Fluorine-free waterproofing (finishing) agents are expected to become the mainstream of the fabric waterproofing agent market, and the industry has broad development prospects.

Fabric waterproofing agent refers to a compound that is coated on the surface of fabrics to reduce the surface tension of the fabric and prevent the penetration of water molecules. According to different materials, it can be divided into two categories: fluorine-free waterproofing agents and fluorine-containing waterproofing agents. Fluorine-free waterproofing agent, also known as fluorine-free water-repellent agent and fluorine-free waterproofing finishing agent, refers to a fabric waterproofing agent that does not contain fluoride at all. Its principle of action is to reduce the surface tension of the fabric to a level lower than the surface tension of water, making the water It is not easy to penetrate into the inner layer of the fabric and only stays on the surface of the fabric in a bead-like form to achieve the purpose of waterproofing.

Compared with traditional fluorine-containing waterproofing agents, fluorine-free waterproofing agents have better environmental protection, biodegradability, water resistance, oil resistance, and washability characteristics, and have higher application advantages in the field of fabric waterproofing. In the future, as the domestic sustainable development strategy continues to be implemented and the concept of ecological and environmental protection gradually takes root in the hearts of the people, fluorine-free waterproofing agents, as a type of highly efficient and environmentally friendly fabric waterproofing agents, are expected to replace traditional fluorine-containing waterproofing agents and become the mainstream of the market, and the industry has huge development potential.

According to the “2023-2028 Fluorine-Free Waterproofing (Finishing) Agent Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center shows that fluorine-free waterproofing agents are mainly used in the textile field, including waterproofing finishing scenarios for cellulose fibers, synthetic fibers, and blended fabrics. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the operating income of textile enterprises above designated size nationwide will reach 5.2564 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 0.9%. Under the background of the booming development of the domestic textile industry, the market demand for fluorine-free waterproofing agents continues to increase, and the industry’s prosperity continues to rise.

Currently, the common fluorine-free waterproofing agents on the market mainly include paraffin modified waterproofing agents, modified silicone waterproofing agents, modified acrylic waterproofing agents, polyurethane waterproofing agents, etc. The technical threshold for fluorine-free waterproofing agents is low, and many domestic companies have deployed in this field, including Suzhou Liansheng Chemical, Beijing Zhongfang Chemical, Zhuhai Huadahaohong Chemical, Shanghai Fuke New Materials, Zhejiang Chuanhua Chemical, Guangdong Demei Fine chemicals, etc.

Affected by factors such as the start-up time of the industry and technical level, the domestic market is currently still dominated by international companies with earlier launch times and more mature technologies. Representative companies and products include Rudolf’s bionic ecological water-blocking agent Bionic Finish and NANO-TEX Aquapel, Archroma’s fluorine-free water retardant, Arkophob FFR PFC-FREE, Huntsman’s fluorine-free water retardant PHOBOL, etc. In the future, local fluorine-free waterproofing agent companies will need to continue to increase their product research and development capabilities to continuously increase their market share.

Industrial analysis personnel said that fluorine-free waterproofing agents are a type of environmentally friendly fabric waterproofing agents that are currently used in traditional As the environmental pollution and biological toxicity characteristics of fluorine-containing waterproofing agents continue to emerge, and global environmental protection and sustainable development are increasingly valued, the market has ushered in a period of development opportunities and its scale has continued to increase. The entry threshold for the fluorine-free waterproofing agent industry is low. There are currently a large number of manufacturers in my country, but the domestic market is still dominated by leading international companies with relatively mature technologies. There is huge room for domestic substitution in the future.