and the growth of actual consumption capacity will become the main driving force for the growth of China's propylene oxide consumption.
In the first half of this year, the production capacity of propylene oxide in China increased by 26,000 tons/month compared with the same period of last year. With the opening of the 250,000-ton large-scale device of CSPC, Shida Shenghua’s new 40,000-ton facility was also opened at the end of the first quarter. In addition, Shandong Binhua’s installation capacity in 2006 increased by 20,000 tons per year compared to the same period in 2005. From the major propylene oxide plants, it was learned that 12 propylene oxide plants throughout the country were kept at full capacity this year, and their production increased slightly from 2005. The output of the original 10 factories increased by 22,000 tons compared with the same period of last year, and the output of 2 new factories increased by 85,000 tons.
According to statistics, the total domestic supply and demand of propylene oxide in the first half of the year reached 410,000 tons, an increase of 29% over the same period of last year. Among them, the total domestic production reached 362,000 tons, an increase of 41% year-on-year. In addition, imports from January to June totaled 53,000 tons, which was a decrease of 13,000 tons from the same period of last year; exports of 0.5 million tons were basically the same as last year.
The mitigation of the contradiction between propylene oxide supply and demand provides room for downstream development. First of all, the raw material bottleneck problem of the downstream industry can be solved. For example, the alcohol ether, dimethyl carbonate and propylene glycol industries have greatly increased their output under the premise of abundant raw material resources. Second, downstream demand was released due to the relative decline in the price of propylene oxide. For the soaring oil price, the price of propylene oxide in 2006 was already relatively low compared with 2005 and 2004, and the demand for polyether and other downstream industries was released.
Propylene oxide is an important chemical raw material. It can not only produce polyether polyols, thereby producing polyurethane, but also can produce widely used propylene glycol and non-ionic surfactants, oil field demulsifiers, flame retardants, pesticide emulsifiers. Wait. In the past 15 years, the demand for propylene oxide in China has grown rapidly under the strong influence of downstream derivatives. From 50,000 tons of consumption in 1991 to 648,000 tons in 2005, the growth rate is nearly 12 times. The average annual growth rate is as high as 22.6%. Among them, the total consumption of polyether polyol industry reached 550,000 tons, accounting for 84.9% of the total consumption, which is far higher than the global average. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's polyurethane industry, a large number of new and expanded polyether polyol plants have been built in China, and the self-sufficiency rate of polyether polyols has been increasing year by year. By 2005, the self-sufficiency rate has reached 83.5%.
In addition, the development of other downstream derivatives for the consumption of propylene oxide can not be ignored.
Dimethyl carbonate is an important organic synthesis intermediate, especially in the synthesis of polycarbonate and gasoline additives have a broad market prospects. Since 2003, domestic dimethyl carbonate production capacity has expanded rapidly, showing an explosive growth. Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui, and Xinjiang will continue to plan to build dimethyl carbonate-based dimethyl carbonate units. If these plans are implemented, the domestic dimethyl carbonate plant will expand at a rapid pace.
Propylene glycol is a raw material for the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resins, epoxy resins and polyurethane resins. With the China National Offshore Shell's 60,000-ton propylene glycol project being put into operation, the domestic production rate of propylene glycol will increase substantially. As domestic propylene glycol-dimethyl carbonate equipment has certain advantages in production costs, the amount of domestic propylene glycol will continue to grow steadily in the next few years, and the import volume will shrink year by year.
Propylene glycol ether is a widely used, low-toxic organic solvent and is widely used for the synthesis of alcohol ether acetates. By the end of 2005, the total production capacity of China's dihydric alcohol ethers exceeded 129,000 tons, including 48,000 tons of propyl ether series. In 2005, the domestic propylene glycol ether production reached 21,000 tons, accounting for about half of the total domestic propylene glycol ether consumption. According to the average unit consumption, the cumulative consumption of propylene oxide is 12,600 tons, accounting for 2% of the total consumption of propylene oxide in 2005, which is far below the global average level. At present, in addition to the large consumption of propylene oxide in enterprises such as Jiangsu Tianyin and Jiangsu Hualun, the domestic alcohol ether companies consume only 1,000 to 2,000 tons of methanol per year. Propylene oxide is widely used in such industries as non-ionic surfactants, oil field demulsifiers, flame retardants, pesticide emulsifiers and wetting agents.
In the first half of this year, imports of downstream propylene glycol, polyethers, etc., were greatly reduced, and at the same time, the volume of exports increased at different rates. With this alone, domestic consumption of propylene oxide increased by 0.4 to 0.5 million tons per month. At the same time, the demand for downstream derivatives has increased significantly, and rigid foam, CASE, and polymer polyols all performed well in 2006. The rigid foam polyether industry has implemented localization strategies for some of its foreign monomer polyethers, which has led to an increase in domestic production. The promotion of national building energy conservation policies will inevitably limit the development of the polyurethane foam industry in the future; the continuous development of the automotive and furniture industries will result in high rebound. The demand for polymer polyols has maintained rapid growth.
Looking at the propylene oxide market in the first half of 2006, with the ease of contradiction between supply and demand, the market demand for downstream derivatives of propylene oxide has increased significantly compared with 2005. The import substitution of future downstream derivatives and the growth of actual consumption capacity have become the main driving force for the growth of China's propylene oxide consumption.
