China's octanol capacity growth far exceeds demand growth

Sinochem New Network News “The risk of excess octanol capacity in China is becoming increasingly apparent.” Gong Liucheng, vice chairman of the China Plastics Association Plastic Additives Special Committee, recently expressed his concern in an interview with reporters. The growth of alcohol production capacity has been accelerating. More than 10 companies have newly built production facilities. After the completion of the installation, the total production capacity will reach 2.35 million tons; and as its downstream plasticizer industry, the pace of development will lag behind this speed. It is estimated that by 2015, In 2002, domestic demand for octanol was only 1.2 million tons."

Gong Liucheng said that at present, there are 8 enterprises that use oxo-synthesis to produce octanol, and the current annual production capacity of octanol manufacturers is 1.071 million tons. In recent years, with the rapid growth in the production of PVC soft products in mainland China, the use of plasticizers such as dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and diisooctyl terephthalate (DOTP) has also increased. The demand for raw materials octanol continues to rise. Some companies began to build or expand octanol installations, and the domestic octanol industry ushered in a development peak. Currently under construction are: China Petro-Chemical Corporation Chengdu Dingxin Alcohol 330,000 tons / year (octanol 80,000 tons / year), Lanfan Group octanol 140,000 tons / year, Nanjing Huisheng Chemical Co., Ltd. Oxybutyl Alcohol 250,000 tons /year, Yantai Wanhua Group 250,000 tons of butyl octanol/year, Yankuang Guotai Chemical Co., Ltd. 150,000 tons/year butanol, PetroChina Anqing Branch 250,000 tons/year octanol (including octanol 110,000 tons /year), Jiangsu Sanmu Group butyl oxalol 300,000 tons/year, Heze Dongfang Chemical Co., Ltd. octanol 100,000 tons/year, Shandong Bosten Alcohol Industry Co., Ltd. butyl octanol 225,000 tons/year, China Petroleum Daqing Petrochemical The company expanded octanol to 180,000 tons/year. The total capacity of these new octanols exceeds 1.3 million tons/year and is expected to be completed and put into operation from 2012 to 2013. By then, the total domestic octanol production capacity will reach 2.35 million tons/year.

The development of the downstream plasticizer market is less optimistic. The main use of octanol is the production of plasticizers. In the total consumption of octanol, 78% is used for the production of DOP, 16% for the production of DOTP, dioctyl adipate and dioctyl sebacate, and acrylic acid octyl. Total products such as esters consume 6% of octanol. According to statistics, the total consumption of octanol by plasticizers in China in 2010 was more than 1.1 million tons. Among them, the apparent consumption of DOP and DOTP is 1.5 million tons, which consumes 1.05 million tons of octanol; the acrylic acid and its ester products are mainly butyl acrylate, and the consumption of octyl acrylate is small. It is estimated that octanol will consume 50,000 tons of octanol per year. about.

According to Gong Liucheng, a few years ago there was indeed a situation in which octanol in our country was in short supply. Before 2004, China's octanol production capacity was low, while consumption increased continuously, and self-sufficiency rate showed a declining trend year by year. By 2004, with several domestic large-scale octanol devices being put into operation one after another, domestic octanol self-sufficiency has recovered to more than 60%. In recent years, the annual import volume of octanol in our country has remained at around 250,000 tons. In 2009, despite the financial crisis, imports of octanol remained strong and 439,500 tons of octanol was imported throughout the year. The increase in imports stimulated the enthusiasm of companies investing in new installations. It is expected that by the end of 2011, with the smooth production of several new installations in China, our octanol can basically be self-sufficient, and the import volume will be greatly reduced.

Gong Liucheng predicted that the expansion rate of octanol production capacity far exceeds the growth rate of demand. Therefore, the domestic octanol market will soon shift from supply shortage to overcapacity. During the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, China’s plasticizer industry will maintain a steady development trend, especially with the increase in the application of environmental plasticizers, the consumption of current mainstream varieties of DOP will gradually decrease, and the consumption of DOTP will increase. By 2015, China's demand for octanol will be only about 1.2 million tons, which is far below the supply capacity of octanol. With several newly-built and retrofitted units put into use, the domestic octanol market will be transformed from a shortage into an excess, and the resulting drawbacks such as low operating rates, fierce market competition, and business difficulties will gradually emerge.