China Should Vigorously Develop High Carbon Plasticizer Alcohols
By Wei Zhihua, China National Chemical Information Center

The world’s capacity to produce plasticizer alcohols has exceeded the market demand, yet China is a plasticizer alcohol importer. At present, domestic plasticizer alcohol production cannot meet the actual demand, and 40% of internationally traded plasticizer alcohol goes to China. Compared with other countries and regions, Chinese companies produce fewer varieties plasticizer alcohols, only n-butanol, iso-butanol and octanol.

1. Capacity of butanol and octanol will be surplus
In 2011 China’s capacity to produce butanol and octanol was 875 thousand t/a (655 thousand t/a using the oxo synthesis process and 220 thousand t/a using a biological fermentation process) and 825 thousand t/a, respectively, and was mainly concentrated in PetroChina and Sinopec. The output of butanol and octanol in China reached 730 thousand tons and 802 thousand tons, respectively, up 55.3% and 45.8% year-on-year. China’s apparent consumption of butanol and octanol was 1.219 million tons and 1.158 million tons, respectively, a year-on-year growth of 11.5% and 14.7%. Imports of butanol and octanol dropped drastically for the first half time and amounted to 491 thousand tons and 359 thousand tons, down 21.3% and 22.8%, respectively. The reasons for the sharp decrease of imports include the release of the capacity in Shandong Lihuayi Group Co., Ltd and Tianjin Soda Plant in 2011, and the increased supply of domestic butanol due to the octanol unit in BASF-YPC Co., Ltd being switched to produce butanol in September 2011.
   In the next 3-5 years, many butanol and octanol construction projects will be carried out or planned in China. If this new capacity is put into operation on schedule, by 2016 China's butanol and octanol capacities will each exceed 2.0 million t/a, and China’s butanol and octanol market will be gradually be changed from short supply and long-term dependence on imports to overcapacity at that time.

2. The proportion of butanol and octanol used to make DOP and DBP will decrease

Only 6% of China’s butanol was used to make plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in 2011, and this is expected to be reduced constantly to 4% by 2016. In China, butyl acrylate and butyl acetate are major sectors consuming butanol, and their consumption of butanol accounts for 46% and 36% of the total, respectively. With the rapid and stable development of sectors such as coatings, adhesive, textile, leather, papermaking and plastics additives, China’s acrylic ester market will still develop rapidly. It is expected that 48% of China’s butanol will be used to make butyl acrylate by 2016.
   In China, around 89% of octanol is used to produce plasticizers – 79% for producing dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and 10% for making dioctyl terephalate (DOTP). In recent years, influenced by the environmental regulations and safety events, the use of DOP has been subject to certain restrictions.
   The development of DOP will slow down in the next few years. It is expected that by 2016 the amount of China’s octanol used to make DOP will be reduced to 72%, whereas the proportion of octanol for producing DOTP will increase to 14%.

Table 1 Major Butanol/Octanol Producers in China   (thousand t/a)
Producer    N-butanol    Iso-butanol    Octanol    Startup time    Remark
Sinopec                    
Qilu Petrochemical Co., Ltd    50    15    85    1998    Equipment can be partly switched
    -    -    170    2004    
Beijing Dongfang     20    10    50    1996    Equipment can not be switched
Petrochemical Co., Ltd
BASF-YPC Co., Ltd    210    40    -    2005    Equipment can be switched

PetroChina                    
Jilin Petrochemical Co., Ltd    70    20    50    1999    Equipment can be switched
    60    -    60    2004    
Daqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd    25    10    55    1986    Equipment can be switched
Other companies                    
Shandong Jianlan Chemical Co., Ltd    55    15    70    2010    Equipment can not be switched
Shandong Lihuayi Group Co., Ltd    85    25    140    2010    Equipment can be switched
Tianjin Soda Plant    80    -    145    2010    Equipment can be switched
Total    655    135    825        

Table 2 China’s Butanol and Octanol Construction Projects Underway or Planned (thousand t/a)
Company    Butanol    Octanol    Location    Expected operation time
PetroChina Sichuan Petrochemical Co., Ltd    210    80    Pengzhou, Sichuan province     2012
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd    75    80    Daqing, Heilongjiang province    2012
Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Co., Ltd    120    130    Yueyang, Hunan province    2012
Shandong Hualu Hengsheng    140    85    Dezhou, Shandong province    2013
Group Co., Ltd
Shandong Qilu Plasticizer Plant     -    140    Zibo, Shandong province    2012
(Shandong Bluesail Chemical Co., Ltd)
Shandong Luxi Chemical Co., Ltd    120    130    Liaocheng, Shandong province    2013
Wison (Nanjing) Chemical Co., Ltd    100    125    Nanjing, Jiangsu province     2013
Sinopec Anqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd     100    110    Anqing, Anhui province     2013
Huizhou Branch of CNOOC     140    110    Huizhou, Guangdong province     2013
Jincheng Anthracite Jinshi Group    100    125    Gaocheng, Hebei province     
Jiangsu Shanjun Clean Energy     12.5    12.5    Ganyu county, Jiangsu province    
Technology Co., Ltd
Total    1 230    1 240