In the first half of this year, the production capacity of propylene oxide in China increased by 26,000 tons/month compared with the same period of last year. With the opening of the 250,000-ton large-scale device of CSPC, Shida Shenghua’s new 40,000-ton facility was also opened at the end of the first quarter. In addition, Shandong Binhua’s installation capacity in 2006 increased by 20,000 tons per year compared to the same period in 2005. From the major propylene oxide plants, it was learned that 12 propylene oxide plants throughout the country were kept at full capacity this year, and their production increased slightly from 2005. The output of the original 10 factories increased by 22,000 tons compared with the same period of last year, and the output of 2 new factories increased by 85,000 tons.
According to statistics, the total domestic supply and demand of propylene oxide in the first half of the year reached 410,000 tons, an increase of 29% over the same period of last year. Among them, the total domestic production reached 362,000 tons, an increase of 41% year-on-year. In addition, imports from January to June totaled 53,000 tons, which was a decrease of 13,000 tons from the same period of last year; exports of 0.5 million tons were basically the same as last year.
The mitigation of the contradiction between propylene oxide supply and demand provides room for downstream development. First of all, the raw material bottleneck problem of the downstream industry can be solved. For example, the alcohol ether, dimethyl carbonate and propylene glycol industries have greatly increased their output under the premise of abundant raw material resources. Second, downstream demand was released due to the relative decline in the price of propylene oxide. For the soaring oil price, the price of propylene oxide in 2006 was already relatively low compared with 2005 and 2004, and the demand for polyether and other downstream industries was released.
Propylene oxide is an important chemical raw material. It can not only produce polyether polyols, thereby producing polyurethane, but also can produce widely used propylene glycol and non-ionic surfactants, oil field demulsifiers, flame retardants, pesticide emulsifiers. Wait. In the past 15 years, the demand for propylene oxide in China has grown rapidly under the strong influence of downstream derivatives. From 50,000 tons of consumption in 1991 to 648,000 tons in 2005, the growth rate is nearly 12 times. The average annual growth rate is as high as 22.6%. Among them, the total consumption of polyether polyol industry reached 550,000 tons, accounting for 84.9% of the total consumption, which is far higher than the global average. In recent years, with the rapid development of China's polyurethane industry, a large number of new and expanded polyether polyol plants have been built in China, and the self-sufficiency rate of polyether polyols has been increasing year by year. By 2005, the self-sufficiency rate has reached 83.5%.
In addition, the development of other downstream derivatives for the consumption of propylene oxide can not be ignored.
Dimethyl carbonate is an important organic synthesis intermediate, especially in the synthesis of polycarbonate and gasoline additives have a broad market prospects. Since 2003, domestic dimethyl carbonate production capacity has expanded rapidly, showing an explosive growth. Heilongjiang, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shandong, Hebei, Anhui, and Xinjiang will continue to plan to build dimethyl carbonate-based dimethyl carbonate units. If these plans are implemented, the domestic dimethyl carbonate plant will expand at a rapid pace.
Propylene glycol is a raw material for the manufacture of unsaturated polyester resins, epoxy resins and polyurethane resins. With the China National Offshore Shell's 60,000-ton propylene glycol project being put into operation, the domestic production rate of propylene glycol will increase substantially. As domestic propylene glycol-dimethyl carbonate equipment has certain advantages in production costs, the amount of domestic propylene glycol will continue to grow steadily in the next few years, and the import volume will shrink year by year.
Propylene glycol ether is a widely used, low-toxic organic solvent and is widely used for the synthesis of alcohol ether acetates. By the end of 2005, the total production capacity of China's dihydric alcohol ethers exceeded 129,000 tons, including 48,000 tons of propyl ether series. In 2005, the domestic propylene glycol ether production reached 21,000 tons, accounting for about half of the total domestic propylene glycol ether consumption. According to the average unit consumption, the cumulative consumption of propylene oxide is 12,600 tons, accounting for 2% of the total consumption of propylene oxide in 2005, which is far below the global average level. At present, in addition to the large consumption of propylene oxide in enterprises such as Jiangsu Tianyin and Jiangsu Hualun, the domestic alcohol ether companies consume only 1,000 to 2,000 tons of methanol per year. Propylene oxide is widely used in such industries as non-ionic surfactants, oil field demulsifiers, flame retardants, pesticide emulsifiers and wetting agents.
In the first half of this year, imports of downstream propylene glycol, polyethers, etc., were greatly reduced, and at the same time, the volume of exports increased at different rates. With this alone, domestic consumption of propylene oxide increased by 0.4 to 0.5 million tons per month. At the same time, the demand for downstream derivatives has increased significantly, and rigid foam, CASE, and polymer polyols all performed well in 2006. The rigid foam polyether industry has implemented localization strategies for some of its foreign monomer polyethers, which has led to an increase in domestic production. The promotion of national building energy conservation policies will inevitably limit the development of the polyurethane foam industry in the future; the continuous development of the automotive and furniture industries will result in high rebound. The demand for polymer polyols has maintained rapid growth.
Looking at the propylene oxide market in the first half of 2006, with the ease of contradiction between supply and demand, the market demand for downstream derivatives of propylene oxide has increased significantly compared with 2005. The import substitution of future downstream derivatives and the growth of actual consumption capacity have become the main driving force for the growth of China's propylene oxide consumption.