Affected by the debt crisis in Europe, the global polyurethane industry has slowed down. However, the polyurethane raw material industry in Asia (including the Middle East) continues to show a boom in production and sales, leading the growth in global demand. Due to the complex production technology and equipment of polyurethane main raw materials such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyether polyol (PPG), the entry barrier is high, and chemical giants are passing joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and technology. Cooperation, etc., has grown strongly in Asia. "As the demand for polyurethane products continues to grow, the demand for PU raw materials in Asia will continue to grow under the strong push of emerging countries such as China and India," said Zhu Changchun, secretary general of China Polyurethane Industry Association. According to statistics, in 2011, the total consumption of global MDI was about 4.75 million tons, including 1.87 million tons in Asia, 1.73 million in Western Europe, and 1 million tons in North America. Experts said that in the coming years, global MDI demand will continue to maintain an average annual growth rate of 7%, and the fastest growing region will be Asia, with an average annual growth rate of 9% to 11%. In 2011, the total global TDI consumption was about 2 million tons, of which Asia ranked first with 830,000 tons. It is estimated that in 2016, the global TDI consumption will increase to 2.65 million tons, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8%, and the demand growth will mainly come from emerging countries in Asia and South America. Demand for polyurethane raw materials such as Asia's polyether polyols and 1,4-butanediol (BDO) also increased steadily. With the gradual release of Asian production capacity, East Asia, the Middle East and Central and South America will be the regions with the fastest growth of polyether polyols. Gong Tao, director of the China Polyurethane Industry Association's Elastomer Specialist Committee, believes that in the next five years, the polyurethane market in the Middle East will have a strong upward trend, which will drive the growth of demand for polyols and isocyanates. “Since there is no polyurethane raw material production base in the Middle East, both isocyanate and polyols are imported. In 2011, the annual consumption of TDI and MDI in the Middle East was 100,000 to 120,000 tons, and the polyol was 180,000 tons. The construction industry in the Gulf region It is a potential market for rapid growth, and market demand in this region will continue to increase in the future,†said Gong Tao. Zhu Changchun said that currently Asia is the region with the fastest growing capacity of MDI and TDI. In 2011, the total production capacity of MDI and TDI in Asia reached 2.23 million tons and 1.36 million tons respectively, which accounted for 39% and 53% of the world respectively. In particular, BASF, Bayer, Wanhua, etc. have all built isocyanate projects in Asia. BASF expands its MDI production capacity in its Korean factories and builds an annual 400,000-ton MDI project in Chongqing, China; Bayer has added 250,000 tons of TDI capacity in China and has become the world's largest producer; Wanhua is also located in Yantai, China. Ningbo and Hungary respectively invested in new isocyanate projects. “The focus of global TDI production is gradually shifting to Asia, especially China,†said Zhu Changchun. In 2011, China's TDI production capacity was 760,000 tons, which was the world's largest producer, followed by the United States (380,000 tons), South Korea (300,000 tons) and Japan (260,000 tons). Other polyurethane raw material production centers are gradually shifting to Asia. The global BDO production is mainly concentrated in China, Japan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea. As of 2011, the total global BDO production capacity was approximately 1.97 million tons, of which the total capacity in Asia was 1.187 million tons, accounting for 60% of the total global production capacity. It is expected that the total global BDO production capacity in 2015 will be expected to exceed 3 million tons, of which China will account for nearly 50% of the production capacity. In terms of adipic acid, the total installed capacity of the global equipment is approximately 3.49 million tons. In the past three years, new production capacity has been mainly concentrated in mainland China. With the completion of several new sets of adipic acid or expansion devices in Asia, it is expected that in 2015, the Asia-Pacific region will become the main production area for adipic acid. In terms of polyether polyols, global production and sales volume in 2011 was about 6.1 million tons, and the operating rate was nearly 70%. The increase in production also came mainly from Asia. “European debt crisis has affected many industries. But in the polyurethane industry, companies still maintain a positive attitude in their efforts to find emerging markets with growth potential.†Zhu Changchun told reporters, “As the demand for polyurethane products in Asia continues to increase, Polyurethane raw material companies have seen the potential of the Asian market, and strengthening mergers and acquisitions and cooperation are important strategic guidelines for these multinational companies to invest in Asia." Some experts pointed out that due to the technological advantages of multinational polyurethane companies, through cooperation, mergers and acquisitions, investment in Asia to build factories, can be close to the source of raw materials and product demand areas, reduce the cost of logistics and other intermediate links, the industry is also easier to enter the local market. For example, BASF India acquired Knin Chemicals. Sanjiang Chemical, a Chinese ethylene oxide producer, acquired 75% of Xingxing New Energy. Thai PTT also acquired a 25% stake in Ube Chemical Asia Ltd. for US$169 million. Earlier this year, the new Thai propylene oxide (PO) plant, a joint venture between Dow Chemical and Thai Siam Cement Group, was officially put into production. The project uses a hydrogen peroxide-produced propylene oxide (HPPO) process with an annual production capacity of 390,000 tons. BioAmber also cooperated with PTT and Mitsubishi Chemicals to build a bio-based BDO plant in Thailand with an annual output of 50,000 tons. In addition, U.S. Genomatica Corporation announced that it plans to establish a biological BDO project in Asia with a joint venture with Japan’s Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. The Malaysian BDO facility, a joint venture between BASF and Petronas, has also been restarted. Sinopec and SK Chemicals will cooperate to produce 200,000 tons of BDO projects in Chongqing, China. As traditional polyurethane and raw material companies are extremely cautious about the external authorization of production technology and technology, the petrochemical enterprises such as Shabbot in the Middle East have entered the field of polyurethane raw material production and can only joint ventures and cooperation with giants. Mitsui Chemicals announced at the end of February 2012 that it has agreed that SABIC will use its TDI/MDI technology to build related projects. According to the agreement, both parties will also jointly develop TDI/MDI technology. In addition, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical have established a joint venture in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, to build large-scale petrochemical projects to produce isocyanate and polyether polyols. The factory plans to start production from the second half of 2015 to 2016. Grinding Steel Ball,Abrasive Steel Ball,Hot Rolling Steel Ball SHANDONG SHENGYE GRINDING BALL CO., LTD , https://www.sdgrindingball.com
Polyurethane raw material industry is blowing Asian wind