The global wax market will face a supply shortage
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The global wax market will face a supply shortage. China Adhesives, 2016-04-20 According to a research report released last week by the renowned American consulting firm Klein, the global supply of wax is expected to rise from 4.76 million tons in 2014 to 4.85 million tons by 2019; this level of supply will not be sufficient to meet the growing demand, resulting in a shortage. Pooja Sharma, an analyst at Klein Company, noted that global wax demand will rise from 4.76 million tons in 2014 to 5.13 million tons by 2019, with an average annual growth rate of around 9.5%. Most of the demand growth will come from rheology modifiers and surface engineering applications. Despite an increase in the supply of synthetic and natural waxes, the overall increase in wax supply is not sufficient to meet rising demand; by 2019, the global wax market will face a shortfall of nearly 272,000 tons. In the future, the market will adopt alternative materials and develop new formulations to meet market demands. Decline in the share of petroleum wax In 2015, global production of petroleum wax was approximately 3.31 million tons, accounting for around 70% of the global wax market. In 2002, petroleum wax accounted for about 80% of the global wax market share. Pooja Sharma analyzed that the direct cause of the reduced supply of petroleum waxes is the decrease in the number of manufacturers of API Group I lubricant base oils, especially in North America and Europe. Over the past few decades, the development of lubricant refining technology has led to a continuous decrease in the supply of petroleum waxes. Many manufacturers of API Group I base oils have either closed down or transformed their operations to produce high-quality base oils. Pooja Sharma pointed out that many current producers of Class I lubricant base oils are either shutting down or transforming their operations to produce high-quality base oils. This is driven mainly by two factors: First, the quality requirements for base oils are constantly increasing, and base oils of category I can no longer meet the needs of automotive lubricants ； Second, the supply of Group II base oils is increasing continuously, leading to the use of II-type lubricants even in situations where it is not technically necessary. Due to the continuous improvement in the performance of lubricants, the supply of base oils for Category I lubricants has declined significantly over the past 10 years. It is expected that production of such base oils will further decrease in the next 5 years, with more manufacturers in Europe upgrading their facilities to produce these base oils. As the global supply of petroleum waxes continues to decline, the share of synthetic waxes and plant waxes is set to increase further in the future. Synthetic waxes fill gaps. Synthetic waxes mainly include FTO synthetic waxes, polyethylene waxes, and α-olefin waxes, among others. According to a report by Klein Company, the market share of synthetic waxes increased from 11% in 2010 to 15% in 2015. Among them, the supply of FTO synthesis waxes increased from less than 181,400 tons in 2010 to nearly 272,000 tons in 2015, while the total amount of polyethylene waxes, polypropylene waxes, and α-olefin waxes rose from less than 272,000 tons in 2010 to 408,000 tons in 2015. The company expects strong growth in the supply of FTO synthetic wax over the next 5 years. This is because some existing production plants will continue to increase their capacity, and in addition, some new small-scale gas-to-liquid (GTL) plants will come online. Synthetic wax supply is rapidly filling the gap left by the reduction in petroleum wax supply. Pooja Sharma said, “This growth in synthetic waxes will mainly come from Fischer-Tropsch synthetic waxes in South Africa and China, as well as waxes from some newly established small-scale GTL projects in North America.” ” Market equilibrium of vegetable waxes Vegetable waxes mainly include hydrogenated soybean wax and palm wax. According to Kline’s research, global consumption of plant waxes in 2015 reached 544,000 tons, matching the supply volume. Pooja Sharma said that consumption of plant waxes in the market for soft wax applications will continue to grow. Such as soft paraffin, demand in this market is experiencing rapid growth at present. Additionally, demand for hydrogenated palm wax is also likely to grow strongly. “Palm wax accounts for nearly half of the global supply of plant waxes, with Asia being the leader in the global market for palm wax. ”She said. Plant waxes are primarily used to meet the demand in the candle industry. Advances in hydrogenation technology for plant waxes will enable them to better meet the growing demands of the soft petroleum wax market in the future.
It seems that there is still market potential for coking upgrades, methanol-based upgrades, and upgrades of coke oven gas for the production of FTO wax: lol
In the future, specialty waxes will exhibit great potential for growth, thanks to their unique advantages such as broad market prospects and high technical content. ○ By Wang Yuqing and Jiang Yongming People may not have noticed that inside the packaging boxes of instant noodles in daily life, there is a smooth film – it is an edible wax. In fact, special waxes can be found in various items that are closely related to our lives, such as food, medicines, cosmetics, furniture, ink printing, wires and cables, tires, **and so on. The development of advanced processing technologies for paraffin in our country began in the 1960s. Although more than 100 types of specialty wax products have been developed for use in electronic components, temperature-sensitive elements, explosives, rubber protection, precision casting, and other applications, both the quality and output of these products fail to meet domestic demand. In contrast, abroad, the industrialization of advanced paraffin processing has a history of over 100 years. In industrially developed countries such as the United States, Western Europe, and Japan, special waxes account for 35% to 40% of the total production and sales volume of paraffins. On October 1, 2013, the NB/SH/T 0871-2013 \"Industry Standard for Rubber Protective Waxes\", drafted by Nanyang Paraffin Fine Chemicals Factory, was officially issued and approved by the **Energy Bureau for implementation. Therefore, specialty waxes will have great potential for development in the future, thanks to their unique advantages of broad market prospects, high technical content, and good economic returns. The market prospects are promising. Rubber protective wax products are used as physical anti-aging agents in the production of radial tires, bias tires, industrial tires, and other rubber products, and they are widely utilized by tire manufacturers. Rubber protective wax is currently the type of special wax in China that features a mature market, high demand, and the greatest potential for development in the future. The production and consumption of rubber products such as tires, various tapes, conveyor belts, seals, shock-absorbing rubber, and safety products have led to an increase in the consumption