Acetic Acid Supply/Demand Status and Development Prospects

By Li Yufang,  Wu Xiaoming,  Beijing Jiangning Chemical Technology Research Institute

Acetic acid is mainly used in the production of vinyl acetate (VAM), acetic esters, acetic anhydride, p-phthalic acid (PTA), chloroacetic acid and diketene, and is therefore an important raw material for synthetic fibers, adhesives, medicines, dyestuffs and pesticides. It is also an excellent organic solvent with extensive applications in chemicals, light industry, textiles, plastics, pharmaceuticals, rubbers and dyestuffs.

Growth of acetic acid production

The world acetic acid capacity has increased steadily in recent years. The total capacity was 12.015 million t/a in 2008 and increased to 19.132 million t/a in 2013. China’s capacity in 2013 was 9.52 million t/a, around 49.8% of the world total.
The acetic acid industry in China is developing rapidly. The capacity was only 3.61 million t/a in 2007 and increased to 6.70 million t/a in 2010. A 300 kt/a acetic acid unit of Sinopec Great Wall Energy and Chemical (Ningxia) Co., Ltd. started production in June 2014. By September 2014, China’s acetic acid capacity had reached 9.82 million t/a, 95% of which employs the methanol carbonylation process. Small amounts are still produced through the acetaldehyde-ethanol process. Jiangsu Sopo (Group) Co., Ltd. is the biggest acetic acid producer in China today, with 1.40 million t/a capacity, 14.3% of the national total. Table 1 shows the major acetic acid producers in China in 2014. Figure 1 shows the distribution of acetic acid capacity in China.
Quite a few acetic acid units will be constructed or expanded in China over the next few years. It is expected that the total capacity to make acetic acid in China will be close to 13.00 million t/a in 2018. Table 2 shows the new/expanded capacity expected in China in the next few years.

Table 1    Major acetic acid producers in China in 2014     (kt/a)

Producer    Capacity    Process
Jiangsu Sopo (Group) Co., Ltd.    1 400    methanol carbonylation process
Shanghai Huayi Chemical Co., Ltd.    1 300    methanol carbonylation process
Shandong Yancon Cathay Chemical Co., Ltd.    800    methanol carbonylation process
Celanese (Nanjing) Chemical Co., Ltd.     1 200    methanol carbonylation process
YPC BP Acetyls Company (Nanjing) Ltd.     500    methanol carbonylation process
Hebei Zhongxin Chemical Co., Ltd.     500    methanol carbonylation process
Henan Shunda Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.     400    methanol carbonylation process
Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd.     500    methanol carbonylation process
Yangtze River Acetyls Co., Ltd.     350    methanol carbonylation process
Shaanxi Yanchang Petrochemical Co., Ltd.     300    methanol carbonylation process
Tianjin Bohua Yongli Chemical Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
Yunnan Yunwei Group Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
PetroChina Daqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
Shaanxi Yulin Zhuoyue Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd.     150    methanol carbonylation process
Jilin Jian New Energy Group Co., Ltd.     210    acetaldehyde-ethanol process
Shandong Jinyimeng Group Co., Ltd.    100    acetaldehyde-ethanol process
Shijiazhuang Xinyu Sanyang Industrial Co., Ltd.    100    acetaldehyde-ethanol process
China Overseas Pioneer Chemical (Taixing) Co., Ltd.     100    acetaldehyde-ethanol process
Guodian Ningxia Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd.     300    methanol carbonylation process
Henan Coal Chemical Group Yima Shengyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
Shanxi Coking Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
Henan Coal Chemical Group Yima Coal Gasification Co., Ltd.     200    methanol carbonylation process
Sinopec Great Wall Energy and Chemical (Ningxia) Co., Ltd.     300    methanol carbonylation process
Guizhou Crystal Organic Chemical Co., Ltd.     36    methanol carbonylation process
Others    74    -
Total    9 820    -


Table 2    New/expanded acetic acid capacity in China       (kt/a)

Company    Capacity    Expected startup
Chongqing Wansheng Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.     600    phase I 200kt/a planned to be put on stream in 2015,
phase II 400kt/a planned to be put on stream in 2016
Shandong Yancon Cathay Chemical Co., Ltd.    400    2015
Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Chemical Co., Ltd.     600    2016
Yangtze River Acetyls Co., Ltd.     250    2015
Sinopec    600    -
Chongqing Jianfeng Chemical Industrial Group Co., Ltd.     650    -


Consumption growth

In 2013, the total consumption of acetic acid in the world was 12.453 million tons, concentrated mainly in North America and Asia. The consumption in these two regions reached 10.107 million tons in 2013, accounting for 81.2% of the world total. It is expected that global consumption of acetic acid will reach 15.53 million tons in 2018.
The apparent consumption of acetic acid in China has increased steadily in recent years. Domestic consumption was 1.625 million tons in 2004 and increased to 2.857 million tons in 2008. But in 2011 consumption fell a bit to 3.599 million tons, 2.2% lower than in 2010. The main reason was a drastic increase of export volume, increasing over 200% from 2010. This showed that the demand for acetic acid in the domestic market was more or less saturated. In 2013, the apparent consumption of acetic acid was 4.236 million tons, an increase of 6.1% over the previous year. The average annual growth of apparent consumption during 2008-2013 was 8.2%. China’s acetic acid self-sufficiency was 68.7% in 2004, 90.1% in 2008, 118.0% in 2011 and 103.9% in 2013.
In China, acetic acid is used mainly to produce vinyl acetate, acetic esters, acetic anhydride and PTA, and the consumption in making these products accounts respectively for 31.5%, 25.8%, 6.5% and 23.6% of the total. It is expected that the total demand of acetic acid in China will reach 5.80-6.00 million tons in 2018. The sector with the fastest demand growth will be the PTA production. The average annual growth of consumption will be 8.5% during 2014-2018.
Both the capacity and the demand for acetic acid in the world will maintain stable growth in the next few years. Asia will be the main driver for the development of the global acetic acid market in the foreseeable future. As capacity is growing faster than demand, there is a threat of oversupply in the global market. With constant adjustments of the consumption structure, the utilization of the world’s acetic acid capacity will gradually increase.