MARKET REPORT

Organics

Maleic Anhydride Capacity Is Serious Surplus

Maleic anhydride is an im po rtant organic chem ical raw m aterial and fine chem ical pro duct m ainly us ed in the productio n o f uns aturated polyester res in (U PR) and alkyl resin and als o in p es ticid e, ph ar m aceu ti cal, co atings , ink, lubricant additive, paperm aking chem ical, textile finis hing agent, foo d additive and s urfactant sectors . s m all pro ducers in the no rth m o stly have a lo w o perat ing rate whereas pro ducers in the s o uth are m aking go od o peratio n. Quite a few m aleic anhydride units will be co ns tructed o r expanded in near futu re. T he 20 000 t/ a unit in Lanzhou Petro chem ical Co . , Ltd. has alre ady s ta rted co ns tru ct io n. ( CCR2005, No . 25 ) T ianjin Z ho nghe Chem ical Plant plans to expand the capacity to 60 000 t/ a. S uzho u S ynthes is Chem ical P lant plans to expa nd t he ca pac it y to 15 00 0 t/ a. S ichuan Luzho u plans to cons truct a 10 000 t/ a uni t. F ujia n Q u anzh o u plans to co ns truct a 60 000 t/a unit. Nanjing Jinling Petro chem ical Co . , Ltd. als o plans to co ns truct a 60 000 t/ a unit. If thes e pro jects can s tart pro ductio n o n s chedule, the capacity o f m aleic anhydride in China will be m o re than 500 000 t/ a in 2010. around 227 000 to ns in 2004 and will reach 393 000 to ns in 2010. T he im po rt am o unt increas ed s harply to 9 30 0 to ns in 2 000 a nd t hen h ad a gradual reductio n. Im po rt is mainly m a de fro m Ta iwa n p ro v ince , a nd Ma lay s ia , J apa n and K o rea co m e nex t. T he c o ns um ptio n o f m al eic anhydride in China is m o s tly in the U PR s ec to r a nd th e s i tuati o n w ill h ar dl y h av e a ny c h an ge i n n ea r future.

Domes tic capacity in surplus

T he to tal capacity o f m al eic anhydride in China is m o re than 420 000 t/ a to day. T here are m o re t han 30 pro ductio n units . T he 45 000 t/ a unit in T ianjin Z ho nghe Chem ical Plant is th e lar ges t pro duc ti o n uni t in China. T he o utput o f m aleic anhydride in China was 236 000 to ns in 20 04 a nd r each ed aro u nd 2 80 0 00 tons in 2005. U nlike the n- butane pro cess bas ically us ed in fo reign co untries , the m aleic anhydride productio n in China m o s tly us es the benzene pr o ces s . T he scale o f pro duction units is o n the s m all side and catalys ts and refining pro ces s es are als o quite different fro m foreign co untries. T he average o perating rate in the m aleic anhy drid e s e cto r in Chin a wa s o n ly aro und 61% in 2004 whereas the average o perating rate was 75% in fo reign co untries and as high as o ver 85% in th e U nited S tates and Germ any. T he capacity of m aleic anhydride in China is co ncentrated in the no rth and the m arket is already s aturated. E as t China and So uth China are however t he m ajo r pr o ducing ar eas o f U PR and there is a s upply s hortage o f m aleic anhydride. If pro ducts in m edium and s m all pro ducers in the no rth are trans po rted to the s o uth, there wo u ld be a pro blem o f co s t. T hat is the reas o n why m edium and

(1 ) UPR
U P R is t he m o s t im po rt an t co ns um ptio n s ec to r fo r m alei c an hydride in China. O w ing to its excellent m echa nical b ehavio r , elec tric behavio r, chem ical co rro s io n res is tance an d s im ple pro ces s ing, U PR has extens ive applicatio ns . T he output o f U PR in China was aro und 800 000 to n s in 2004, nee ding to c o ns um e aro und 160 000 to ns o f m aleic anhydride. T he actual o utput o f U PR i n C h i na i s e x p e c t e d t o r e a c h aro und 1.4 m illio n to ns in 2010 and the dem and o f m aleic anhydride in U PR will be aro und 280 000 to ns .

