MMA Demand Increased Rapidly

By Yu Chunmei

MMA (methyl methacrylate) is an important organic chemical raw material and chemical product. It is mainly used to produce PMMA (polymethyl methacrylate) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) impact modifiers ACR (acrylates) and MBS (methyl methacrylate-butadiene styrene). It is also used as the second monomer in the acrylic fiber production, ion exchange resin, paper glazing agent, textile dyeing/printing assistant, leather treating agent and lube oil additive. MMA therefore has extensive applications.

Considerable production scale

    The total capacity of MMA in China reached 198 thousand t/a (excluding the capacity of PMMA cracking) in 2005 and the output was 158 thousand tons. CNPC Jilin Petrochemical Co., Ltd. is one of the major MMA producers in China. It has 3 MMA units with a total capacity of 78 thousand t/a and the capacity of MMA in the company will be expanded to 128 thousand t/a in 2006. Foreign companies have increased their investments in MMA projects in China in recent years. The 90 thousand t/a MMA unit constructed by Lucit International (China) Chemical Co., Ltd. already started production in 2005. (CCR2005, No. 18) The 70 thousand t/a MMA unit constructed by Mitsubishi Rayon Corp. in Huizhou, Guangdong province will also start production in 2006.

    Besides, China also has more than 500 small companies making the MMA production through PMMA cracking. The capacity of MMA through PMMA cracking was around 145 thousand t/a in 2005 and the output was 120 thousand tons. These producers are mostly private and township/village companies distributed in East China, South China and North China. Cracking raw materials are mainly recycled and left-over materials of PMMA products imported from abroad.

Brisk market demand

The apparent consumption of MMA in China already reached 330 thousand tons in 2005, an increase of around 15% over 2004. The import amount of MMA has increased stably in recent years. It was 19.5 thousand tons in 1997 and reached 84 thousand tons in 2004. Due to the completion of the MMA unit in Lucit International (China) Chemical Co., Ltd., the supply amount in the domestic market increased drastically and the import amount was reduced to 75 thousand tons in 2005.

Expanding consumption sector

Through many years' application development, the unitary application scope of using MMA almost totally in the production of PMMA cast boards in the 1970s has been expanded towards non-resin sectors such as surface coatings, adhesives, ACR and MBS, textile sizing agents, medical polymers and leather assistants.

    The consumption distribution of MMA in China in 2005 was 60% for PMMA, 12% for plastic processing assistants ACR and MBS, 23% for surface coatings and 5% for others.

PMMA

The most important application of MMA is the use in the PMMA production. China had more than 300 PMMA producers (around 40 of them having a capacity of over 1 thousand t/a) in 2005. The total capacity was around 450 thousand t/a and the output was around 176 thousand tons. Of the total, the output of molding plastics was around 23 thousand tons and the output of cast boards was around 153 thousand tons. Producers of PMMA cast boards are mainly distributed in East China, South China and North China. The casting method has simple process and small investment. Many township/village companies use this method to make the workshop-type production of PMMA cast boards. These companies can only produce conventional cast boards and there is a shortage of Acrylic products with high added value. Neither the variety nor the quality can meet the domestic demand and the import amount is still increasing drastically. The import amount of PMMA in China reached 197 thousand tons in 2005.

    Major consumption sectors of PMMA in China are contributed by medium and low-end markets such as advertisement light boxes, labels, lamp fittings, bathtubs, instruments, daily-use articles and furniture. There is yet no application of special PMMA such as ray-resistant varieties and optical fibers. With the rapid development of the advertisement sector, the medium and high-grade furniture sector, the construction sector, the communication sector and the optical sector, the demand of PMMA in China will increase drastically and the application will develop from low-end markets to medium and high-end markets. PMMA can also be used to produce LCD (liquid crystal display) light-conducting boards. The rapid demand growth of LCD in China has greatly promoted the PMMA production.

Surface coatings

The consumption proportion of MMA in surface coatings is quite large in foreign countries. MMA is used to produce coatings, textile sizing agents, papermaking assistants and leather assistants. Due to the high price of MMA in the domestic market, the proportion of MMA in coatings formulations is relatively low. The consumption in this sector is only around 100 tons a year. With the establishment of wholly foreign-owned and joint venture coatings companies funded by multinationals such as Nippon of Japan and ICI of Britain, the demand of MMA will increase drastically.

ACR and MBS

Another major application of MMA is the use in PVC impact modifiers ACR and MBS. With the development of the construction material industry in China, PVC profiles and alloy materials are being extensively used in communication, construction and furniture sectors. High-effect varieties such as ACR and MBS are mostly used in foreign countries. Due to restrictions in technology and raw material, the production and the development of PVC impact modifiers in China are lagging behind and the development of the plastic industry is seriously affected. The consumption distribution of PVC in China has undergone great changes in recent years. The proportion of rigid products has increased constantly to around 60%. The processing and application of PVC rigid products needs processing assistants and impact modifiers. The output of PVC rigid products in China was estimated to be 3.6 million tons in 2005, needing nearly 80 thousand tons of processing assistants and more than 100 thousand tons of impact modifiers. PVC processing assistants and impact modifiers will therefore become an MMA application sector with great development potential in China.

    Other consumption sectors of MMA include higher methacrylates, acrylic adhesives, unsaturated polyester cross-linking agents and lubricants.

Need of coordinated development between regions

The consumption of MMA in China is mainly contributed by East China, South China and North China. Major MMA producers are however mainly distributed in Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. There is therefore an imbalance between the production in the north and the consumption in the south and the cost of logistics is increased. MMA producers in China should develop downstream products and form large-scale operation to promote the development of the MMA sector.

Major MMA Producers in China in 2005  (thousand t/a)
Producer                               Capacity
Heilongjiang Longxin Chemical Co.       24
CNPC Jilin Petrochemical Co.            78
Shanghai Pen-Making Chemical Plant      6
Lucit International (China) Chemical Co.        90
Source: CNCIC Chemdata