Castor oil polyoxyethylene ether has wide application fields and good industry development prospects.

Castor oil polyoxyethylene ether, also known as ethoxylated castor oil, is produced by the reaction between castor oil and ethylene oxide. It is an effective monomer for pesticide emulsifiers. Castor oil polyoxyethylene ether appears as a white to light yellow viscous liquid with no special odor and is easily soluble in water, fatty acids and oils. Castor oil polyoxyethylene ether has antistatic, emulsifying, acid and alkali resistance and other properties, and is widely used in textiles, pesticides, inks, medicines, cosmetics and other fields.

According to the “2022-2026 Castor Oil Polyoxyethylene Ether Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that the main raw materials of castor oil polyoxyethylene ether are castor oil and ethylene oxide. India is the world’s largest producer of castor oil, accounting for nearly 90% of the world’s output. There are many castor oil production companies in my country, but the scale of the companies is small. Coupled with the shortage of raw materials and poor quality, demand is highly dependent on imports. In recent years, my country’s ethylene oxide industry has developed rapidly, and driven by demand, its market price has shown a continuous growth trend. The shortage of raw material supply and rising prices have led to an increase in the production cost of castor oil polyoxyethylene ether in my country.

The production process of castor oil polyoxyethylene ether is relatively complicated. It requires first mixing castor oil with solid potassium hydroxide, stirring and heating, then adding ethylene oxide, and going through alkali catalysis, acid neutralization, decolorization, dehydration, cooling, etc. The process culminates in a finished product. my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether industry started early. The Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences successfully developed finished products in the 1950s. At present, my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether production technology has matured.

​ ​According to the different addition numbers of ethylene oxide, castor oil polyoxyethylene ether can produce emulsifiers of different specifications, including emulsifier EL and emulsifier BY, which are widely used in various fields. In the field of pesticides, emulsifier BY can be used as an emulsifier for pesticides such as herbicides and insecticides; in the field of textiles, EL-40 and EL-80 are oil-based emulsifiers with antistatic properties and are used in polypropylene, acrylic and vinylon, etc. It is widely used in synthetic fibers; in the field of cosmetics, HEL emulsifier has the advantages of being non-toxic and non-irritating, and can be used as a solubilizer, wetting agent and foaming agent for essential oils.

my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether production enterprises are small in scale and the industry concentration is low. Nantong Deyi Chemical Co., Ltd., Nantong Chenrun Chemical Co., Ltd., Wenzhou Qingming Chemical Co., Ltd. are the main manufacturers of castor oil polyoxyethylene ether in my country.

Industry analysts said that castor oil polyoxyethylene ether has excellent performance and is widely used as an emulsifier in many fields. With the rapid development of downstream industries, the scale of my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether market will continue to expand. At present, my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether production technology has matured, but its output is low due to factors such as shortages of raw materials. With the technological innovation of local enterprises, my country’s castor oil polyoxyethylene ether production capacity is expected to continue to expand.