Solvents Business in China
                              Yu  Jing
(continued from CCR No.23)
(3)butanol
There are about 20 producers of butanol in china.   the  total  capacity  was
about 150 thousand tons. the output of butanol reached 89 thousand  tons  in
1996.
Consumption of butanol  was  about  150- 180  thousand  tons  in  1996.   The
consumption  used  as  solvent  account  for  about  30%  of  total  butanol
consumption, which was mainly used to coating  and  pharmaceutics.   Butanol
imports amounted to 60-80 thousand tons every year, because a the output  of
butanol was not enough to meet the demand of domestic market.
ketone
The total output of ketone reached 160  thousand  tons  in  1996,   of  which
cyclohexanone output is the largest, the second is acetone. MEK has a little
output.(See table 8)
(1)acetone
Acetone is produced through two ways which including fermentation and  cumene
process. There are 4 large producers with cumene process which account for 68.
8% of the total capacity of acetone. The total capacity of  acetone  was  114
thousand tons in 1996 and the output was 55 thousand tons,   the  orperating
was only about 48.5%. Apparent consumption of acetone was about 165 thousand
tons. of which the imports reached about 110 thousand tons. The  consumption
used as solvent was about 55 thousand tons which accounted for about 30%  of
the total consumption of acetone in China.(See table 9)
The largest end-use market of acetone is in pharmaceutical. About 33 thousand
tons of acetone was consumed in pharmaceutical in 1996.
(2)cyclohexanone
The output of cyclohexanone was 99.6 thousand tons in 1996. Consumption  used
as solvent was about 41 thousand tons, which was  mainly  used  in  coating,
leather manufacture, shoes manufacture,   inks  and  printing,   photogragh,
record tape and pesticide etc. It is expected the  demand  of  cyclohexanine
used as solvent be about 65 thousand tons in the year 2000.
(3) MEK(methy-ethyl-ketone)
The total capacity of MEK is about 20 thousand tons, however output  is  very
little in China. MEK import reached about 50 thousand tons in 1996.
At present, consumption of MEK is about 50-60 thousand tons. which was mainly
used in coating, solvent dewaxing and the production  of  record  tape  etc.
Because a lot of low  quality  coating  were  produced  in  China  recently,
consumption of MEK is not large, it is believed consumption of MEK rise with
development of high quality coating. It is expected the demand of MEK  reach
60-70 thousand tons in the year 2000.
esters
Esters solvents include ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. The total production
of esters was about 110 thousand tons in 1996.  Consumption  was  about  196
thousand tons.(See table 10)
(1) ethyl acetate
At present, there are over  30  producers  of  ethyl  acetate  with  together
capacity of 100 thousand tons. production was  61  thousand  tons  in  1996.
Shanghai Chemical Reagent General Plant is the  largest  producer  of  ethyl
acetate in China, with capacity of 12 thousand tons.
Actual consumption of ethyl acetate was about 96 thousand tons in 1996, which
was mainly used in pharmaceutical, coating, adhesive, and inks, printing etc
. Imports was 34 thousand tons and exports were 1.8 thousand tons in 1996.
(2)butyl acetate
At present, there are over  20  producers  of  butyl  acetate  with  together
capacity of 94 thousand tons,  production was  55  thousand  tons  in  1996.
Shanghai Pacific Chemical (group) Corporation Solvent Factory is the largest
producer of butyl acetate in China, with capacity of 10 thousand tons.
Actual consumption of ethyl acetate was about  100  thousand  tons  in  1996,
which was mainly used in pharmaceutical and coating etc.   Imports  were  25
thousand tons and exports were 1.8 thousand tons in 1996.
paraffins and aromatics
The largest production of paraffins and aromatics  are  toluene  and  xylene,
which are mainly used in coating, adhesive  and  pharmaceuticals  etc. ( See
table 11)
(1)toluene
80% of total toluene consumption is used as solvent in China,   with  overall
capacity of 485 thouand tons per year, production was 319 thousand  tons  of
tolene in 1996. The operating rate was 66% in 1996. apparent consumption was
about 685 thousand tons, of which imports was about 374 thousand tons. ( See
table 13) The end-use market of toluene includes inks and printing, adhesives,
coating and pesticide etc. It is predicted tolene  consumption  grow  at  an
average rate of 5-6% in next 5 years.
(2)xylene
The production of xylene was 250 thousand tons in  1996.   Imports  were  240
thousand tons and exports were 10 thousand tons.  The  consumption  used  as
solvent was about 360 thousand tons. The large end-use markets are  coating,
pharmaceutics, pesticide and adhesive etc.
With development of environment protection, it is expected aromatic  solvents
will be decreased. In stead of this, no-toxic or low-toxic solvents will  be
increased in the near future.
ethylene (propylene) glycol ether
The production of ethylene (propylene) glycol ether started in the middle  of
1970s. The output was only about 600 tons in the 1980s.   In  recent  years,
with the several large facilities of  propylene  oxide  and  ethylene  oxide
being on-stream, the output of glycol ether reached about 10 thousand  tons.
But most of producers have capacity of about 3 thousand tons.
The largest end-use market of ethylene (propylene) glycol ether is in coating
and cleaning etc.
chlorohydrocarbon
(1)Chloromethane
About 10% of total chloromethane consumption is used as solvent in China.  At
present, there are over 30 producers of chloromethane, the overall  capacity
is about 90 thousand tons (not including methyl chloride).
(2)C2 chlorinated solvents
The production of trichloroethylene  started  in  1950s.