As the impact of the epidemic weakens, the isooctyl alcohol industry needs to be alert to market risks

Isooctanol is 2-ethylhexanol, commonly known as octanol. It is a colorless and transparent oily liquid with a pungent odor and can form an azeotrope with water. Isooctanol is a mixture of carbon octaols, with a chemical formula of C8H18O, a molecular mass of 130.23, a relative density of 0.8315, a boiling point of 185-190°C, and a refractive index of 1.4308. Isooctanol can be used in the production of dioctyl phthalate (DOP), dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), isooctyl acrylate, and can also be used in the production of surfactants, lubricant additives, mineral processing agents, Diesel fuel additives, solvents and dispensing, rust inhibitor esters and other products.

Before 2010, China’s isooctyl alcohol production capacity was mainly concentrated in the hands of PetroChina and Sinopec. After 2013, thanks to the development of downstream markets such as plasticizers, China’s demand for isooctyl alcohol has increased and the market prospects have improved, stimulating the layout of relevant enterprises. With the production of octanol, China’s isooctyl alcohol industry has entered a period of capacity expansion. At present, the main isooctyl alcohol production companies in China include Shandong Luxi Chemical Co., Ltd., Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Group Co., Ltd., Sinopec Qilu Branch, Nanjing Chengzhi Clean Energy Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Huachang Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., among which Shandong Luxi Chemical Co., Ltd. is the largest isooctyl alcohol production enterprise in China, with a production capacity of 450,000 tons; Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Group Co., Ltd., China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation Qilu Branch, etc. The company’s isooctyl alcohol production capacity is more than 200,000 tons. Overall, China’s isooctyl alcohol industry has many large-scale production companies with large production capacity and fierce competition in the industry. According to the released “2023 Isooctanol Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Analysis Research Report“, in 2022, China’s The production capacity of the octanol industry is 2.35 million tons.

Earlier, China exported less isooctyl alcohol, but since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, European energy prices have soared, and there is a shortage. European isooctyl alcohol production plants such as Ineos have been forced to suspend production or raise product prices. China The scale and price advantages of the isooctyl alcohol industry have been further highlighted, prompting China’s isooctyl alcohol exports to grow rapidly in a short period of time.

In the Chinese market, the downstream applications of isooctyl alcohol are relatively concentrated, mainly in the fields of plasticizer DOP and plasticizer DOTP. The two application fields together account for nearly 90% of the total downstream demand for isooctyl alcohol. The development of the DOP and DOTP industries The situation directly determines the development of the isooctyl alcohol industry. Since 2020, affected by the national COVID-19 epidemic, the output of the medical glove industry has increased significantly, the market demand for DOTP has been strong, DOTP sales have increased significantly, and the market consumption share has exceeded DOP. Analysts believe that as the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic weakens in the future, the medical glove industry will gradually return to normal. By then, the medical glove industry will have a positive impact on the DOTP industry. The prosperity may decline, which will bring a lot of uncertainty to the later development of the octanol market.