China’s bisphenol A production capacity continues to expand and downstream applications are highly concentrated

Bisphenol A is a synthetic compound, also known as diphenolpropane, p,p’-isopropylidenebisphenol, and 2,2-bis-p-phenolpropane. It appears as white to light brown flakes or powder and can be used in production Polycarbonate, epoxy resin, polyester resin, unsaturated polyester resin, polysulfone resin and other polymer materials, as well as polyvinyl chloride stabilizers, flame retardants, plasticizers, rubber antioxidants, heat stabilizers, ultraviolet rays Fine chemical products such as absorbents, plastic antioxidants, agricultural fungicides, etc.

At present, the ion exchange resin method is mainly used to produce bisphenol A in China, such as Changchun Chemical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., Covestro Polymer (China) Co., Ltd., Lihua Yiweiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Zhongsha Tianjin Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Nanya Plastics Industry (Ningbo) Co., Ltd., Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd., Henan Pingmei Shenma Polycarbon Materials Co., Ltd., etc.

According to the “China Bisphenol A Industry Competition Landscape and Main Competitors Analysis Report 2022-2026 released by the Industrial Research Center, From 2019 to 2022, companies in China’s bisphenol A industry actively increased production and promoted the continuous expansion of bisphenol A production capacity through technological upgrading and new projects. For example, the bisphenol A integration project of Wanhua Chemical’s High-Performance Polymer Division was completed and produced qualified products in November 2022. In 2022, China’s bisphenol A production capacity will increase to more than 3.8 million tons.

From the perspective of downstream applications, the downstream applications of bisphenol A are mainly concentrated in the fields of epoxy resin and polycarbonate. Specifically, epoxy resin synthesized with bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin as raw materials can be further used in electronic and electrical, laminate materials, coatings and other fields; polycarbonate made with bisphenol A can be widely used in Electronic and electrical appliances, automobile industry, medical equipment, building materials, packaging materials, aerospace and other fields. In 2022, the demand for bisphenol A in the polycarbonate field will account for about 50%, and the demand for bisphenol A in the epoxy resin field will account for about 40%.

From the perspective of market competition, the domestic bisphenol A industry presents a pattern of competition between foreign-funded enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and private enterprises. There are many large enterprises in the industry, such as Zhejiang Petrochemical Co., Ltd. and Covestro Polymers (China) Co., Ltd. etc., and the total output share of the top four domestic bisphenol A production companies in 2022 is close to 40%, so China’s bisphenol A industry is highly concentrated.

Industry analysts said that while the production capacity of the domestic bisphenol A industry has expanded significantly, phenol/acetone-bisphenol A-polycarbonate There are also an increasing number of companies that have integrated business layouts in the ester industry chain. For example, Wanhua Chemical, Jiangsu Ruiheng New Materials, Nanya Plastics (Phase II), and Hengli Petrochemical’s bisphenol A project all support upstream and downstream products. It is expected that the integrated development of the bisphenol A industry chain will be one of the main development directions of the bisphenol A industry in the future. Only companies with integrated production capabilities can occupy an advantageous position in market competition.