The preparation process of dimethyl carbonate has matured and the output is gradually increasing.

Dimethyl carbonate is an organic compound containing functional groups such as methyl, carboxyl, and methoxy groups. The chemical formula is C3H6O3. It appears as a slightly sweet, colorless and transparent liquid with a slight odor under normal temperature and pressure. Dimethyl carbonate is poorly soluble in water, but soluble in most organic solvents such as alcohols, ketones, and ethers. After years of development, the types of dimethyl carbonate have become increasingly abundant, which can be roughly divided into industrial-grade dimethyl carbonate, battery-grade dimethyl carbonate, etc.

After years of development, the preparation process of dimethyl carbonate has matured and can be roughly divided into methanol oxidative carbonylation, urea alcoholysis, transesterification, etc. Among them, the transesterification method is the main production process of dimethyl carbonate in my country, but the methanol oxidative carbonylation method has the advantages of simple production process and high production efficiency, and may become the mainstream preparation process of dimethyl carbonate in the future.

At present, my country’s dimethyl carbonate industry chain has basically been formed. The upstream of the industrial chain is mainly the raw material industry, providing methanol, propylene oxide, ethylene oxide and other raw materials; the midstream is mainly the dimethyl carbonate production industry, responsible for the synthesis and manufacturing of dimethyl carbonate; the downstream is mainly the application field, Dimethyl carbonate is mostly used in the production of polycarbonate, lithium battery electrolyte solvents, developers, adhesives and other products, and is widely used in new energy vehicles, chemical industry, pesticides, medicine, coatings and other fields.

From the perspective of application fields, lithium battery electrolyte solvent has become the largest application field of dimethyl carbonate, accounting for 32.79%; followed by polycarbonate, accounting for 32.28%; developer ranks third, accounting for The ratio is 8.14%.

At this stage, my country’s lithium battery market is developing rapidly, and the market demand for lithium battery electrolyte solvents is gradually increasing. As an important raw material for the production of lithium battery electrolyte solvents, dimethyl carbonate has increased market demand. In addition, dimethyl carbonate has become a substitute for toxic toluene products due to its non-toxic, narrow boiling point range, fast evaporation speed, low viscosity, and high surface tension, and has gained wide popularity in the fields of adhesives, coatings, etc. application. Overall, dimethyl carbonate has a wide consumer market.

According to the “China Dimethyl Carbonate Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that in recent years, my country’s dimethyl carbonate production capacity has continued to expand, but because the growth rate of market demand has not been as fast as the growth rate of production capacity, the industry has shown a situation of oversupply and overproduction. In 2022, my country’s dimethyl carbonate production will be 1.052 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 61.74%.

Industry analysts said that at present, my country’s largest dimethyl carbonate companies mainly include Jintai Chemical, Depu New Materials, Shenghua New Materials, Haike Xinyuan, Wells Chemical, etc. Among them, Shenghua New Materials, as the largest supplier of battery-grade dimethyl carbonate in my country, has continued to grow in operating income. According to data in the company’s annual report, in 2022, Shenghua New Materials’ operating revenue will be 8.316 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.86%.