Consumption dis tribution in ne ed of readjus tme nt

T he average dem and gro wth o f m aleic anhydrid e in Chi na was 2 1. 2% from 2000 to 2004. T he dem and was

Table 1 Major Maleic Anhydride Produ cers in China

Pr oducer Tianjin Zhonghe Chemic al Plant Shanx i Taiy uan Qiaoy ou C hem ical C o. Shanx i Taim ing Chem ical Industry C o. Changzhou Yabang C hem ical C o. Jiangsu Jiangy in Shunfei Fine Chemic al Plant Xinjiang Tuha Oil/Gas Chemic al Plant Huaheng Chemic al Plant of Shanghai Dy es tuff C o. Shandong Dongy ing Shengli Oilfield Petroc hem ical C o. Zhejiang Fuy ang F ulu C hem ical C o. Henan Kaifeng Grease Chemic al Plant Liaohe F ine C hem ical C o. Shandong Zibo Qifeng Organic Chemic al Plant Changmao Biochemical Engineering C o. Hebei Huanghua Hongc heng Enterprise Group Chemic al Plant Jiangsu Zhongteng C hem ical C o. Lanzhou Refining & C hem ical C omplex As sis tant Branch Tianjin Tianma Chemic al Plant Sourc e: CNC IC Chemdata

thousand t/a
Cap aci ty 45 28 27 20 20 20 16 15 15 12 12 11 10 10 10 10 10

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CHINA CHEMICA L REPORTE R Februa ry 6/16, 2006

Organics

MARKET REPORT

(2 ) Hyd r o g ena t ed p ro d u ct s such a s B DO a nd THF

Pro ducts pro ces s ed thro ugh the es ter ific atio n an d hy dro g enat io n o f m aleic anhydride s uch as B D O (1, 4b ut an ed io l ), G B L ( ga m a b u tyro lac t on e) an d T H F (tetrahydro furan) have always been in sho rt s upply. Pro ductio n units o f thes e pro ducts in China have a s m all s cale and the productio n techno logy is relatively o utdated. T he dem and o f thes e pro ducts is mainly s atis fied by im po rts. The co ns um ptio n o f maleic anhydride in these pro ducts was aro und 8 000 to ns in 2004. T he dem and will no t ha ve m uch increas e i n fu t ur e a nd i s e xp e ct ed to b e aro und 20 000 to ns in 2010.

Table 2 Supply and Demand of Maleic Anhydride in China in Recen t Years thousand tons
Year 1999 Output 102 Import amount 1.5 Ex port amount 0.2 Consum ption 103.3 Source: CNCIC Chemdata 2000 102 9.3 0.2 111.1 2001 140 8.8 0.4 148.4 2002 174 5.6 0.5 179.1 2003 208 5.2 4.3 208.9 2004 236 5.1 11.4 229.7

than 60% o f the o utput. T he demand o f m aleic anhydri de in t his s e cto r was aro und 10 000 to ns in 2004 and is expected to reach 18 000 to ns in 2010.

(5 ) Lub ri ca nt a d di t i ves
In this s ecto r, m aleic anh ydride is us ed o nly in the pro d uctio n o f lubricant additives with as h-les s dis pers ing agents . T he dem and o f lub r ic a n t a d di t i ve s in C hi n a w a s aro und 120 000 to ns in 2004, the dem and o f as h- les s dis pers ing agents was around 53 000 tons and the co ns um ptio n o f m aleic anhydride was aro und 3 000 to n s . T he dem and o f m al eic an hydri de in this s ecto r is expected to be 5 000 to ns in 2010.

ing agents, pho tographic chem icals and surfactants . T he output o f s uccinic acid and s uccinic anhydride in China was aro und 3 000 to ns in 2004 and the demand o f maleic anhydride was aro und 5 000 to ns . The average annual dem and gro wth o f m aleic anhydride in this s ector is expected to be aro un d 3. 5 % fro m 2005 to 2 010 and the dem and will reach aro und 6 000 to ns in 2010.

