Cellulose ether has a wide range of application fields and there is huge room for improvement in the proportion of high-end products.

Cellulose ether is a general name for a variety of derivatives made from cellulose through etherification reaction and drying and grinding. According to different ionization properties, cellulose ethers can be divided into ionic, non-ionic and mixed types. Among them, ionic cellulose ethers are the mainstream products in the market, accounting for about 60%. Subdivided products include carboxymethyl cellulose ethers; Non-ionic cellulose ether subdivided products include methyl cellulose ether, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose ether, hydroxyethyl cellulose ether, etc. Non-ionic cellulose ether products have high added value and are excellent in temperature resistance, It is better than the ionic type in terms of salt tolerance and other aspects, and has good market development prospects.

Cellulose ether has both water-soluble and solvent properties. As a high molecular polymer, cellulose ether has a wide range of applications. It can be used as a water-retaining agent, emulsifier, dispersant, thickener, binder, etc. in construction. Building materials, oil exploration, food, medicine, daily chemicals and other fields. At present, domestic cellulose ethers are mainly building material grade products, with pharmaceutical grade and food grade products accounting for a lower proportion. However, with the development of the biomedical industry and the advancement of production technology, the market development potential of pharmaceutical grade cellulose ethers is greater.

According to the “2022-2026 Global Cellulose Ether Industry In-depth Market Research and Key Area Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center, my country’s cellulose ether market maintains a steady growth trend, and it is expected that the cellulose ether market capacity will grow to 700,000 tons in 2026. From the perspective of production capacity distribution, my country’s cellulose ether production capacity is mainly distributed in Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other regions, of which Shandong is the largest production area. Due to technical limitations, the quality of domestic cellulose ethers varies, and the proportion of high-end products is still low. There is considerable room for improvement in the cellulose ether industry in the future.

The upstream raw materials of cellulose ether include refined cotton, wood pulp, propylene oxide, methyl chloride and ethylene oxide, liquid caustic soda, caustic soda flakes, toluene and other auxiliary materials. At this stage, my country has become the world’s largest producer and consumer of cellulose ethers. The largest domestic cellulose ether manufacturers include Shandong Heda, Luzhou North, Yangzi Chemical, Lihong Fine Chemicals, Qingshuiyuan, Shandong Ruitai, etc. .

From the perspective of the international market, in 2020, the total global trade volume of primary form cellulose ethers was approximately US$2.83 billion. Among them, Germany, the United States, China, South Korea, and Belgium are the world’s largest exporters of cellulose ethers, and the export volume from the five major regions accounted for nearly 80%; In terms of imports, India, the United States, and Belgium rank among the top importers of cellulose ethers, with these three regions accounting for 20% of the world’s total imports.

Industry analysts said that cellulose ether has the characteristics of environmental friendliness, wide range of uses, small unit dosage, and good modification effect. There are a wide range of applications. As environmental protection supervision becomes increasingly strict, the cellulose ether market has good development prospects. Cellulose ethers are mainly used in the field of building materials, but the competition in the building materials market is fierce. In comparison, the market development potential of pharmaceutical-grade and food-grade cellulose ethers is greater.