of rubber protective wax. According to statistics from the public security authorities, as of the end of June 2012, the total number of motor vehicles in the country was 233 million, of which 114 million were cars and 103 million were motorcycles. Data recently released by the China Rubber Association show that in 2012, China consumed approximately 7.4 million tons of natural rubber and synthetic rubber. Based on an additive ratio of 2% for rubber protective wax, China’s demand for such wax is approximately 148,000 tons per year. In 2012, China’s production of rubber protective wax was around 100,000 tons, resulting in a supply gap of 48,000 tons per year. Another product with promising market prospects, similar to rubber protective wax, is **composite wax; as an oil-phase material used in production, it can enhance the explosion resistance and safety of **. There are six major series of ** varieties in our country, namely ammonium ladder types**, ammonium oil types**, water-gel types**, emulsified types**, expanded types**, and viscous types**. **The focus is on promoting the development of **emulsified** and powdered emulsified **types**. According to the **12th Five-Year Plan**, efforts will continue to be made to improve infrastructure, with a focus on accelerating the development of transportation networks in the western regions. The construction of roads, railways, highways, and key regional airports will once again drive an increase in demand. Industry experts estimate that China’s demand for emulsifiers in 2014 will be 3.4 million tons. In neighboring Asian countries **such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Mongolia, etc.**, as environmental awareness grows, the production volume of emulsions is also increasing year by year, rising from 5,000 tons per year in 2003 to 15,000 tons per year. According to authoritative research, China’s current annual demand for emulsified **waxes is over 110,000 tons. It is estimated that in 2014, the production of **specialized composite waxes in China will be 65,000 tons per year, resulting in a supply gap of 45,000 tons per year. It has a high technical content. Due to the specificity and uniqueness of specialty waxes, they are designed for use in certain industries only, which implies a high level of technical complexity. For example, **composite waxes are suitable only for** certain industries, and they offer excellent benefits in terms of improving **explosion resistance** as well as using safety. Previously, **before the advent of composite wax**, companies had to purchase various materials such as paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, oils, and additives to incorporate into their production processes; nowadays, only a certain proportion of **composite wax** needs to be added. Similar ones include wax specifically designed for high-strength refractory materials, wax for slow-release fertilizers, and wax for sealing bottled handicrafts, among others. Speaking of its manufacturing processes, compared with other domestic refining and chemical enterprises that are mainly engaged in oil refining, Nanyang Paraffin Refining Factory has a longer crude oil processing chain, which allows it to extract every layer of wax contained in the crude oil until nothing is left. Nanyang mixed crude oil is the raw material used by the Nanyang Paraffin Refining Plant; it has a wax content of 23.3%, a microcrystalline wax content of 3.45%, and a sulfur content of 0.16%. It is one of the few crude oils in China that features low sulfur levels and high wax content. Due to its good wax quality and wide melting point range, crude oil can be used to produce a range of wax products. It is capable of producing everything from low-melting-point paraffin No. 50 to high-melting-point paraffin No. 64, as well as low-grade microcrystalline wax No. 70 and high-grade microcrystalline waxes No. 85 and No. 90. This enables it to meet the raw material requirements for formulating special wax products, offering unique advantages for the production of such waxes. If Nanyang Paraffin Refining Factory makes full use of its operational advantages and raw materials, it can maximize the added value of its products and produce more paraffin products with a high level of technological content. It boasts good economic benefits. As another by-product derived from oil, paraffin costs over 8,000 yuan per ton, with a price slightly higher than that of gasoline and diesel. Compared to paraffin wax, special waxes cost several thousand yuan per ton, ranging from tens of thousands of yuan to hundreds of thousands of yuan per ton; the most expensive special waxes can even cost nearly one million yuan per ton. Take a certain domestic specialty wax manufacturer as an example: the rubber protection wax produced by this factory costs around 11,000 yuan per ton, precision casting wax costs about 13,000 yuan per ton, chewing gum wax costs around 18,000 yuan per ton, and the wax specifically designed for low-melting-point phase-change energy storage materials can be sold for over 30,000 yuan per ton. These high-value specialty waxes not only enjoy strong market demand in China but also generate significant economic benefits for the companies that produce them. Due to the high requirements for the properties of the raw materials, almost no other manufacturers in China are able to produce microcrystalline wax No. 90. Nanyang Paraffin Refining Factory developed this product, breaking the foreign monopoly on such products in China. Due to both the uniqueness of the product and its cost, the market price reaches as high as 180,000 yuan per ton. High-tech paraffin products such as gum wax and high-pressure hydrogenated microcrystalline wax were developed by Nanyang Paraffin Refining Factory; these products quickly secured a monopoly in the domestic market. Moreover, some of them managed to break through the technological barriers abroad, thereby ending the monopoly of European and American products in the global market. Over the past decade, thanks to the rapid development of specialty waxes in China, the price of domestic specialty wax products has dropped from 1 to 5 times that of imported similar products to around 20% of the former price. According to investigations, for electrical capacitor wax, fruit preservation wax, rust prevention wax, polypropylene wax, as well as many other specialty waxes and high-value-added products, there is a supply gap of over 500,000 tons per year between supply and demand in the market. According to projections by relevant agencies, China’s annual consumption of specialty waxes will exceed 500,000 tons by the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period. By 2020, this figure will exceed 700,000 tons. Of course, the demand for specialty waxes is also related to the overall development of society as well as oil resources. Overall, making significant efforts to develop specialty waxes and high-value-added products is in line with the development trends of the industry and regional economies; it helps enterprises make more efficient use of their unique resources and maximize their profits.
I would like to ask whether PS is needed for low-temperature waxes and similar products