(3 ) Co a t i ng s
Ma lei c anh ydr ide c an be us ed to pr o du ce al kyl re s in co at ing s a nd am ino res in co atings . In the 18 catego ries o f co atings , alkyl res in coatings have the greatest cons umption. T he o utput o f co atings in China was around 3.0 m illio n tons in 2004. T he o utpu t o f alk yl res in co ating s and am ino res in co atings was aro und 1. 0 m illio n to ns , acco untin g fo r o ne third o f the to tal, and the co ns um ption o f m aleic anhydride was around 16 000 to ns . A lkyl res in co atings and am ino res in co atings will rem ain to be the m a jo r vari eti es d uri ng t he E leventh Five-year Plan perio d (20062010). T he dem and o f m aleic anhydride in the co atings s ecto r i s expected to reach 29 000 to ns in 2010.

(8 ) Ot hers
Maleic anhydride can als o be us ed t o p r o du c e t e t r a h y d r o p h t h a l i c a n hy d r i d e, m o di f i e d r o s i n a n d chemical as sis tants . T he co ns um ptio n o f m al eic anhy drid e in o th er s ecto rs w as aro und 25 000 to ns in 20 04. T he dem a nd is e xpec ted to reach 30 000 to ns in 2010. The dem and o f m aleic anhydride in China will therefore reach around 394 000 to ns in 2010. China has m o r e than 30 m a leic anhydride pro ducers to day, but the s cale o f pro ductio n units is o n the s m all s ide. T he la rges t s ingl e- unit capacity o f bo th the n- bu tane pro ces s and the benzene pro ces s is 20 000 t/ a. T here are als o quite a lo t o f pro ductio n units with a capacity o f 1 000 t/ a. T he m a rket co m pe titive edge is therefo re rather po o r. A s the capacity o f do mes tic m aleic anhydride units will be in s erio u s s u rp lu s , i n ca s e t he re i s no rapid develo pm en t o f do wns tream pr o d uc ts t he c o m p et it io n in t he m a le ic a nh yd ri de m a rk et w il l be fiercer in the next few years . n
Februa ry 6/16, 2006

(6 ) A g rochemi ca l s
In the pes ticide s ecto r, m ale ic anhydride i s m ainly us ed to pro duce ins ecticides including o rgano pho s pho rus varieties s uch as m alathio n and pyridaphenthio n and pyrethrin varieties s uch as tetram ethrin. They are all traditio nal varieties witho ut grea t develo pm ent s p ace. T he dem a nd o f m a lei c a nh ydr ide i n t he pes tic ide s ecto r was aro und 4 000 tons in 2004 and is expected to reach 6 000 to n s in 2010 with a n average annual gro wth o f aro und 5% .

(4 ) Ta rta ri c a ci d
Tartaric acid is m ainly us ed as fo o d s o ur in g a ge nt . Tar ta ri c s al ts a re us ed i n m irro r s i lvering and m etal treatm ent, and als o in leathe r tanning and teleco mm unicatio n appliance s ecto rs . Tartaric acid pro duced in China is m ainly fo r expo rt and the expo rt am o un t acco u nts fo r m o re

(7 ) Succi ni c a ci d a nd a nhyd ri d e
S uccinic acid can be us ed to pro duce alkyl res in co atings , anthraquino ne dyes , s ulfanilam ides , vitam in A , vitam in B and hem o s tatics . It can als o be us ed as raw m aterial fo r lubricat-

CHINA CHEMICAL REPORTER

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