Ethyl acetate (EA) production technology continues to improve, and the industry has good development prospects

Ethyl acetate (EA), also known as ethyl acetate, has a chemical formula of C4H8O2 and is an organic compound. Ethyl acetate appears as a colorless liquid with a fruity aroma, is soluble in most organic solvents, and is slightly soluble in water. Ethyl acetate is flammable, volatile, and low-toxic. It is an important organic chemical raw material and industrial solvent.

The production processes of ethyl acetate include ethanol dehydrogenation, acetate esterification, acetic acid/ethylene addition and acetaldehyde condensation. The acetate esterification method is the mainstream preparation method of ethyl acetate in my country, accounting for 95.0% of the production capacity. The acetate esterification method refers to the esterification reaction of ethanol and acetic acid under the action of a catalyst to finally produce ethyl acetate. However, at present, the acetate esterification method has shortcomings such as high production cost, easy to cause environmental pollution, and easy to cause equipment corrosion, and is gradually being replaced by new green and energy-saving processes such as the salting out method.

With the rapid economic development, my country’s ethyl acetate market demand continues to be released, and many companies continue to expand production capacity, resulting in an oversupply situation in the industry. In recent years, due to the continuous deepening of the country’s supply-side structural reform and the tightening of environmental protection policies, small and medium-sized production enterprises with backward production capacity have been gradually eliminated by the market, which has alleviated the overcapacity situation of ethyl acetate to a certain extent. According to the “2022-2027 China Ethyl Acetate Industry Market In-depth Analysis and Investment Strategy Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, In 2021, my country’s ethyl acetate production capacity will reach 3.95 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.2%.

Ethyl acetate has a wide range of applications, including adhesives, packaging and printing, industrial alcohol, artificial leather, medicine, etc. In the field of packaging and printing, ethyl acetate has strong volatility. During the printing process, the ink can dry easily and solidify quickly, accounting for 50.0% of the demand. In the field of adhesives, ethyl acetate can be dissolved with perchlorethylene resin, polystyrene, rosin, polyurethane and other chemical products, and can be used to prepare a variety of solvent-based adhesives, accounting for 20.0% of the demand. In the pharmaceutical field, ethyl acetate can be used as a drug extraction agent, accounting for 15.0% of the demand.

Competition in my country’s ethyl acetate market is relatively fierce. As the industrial structure layout has been optimized, industry concentration has increased. The main ethyl acetate manufacturers in my country include Yankuang Lunan Chemical, Nantong Lianhai Biotech, Taixing Jinjiang Chemical, Zhongrong Technology, etc. In recent years, Jinjiang Chemical has invested in a 350,000-ton ethyl acetate production line, with a production capacity exceeding 600,000 tons, ranking first in the industry.

Industry analysts said that as a fine chemical product, ethyl acetate has excellent performance and is widely used in many fields. With continuous breakthroughs in production technology, the application fields of ethyl acetate will continue to expand. In recent years, influenced by national policies, my country’s ethyl acetate industrial structure has been optimized, and market supply and demand have gradually stabilized. Driven by leading enterprises, the development prospects of my country’s ethyl acetate industry will continue to improve.