Environment-Friendly Coating Solvent DBE Has Opportunities - ORGANICS

By Wang Haixia, Zhang Yue, China National Chemical Economic and Technical Development Centre (CNCET)

Dibasic ester (DBE) was first developed and so named by DuPont of the United States in the mid-1970s. It is a mixed solvent of dimethyl succinate, dimethyl glutarate and dimethyl adipate. DBE is a biodegradable environment-friendly solvent extensively used in automobile coatings, color steel plate coatings, food can coatings, enameled wires and household electric appliance coatings. It is one of the most ideal substitutes for coating solvents.

Rapid growth

   With the development of the upstream adipic acid sector, the supply amount of dibasic acids in China has made a constant increase in recent years and DBE has in turn experienced a rapid growth. The capacity of DBE in China was 42.6 kt/a in 2009, the output was 34 kt and the operating rate was 79.8%. The capacity was 88.1 kt/a in 2012, the output was 47.3 kt and the operating rate was 53.7%. The capacity of DBE went up to 135 kt/a in 2017 and producers basically achieved full-load operation. The average annual capacity growth was 8.9% and the average annual output growth was 23.3% during 2012-2017.
   Major DBE producers in China include Shandong Yuanli Technology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Euiomoda Paint Co., Ltd., Shandong Changle Yili Chemical Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Sanmu Chemical Co., Ltd. They are mainly distributed in Weifang of Shandong and Wuxi of Jiangsu. The capacity in Shandong Yuanli Technology Co., Ltd. is 60 kt/a, accounting for 48% of the national total. The company is making a constant expansion to overseas markets and the export proportion keeps going up. The capacity in Jiangsu Euiomoda Paint Co., Ltd., Shandong Changle Yili Chemical Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Sanmu Chemical Co., Ltd. is in a range of 20-30 kt/a. The capacity in Henan Jiusheng Chemie Co., Ltd. is only 5 kt/a.
   The major new DBE project is the 40 kt/a project being constructed by Shandong Yuanli Technology Co., Ltd. in Fuling District of Chongqing. It is expected that the capacity of DBE in China will reach 175 kt/a in 2018, an increase of 29.6% over 2017.
   DBE produced in China has a considerable price advantage in market. While satisfying the domestic demand, the export has also maintained a brisk increase. The export amount of DBE was 34 kt in 2017, an increase of 17.7% over the previous year. Shandong Yuanli Technology Co., Ltd. is the major export enterprise. The export proportion has been stabilized at over 80% in recent years. It is expected that with the increase of the overseas demand the export growth in China will be maintained at over 15% during 2017-2022.

Coatings: biggest consumption sector

   Owing to its excellent performance, DBE can be used in coatings, inks, adhesives, plasticizers, polyols, pigments and personal care products, as well as cleaning agents and paint removers used in households, organizations and industries.
   The apparent consumption of DBE in China was 23.8 kt in 2009, 30.8 kt in 2012, 90.0 kt in 2016 and 99.0 kt in 2017. The average annual consumption growth was 26.3% during 2012-2017 and 19.5% during 2009-2017.
   The consumption structure of DBE in China in 2017 was 80% for coatings, 10% for casting adhesives, 7% for inks and 3% for others.
   Downstream markets in China have made a rapid growth and the demand of DBE is brisk. A constant consumption increase of DBE has therefore been boosted. It is expected that the consumption of DBE in China will be around 113 kt in 2018, an increase of 14.1% over 2017. The consumption is expected to go up to 180 kt in 2022. The average annual consumption growth will be 12.7% during 2017-2022.

Increasing demand and promising prospect

The coating sector is the major consumption sector of DBE and also an application sector with the brightest development prospect. Producers of traditional solvent-based coatings urgently need to conduct transformation/upgrading and develop coatings with high performance, multi-function, energy conservation and environmental protection. Water-based coatings with the greatest attention are not yet well developed in the domestic market, their production and application costs are high and quite a few performance indexes are not as good as traditional solvent-based coatings. It is therefore hard for water-based coatings to make large-scale replacement to solvent-based coatings. DBE as an environment-friendly solvent, however, can very well fit the market needs today.
According to forecasts made by China Coating Industry Association, the output of coatings will maintain an annual growth of 6-7% and reach 21 600 kt in 2018. The output of coatings in China is expected to reach around 25 500 kt in 2022 and the average annual growth will be 4.7% during 2017-2022. The consumption of DBE in the coating sector was 79 kt in 2017. With the constant application promotion of DBE in solvent-based coatings, DBE will gradually replace traditional coating solvents. It is expected that the consumption of DBE in the coating sector will be around 90 kt in 2018, an increase of 13.9% over 2017. The consumption in the sector is expected to go up to 144 kt in 2022. The average annual consumption growth will be 12.7% during 2017-2022.