PVP application fields continue to expand, and industry prosperity remains high.
PVP, or polyvinylpyrrolidone, is a non-ionic polymer compound produced by polymerizing N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) under certain conditions. It appears as a white to light yellow amorphous deliquescent powder and is easily soluble in Water, insoluble in acetone, ether, turpentine, etc. According to different uses, PVP can be divided into food-grade PVP, pharmaceutical-grade PVP, industrial-grade PVP, etc.; according to the average molecular weight, PVP can be divided into K-15PVP, K-30PVP, K-60PVP, and K-90PVP.
The main production methods of PVP include the acetylene method and the γ-butyrolactone method, of which the acetylene method is the mainstream production process in the domestic PVP market. The main production process of the PVP acetylene method is to use BDO (1,4-butanediol), formaldehyde, acetylene, etc. as raw materials, and synthesize NVP under the action of catalysis. After NVP is separated and purified, PVP is obtained through polymerization reaction. Taking BDO and acetylene as an example, the effective domestic BDO production capacity has exceeded 2.2 million tons in 2021; the acetylene production capacity has exceeded 2 million tons. The current domestic supply of PVP raw materials is sufficient, laying a good foundation for the development of the industry.
PVP has the characteristics of high solubility, good chemical stability, low toxicity, good adhesion, strong hygroscopicity, and good film-forming properties. It is mainly used as an auxiliary, additive, disintegrant, adhesive and other products in medicine, electronics, etc. , chemical industry, food, beverage, textile, daily chemicals and other fields. Among them, daily chemicals and medicine are currently the two major application fields of PVP in China, accounting for a total of 70% of the market share in 2021. In recent years, against the background of the rapid development of its application fields, the market demand for PVP has continued to increase.
At the same time, in recent years, against the background of the continuous emergence of new high-tech industries in China, PVP application fields have gradually expanded to emerging fields such as lithium batteries and photovoltaics. Specifically, in the field of lithium batteries, PVP is mainly used as an electrode dispersant and conductive material processing aid raw material; in the photovoltaic field, PVP is mainly used as a raw material for photovoltaic cell conductive silver paste dispersant. Against the background of sufficient supply of raw materials and continuous expansion of application fields, the scale of the domestic PVP market continues to expand. According to the“Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) 2022-2026” released by the Industrial Research Center ) Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report shows that the domestic PVP market size in 2021 will be approximately 3.15 billion yuan.
At present, global PVP production capacity is mainly concentrated in China, Europe, North America and other regions. Foreign companies mainly include BASF, Ashland, American ISP, etc.; Chinese companies mainly include New Kaiyuan Medical, Huafu Chemical, Yuang Technology, Zhongwei Pharmaceutical, etc. Currently, under the attack of global geopolitical conflicts and energy crises, the production capacity of leading foreign PVP companies has declined, and a large number of overseas orders have begun to be diverted to domestic companies. Orders from local PVP companies have surged. In 2022, the prosperity of the domestic PVP industry will remain high.
Industry Analysts personnel said that New Kaiyuan is currently the leading PVP company in my country. According to its semi-annual report data, in the first half of 2022 New Kaiyuan will Kaiyuan achieved a total revenue of 680 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 26.48%; of which the PVP series products achieved a total revenue of 520 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 106.7%, and the product gross profit margin reached 46.6%. Currently, driven by overseas market demand, the revenue of leading domestic companies has increased significantly. At the same time, at this stage, the annual output of New Kaiyuan PVP can reach 13,000 tons, and its sales volume is expected to exceed 20,000 tons in 2023. In the future, under the leadership of leading enterprises, the development trend of my country’s PVP industry will be good.