Maleic Anhydride (MAN) is colourless or white solid with acrid odour. Maleic anhydride can be produced using two routes, oxidation of benzene and oxidation of n-butane. In the early 1980s, production of Maleic Anhydride using benzene became uneconomical due to rising benzene prices. All the existing benzene-based units in the United States (USA) were either closed or converted to n-butane feedstock to comply with the regulations of benzene emissions. The major incentives of the C4 hydrocarbon are the lower cost and the lower environmental impact, that makes n-butane an inexpensive and non-toxic feedstock. Today, virtually all new plants that operate use n-butane feedstock to produce MAN. Countries like China still use benzene for production of Maleic Anhydride because of the limited availability of n-butane and certain logistic challenges. Most of the new plants in China are based on n-butane as feedstock.
The average historical utilization rates of Maleic Anhydride have been in the range of 55-60% during 2016 to 2021. On an average 60 kilo tons of capacities have been added annually to meet the increasing global Maleic Anhydride demand. Overall, the global Maleic Anhydride capacity stood at 3800 kilo tons in 2021 with Asia Pacific accounting for almost 60%. Global Maleic Anhydride capacity will witness strong growth over the next five years, potentially increasing from 3800 kilo tons in 2021 to 4870 by 2032, thereby, recording a average annual growth of 3% over the forecast period. The USA and the Middle East has the advantage of low-cost feedstock while in China it is the move towards minimizing the export dependency by increasing operating rates and also on account of lower cost of production from coal. Historically, USA has seen a growth in the petrochemicals industry due to shale gas reserves.
Global Maleic Anhydride Demand Supply Analysis, 2016-2032
The demand for maleic anhydride generally depend on overall state of the economy as it is bulk commodity chemical that depends on general economic trends. The market is sensitive to economic conditions of the country and reflects with the change in GDP. Maleic anhydride is used in applications such as unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), copolymers, lubricating oil additives, alkenyl succinic anhydrides, maleic acid, fumaric acid, agricultural chemicals, and others. UPR production holds the major share in terms of maleic anhydride production and will continue to drive the market. Chopped glass fibres are added to UPR to produce fiberglass-reinforced plastics, which are further used in a wide range of applications like pleasure boats and marine accessories, bathroom fixtures, automobiles, corrosion resistant tanks, pipes and related appurtenances. UPR growth is associated with growth from automobile, construction & infrastructure, and marine sector. Global Maleic Anhydride market is estimated to grow at CAGR of 3% in the long-term forecast. In most regions of the world, the largest market for maleic anhydride is unsaturated polyester resins which are again dependent on the growth in the construction industry and overall state of the economy. The other industries that impact the overall demand of Maleic Anhydride include automotive and marine industries.
Global Maleic Anhydride Demand Analysis By Application, 2016-2032
Over half of the maleic anhydride produced is dedicated to the production of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) owing to UPRs versatile properties and various applications. UPR is the important polymer used in the production of composite materials like glass fibre-reinforced plastics (FRP) and for casting resins. The largest market for maleic anhydride is unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) in most of the regions of the world. Unsaturated polyester resins are utilized in several industries such as construction, automotive, marine, and others. Increasing construction activities in developing regions will drive the unsaturated polyester resins market as a considerable amount of UPR goes into construction. China is the world’s largest producer of unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) and the capacity is expected to increase at higher rate during the forecast period owing to decreasing oil prices. Growth of UPR also depends on the economic factors including GDP growth of a country. UPR market has observed a shift towards Asian countries like China and India as the market in developed countries is mature. One of the major drawbacks of UPR is its lower recycling rate. Automotive industry which is the major end-user for UPR prefers the use of recyclable unreinforced thermoplastics over reinforced polymers.
Global Maleic Anhydride Demand Analysis By Region, 2022 (Kilo Tons)
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