Consumption of Ethyl Cyanoacetate Increases Steadily
By Liu Bing

Ethyl cyanoacetate is an important raw material for the
production of alpha-cyanoacrylate series adhesives and also an
important intermediate for pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs and
pesticides.

Rapid increase of the downstream demand

China has 4 ethyl cyanoacetate producers today. Some ethyl
cyanoacetate units with small production scale and outdated
process technology have already suspended production. The
production is getting concentrated in companies with large
production scale, advanced process technology, high product
quality and relatively low production cost. Such a trend is
expected to continue in future.
   The capacity of ethyl cyanoacetate in China was around 33
thousand t/a in 2005 and the output was around 17.5 thousand tons.
After the completion of the 10 thousand t/a unit in Hebei
Chengxin Chemical Co., Ltd. in 2006, the total capacity of ethyl
cyanoacetate will reach 43 thousand t/a. The consumption of
ethyl cyanoacetate in China was around 10 thousand tons in 2005.
Of the total, around 80% was used in the production of
alpha-cyanoacrylate adhesives and around 20% was used in
pharmaceutical, dyestuff and pesticide sectors. It is expected
that the average annual growth of the ethyl cyanoacetate
consumption in China will be 9.7% from 2005 to 2010 and the
consumption will reach 16 thousand tons in 2010.

  1. Adhesives
Alpha-Cyanoacrylate adhesives use alpha-cyanoacrylate as the
main ingredient with the addition of retarders, tougheners,
thickeners and various other ingredients. Owing to its
advantages of single component, no solvent, no need of additives,
no need of heating and pressurizing in application, instant
curing, wide range of binding materials, great strength and no
toxicity, instant adhesive ?02?with alpha-ethyl cyanoacrylate
as the main ingredient has gained more and more extensive
applications. Alpha-Cyanoacrylate adhesives are especially
suitable for the use in automatic production lines in electronic
and instrument sectors, repair of daily-use industrial goods and
timber processing.
   Ethyl cyanoacetate and formaldehyde have addition
polycondensation in presence of alkali catalysts. Lower
polymers generated then have cracking and refining in vacuum
conditions to produce N-butyl cyanoacetate and N-octyl
cyanoacetate. N-butyl cyanoacetate and N-octyl cyanoacetate are
major raw materials for the synthesis of N-butyl
alpha-cyanoacrylate and N-octyl alpha-cyanoacrylate.
    The consumption of ethyl cyanoacetate in the production of
alpha-cyanoacrylate adhesives was around 8 thousand tons in 2005.
As such adhesives have considerable market prospect and
international market competitive edge, it is expected that the
alpha-cyanoacrylate production in China will still develop
rapidly during the Eleventh Five-year Program period
(2006-2010). According to the Eleventh Five-year Program
formulated by China Adhesive Industry Association, the output
of alpha-cyanoacrylate instant adhesives in China will be 10
thousand tons in 2010 and the consumption of ethyl cyanoacetate
in the adhesive sector will reach 13 thousand tons at that time.

  2. Pharmaceuticals and dyestuffs
In the pharmaceutical sector, ethyl cyanoacetate is mainly used
in the production of pharmaceutical intermediate
1,1-cyclohexane diacetic acid and pharmaceutical technical
allopurinol. In the dyestuff sector, ethyl cyanoacetate is
mainly used in the production of disperse yellow and disperse
red. Some pharmaceuticals and dyestuffs using ethyl
cyanoacetate as raw material have shifted to use methyl
cyanoacetate as raw material in recent years. The consumption
growth of ethyl cyanoacetate in pharmaceutical and dyestuff
sectors has therefore slowed down.
   The consumption of ethyl cyanoacetate in pharmaceutical,
dyestuff and pesticide sectors was around 2 thousand tons in 2005.
It is expected that the average annual growth of the ethyl
cyanoacetate demand in these sectors will be 7.6% from 2005 to
2010 and the consumption will reach 3 thousand tons in 2010.

Constant growth of the export amount

The export of ethyl cyanoacetate in China has grown rapidly in
recent years. The export amount was 4.5 thousand tons in 2003,
5.6 thousand tons in 2004 and increased to 7.5 thousand tons in
2005.
   Due to the fierce market competition, the price of
high-purity ethyl cyanoacetate in China went all way down from
1997 to 2001. The price was RMB50 000 per ton in 1997, RMB26 500
per ton in July 2000 and RMB23 000 per ton in 2001. The price
of ethyl cyanoacetate basically maintained stably after 2001.
The quoted price of ethyl cyanoacetate in China is RMB23 000 -
RMB23 200 per ton today.