The concentration of the tetrahydrofuran (THF) industry is not high, and the demand for downstream spandex has increased significantly.

Tetrahydrofuran, whose English name is Tetrahydrofuran, and whose English abbreviation is THF, is a completely hydrogenated product of the aromatic compound furan. It has the characteristics of low toxicity, low boiling point, and good fluidity. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) can be used as a chemical raw material to prepare adiponitrile, adipic acid, hexamethylenediamine, succinic acid, butylene glycol, γ-butyrolactone and other chemicals, and can also be used to produce polytetrahydrofuran (PTMEG) And other synthetic fibers, synthetic resins, synthetic rubber and other chemical fiber, rubber and plastic products. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) is also an excellent solvent and can be used as a pharmaceutical solvent, as well as in polymeric materials, precision tapes and the electroplating industry. In addition, tetrahydrofuran (THF) can also be used as an intermediate in the fields of medicine, pesticides and other fields to produce the pesticide phenbutyltin, as well as drugs such as Kebiqing, progesterone, and rifomycin.

The production technology of tetrahydrofuran (THF) mainly includes butanediol dehydration cyclization method, n-butane/maleic anhydride method, butadiene/acetic acid method, butadiene epoxidation method and furfural decarbonylation method. Among them, the dehydration and cyclization of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) to prepare tetrahydrofuran (THF) is the most used in industrial production. The raw materials required for this method are mainly 1,4-butanediol (BDO), sulfuric acid, etc. 1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an important organic and fine chemical raw material, widely used in medicine, chemical industry, textile, papermaking, automobile and daily chemical industry. Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the BDO market has been in short supply, and prices have risen rapidly in the short term. The skyrocketing price of BDO has also brought about a surge in the price of tetrahydrofuran. Compared with 2020, the price of tetrahydrofuran has increased by nearly 1% in the first half of 2021. times.

According to the“China Tetrahydrofuran (THF) Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2021-2025” released by the Industrial Research Center , in 2020, the tetrahydrofuran (THF) industry production capacity was 221,000 tons. Companies with large production scale in the domestic tetrahydrofuran (THF) industry include Hangzhou Sanlong New Materials Co., Ltd., Changchun Chemical (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd., Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd., Shandong Yangxin Longtai Chemical Technology Co., Ltd., and Kanghui New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Company etc. In addition, there are many small and medium-sized enterprises in the domestic tetrahydrofuran industry, which account for a large proportion of the market, and their production capacity is relatively dispersed. Therefore, the market concentration of my country’s tetrahydrofuran industry is not high.

Industry researchers said that PTEMG-spandex is the main downstream industry chain of tetrahydrofuran (THF). At this stage, many well-known spandex companies at home and abroad are stepping up their production expansion plans. Spandex filament is an important raw material for the production of mask ear straps. Affected by the epidemic, the demand for spandex has increased significantly. In addition, under the influence of the epidemic, consumer demand for clothing such as sportswear and yoga wear has also continued to increase, and the spandex content of these clothing is generally high, driving the demand for spandex to increase, thereby indirectly driving the demand for tetrahydrofuran (THF). increase.