Tall oil fatty acids have a wide range of applications and the industry has huge room for development.

Tall oil fatty acid, referred to as tall oil acid, is a chemical substance that is a mixture of oleic acid, linoleic acid and their isomers. Tall oil fatty acid appears as a light yellow transparent liquid with the special smell of tallow. It is easily soluble in ether, chloroform, ethanol and carbon dioxide, but insoluble in water. The chemical properties of tall oil fatty acids are relatively active, and under certain conditions, they can react chemically with a variety of substances.

The main raw material of tall oil fatty acid is pine oil, with oleic acid and linoleic acid as its main components. my country is rich in pine resources and is one of the world’s major producers of pine oil. In 2021, my country’s pine oil production reached 396,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 19.4%. Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Jiangxi are the main pine oil producing areas in my country. Benefiting from the sufficient supply of raw materials, my country’s tall oil fatty acid production continues to increase, but there is still a certain gap compared with some overseas countries.

According to the “2022-2027 Tall Oil Fatty Acid Industry Investment Environment and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report released by the Industrial Research Center, The global tall oil fatty acid market will reach US$620 million in 2021, a year-on-year growth of 3.6%. The global tall oil fatty acid consumption market is mainly concentrated in North America, and the United States is the world’s largest consumer of tall oil fatty acids. my country’s tall oil fatty acid market penetration rate is low, and the industry still has huge room for development.

​ ​​Tall oil fatty acids are mainly used in many fields such as metal working fluids, coatings, papermaking, soaps, detergents, and fuel additives. The soap, detergent and coating fields are the largest demand side for tall oil fatty acids, accounting for 40.0% of the total demand. The grade of tall oil fatty acids is determined by its color, rosin acid content and the amount of unsaponifiable matter. Different grades of tall oil fatty acids are suitable for producing different products. Tall oil fatty acids with a rosin acid content of less than 1.0% are the main raw materials for liquid soaps and detergents. In 2021, my country’s soap production reached 1.426 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%. With the rapid development of downstream industries, the market demand for tall oil fatty acids in my country is increasingly strong.

The major global tall oil fatty acid manufacturers include Forchem of Finland, Harima of Japan, Arizona Chemical of the United States, LINTECH of the United States, etc. Arizona Chemical is the world’s largest producer of tall oil fatty acids, occupying a major share of the global market. my country’s tall oil fatty acid production enterprises are small in scale and have low industry concentration. They mainly include Tianmen Hengchang Chemical, Wuhan Jiyesheng Chemical, Nantong Runfeng Petrochemical, etc.

Industry analysts personnel said that tall oil fatty acids have a wide range of applications. With the gradual release of market demand for detergents, soaps, etc., my country will The development prospects of the tall oil fatty acid industry will continue to improve. Our country has a vast territory and rich pine resources. The production of pine oil continues to increase, providing sufficient raw materials for the production of tall oil fatty acids in our country. However, the market penetration rate of tall oil fatty acids in my country is currently low, and there is still huge potential for industry development.