Alpha Methylstyrene Introduction

Alpha methyl styrene (AMS) is a colourless organic compound. It is produced by the dehydration of cumene or by the cumene process. AMS is used as precursor in plasticizers, resins, in paints & coatings and adhesives. The global AMS market is projected to grow in the upcoming years, driven by the increasing demand for AMS from plastics and polymers from various industries such as construction, automotive, and electronics.

Alpha Methylstyrene Demand Analysis

In terms of AMS demand by Application, the global AMS market is dominated by Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) application. Owing to its excellent versatile properties, including, high tensile strength, and abrasion resistance it is used in applications where durability is important, such as in the automotive and building & construction industries. AMS is used as a co-monomer reactive diluent in adhesives and coating processes.  ABS is used as a replacement for metal in the automotive industry commonly for automotive parts that include dashboard components, seat backs, handles, doors, pillars and panels.

In terms of AMS demand by region, Asia Pacific is the largest market owing to the increasing demand for ABS from countries like China, India, Japan and South Korea. ABS is used in the automotive, electronics, building & construction industries because it has properties like high impact strength, high rigidity, strain resistance, higher melting point, etc. In China, ABS market is expanding rapidly due to the presence of major industries like automotive, electronics and consumer goods. The increasing population and per capita income in this region accounts for the huge demand for electronic & electrical equipment are some to the drivers for the AMS market.

Some of the key players of AMS are INEOS Phenol, Domo Caproleuna, Novapex (SEQENS division), Cepsa Quimica, PKN Orlen, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Altivia Corporation. In August 2022, INEOS Phenol acquired Mitsui Phenols Singapore Ltd., the facility is said to have AMS capacity of 20 kilo tons. Increasing investments by the manufacturers in order to cater the growing AMS demand is said to boost the AMS market in the forecast period.

To learn more about this report, request a free sample copy - Please click here

Increase in the demand for AMS in various end-use industries

AMS is used as a chemical intermediate for plasticizers, polymers like ABS and para-cumyl phenol.

It is used for the production of ABS resins which are found in various automotive parts, electronic appliances, protective coatings and helps in adding heat resistance to certain polymers. ABS provides good all-round performance for electronic enclosures, computer keyboards etc. Use of ABS in appliances include appliance control panels, refrigerator liners, etc.

Coating colours containing AMS seems to have an improved water retention compared to the commercial reference styrene–butadiene latex coating colour.

Rise in demand for plasticizers, wax, coatings and adhesives in the automotive industry is said to boost the demand in the AMS market.