Table 3 Production of Isononyl Alcohol in the World
Year    Capacity (kt/a)    Output (kt)    Operating rate (%)
2006    1 140    1 012    88.8
2007    1 160    1 033    89.1
2008    1 160    1 044    90.0
2009    1 160    1 070    92.2
2010    1 160    1 091    94.1
2011    1 223    1 114    91.1
2015 (expected)    1 285    1 150    89.5

3. Development of isononyl alcohol depends on substitution for DOP

In 2004 the world’s capacity to make isononyl alcohol was 1.12 million t/a. The capacity increased by only 103 thousand t/a during 2004-2011, and all of that came from the isononyl alcohol plant of Exxon Mobil in Singapore. In 2012 the capacity of that plant will once again increase, this time by 62 thousand t/a.
   At present, BASF and Evonik plan to construct isononyl alcohol units in China. The growth of isononyl alcohol capacity in the world will mainly occur in Asian countries and regions, and it is expected that the global total capacity to make isononyl alcohol will reach 1.6 million t/a by 2020.
   There are only six isononyl alcohol producers in the world: Exxon Mobil, Evonik Degussa, BASF, Nan Ya Plastics Corp of Taiwan province, Kyowa Hakko of Japan and Repsol-YPF. Exxon Mobil currently has three isononyl alcohol plants that are located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana of the United States, Rozenburg-Europoort of the Netherlands and Jurong of Singapore, respectively with a total capacity of 488 thousand t/a, accounting for 40% of the world total. Evonik Degussa’s isononyl alcohol plant in Marl of Germany has a capacity of 340 thousand t/a and the capacity to make isononyl alcohol in BASF’s plant in Ludwigshafen of Germany is 145 thousand t/a.
   At present, only Exxon Mobil directly uses C8 branched olefin extracted from polymer gasoline in refineries as raw material to produce isononyl alcohol. Kyowa Hakko uses the purchased octenes as raw material. Other isononyl alcohol producers all use n-butene dimmer as raw material, and n-butene needed is from byproduct C4 fraction in refineries as well as ethylene plants.
   Isononyl alcohol is mainly used to produce plasticizers like diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-isononyl-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH), triisononyl trimellitate (TINTM) and diisonoyl adipate (DINA). In addition, a small amount of isononyl alcohol is used to produce textile addictives and other chemical products. In 2011 the consumption of isononyl alcohol in the production of DINP was 960 thousand tons, accounting for 86% of the world total. DINCH is the second consumption sector of isononyl alcohol only next to DINP. DINCH, which is developed by BASF and produced through DINP hydrogenation, is a kind of safe and environmentally friendly product and is suitable for the application in sensitive products such as children’s toys, food contact materials and medical apparatus. BASF is currently the only DINCH producer in the world. The consumption of isononyl alcohol for producing DINCH was 78 thousand tons in 2011, accounting for around 7% of the world total. In addition, the consumption of isononyl alcohol in the production of other plasticizers including TINTM and DINA was 76 thousand tons, accounting for around 7%. In 2011 Western Europe was the largest consumer of isononyl alcohol in the world, accounting for over 30% of the global total, and China and the United States came next.
   The development of isononyl alcohol depends on the substitution degree of DINP for DOP. At present, the European Union (EU) has totally prohibited the use of DOP, DBP and butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) in children’s plastic toys. The United States has also permanently prohibited the production and sales of children's supplies with mass fraction of DOP, DBP and BBP over 0.1%. Although it is difficult to determine the fate of DOP in developing countries, the substitution of other plasticizers with better performances for DOP is an irreversible trend.
   The use of DINP in various toys and child-care products is restricted even though various application tests and research results show that the product is safe in all applications. In recent years, the substitution of DINP for DOP has largely been completed in Europe and the United States. The capacity growth in the world will mainly occur in Asian countries and regions.
   It is expected that the consumption of isononyl alcohol in the production of DINP will maintain an average annual growth of 2%-3% in the next few years, and reach 1.19 million tons by 2020. The application of isononyl alcohol in the environment-friendly plasticizer DINCH will develop rapidly with an average annual growth of around 8%. It is expected that the consumption of isononyl alcohol for producing DINCH will reach 160 thousand tons by 2020.

Development of high carbon plasticizer alcohols should be strengthened
If the butanol and octanol construction projects now underway or planned for in China are completed on schedule, in the next 3-5 years, China’s supply and demand for butanol/octanol will be basically balanced, or a supply surplus may even emerge. However, China’s consumers of other plasticizer alcohols like isononyl alcohol, isodecyl alcohol and 2-propylheptanol are almost entirely dependent on imports.