Ethylene oxide production capacity is gradually growing, and leading companies have emerged

Ethylene oxide (EO) is one of the subdivided products of heterocyclic compounds. Its chemical formula is C2H4O. It is an organic compound produced by analyzing and purifying ethylene and oxygen. Ethylene oxide is greatly affected by temperature. It appears as a colorless and transparent liquid at low temperatures and as a gas with a pungent ether smell at room temperature. It is highly toxic and may cause certain harm to human health through long-term exposure. Moreover, ethylene oxide has a low boiling point, is flammable and explosive, and is not suitable for long-distance transportation. It is mostly produced for self-use or sold nearby.

Ethylene oxide has very active chemical properties and can undergo ring-opening addition reactions with many compounds. It is mostly used in the production of ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, polyethylene, fungicides, nonionic surfactants, antifreeze, and detergents. , plasticizers and other products, are widely used in textile, papermaking, automobile, medicine, chemical industry and other fields. Among them, polyethylene has become the largest application field of ethylene oxide, accounting for 57.6%; followed by ethylene glycol, accounting for 12.3%.

According to the “China Ethylene Oxide Industry Application Market Demand and Development Opportunities Research Report 2023-2028” released by the Industrial Research Center , Ethylene oxide has strong sterilization ability and can effectively remove various microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, etc. deep in objects. It is often used to sterilize operating rooms, pharmaceutical packaging, medical equipment and other products. With the gradual advancement of science and technology, there are more and more types of ethylene oxide derivatives, and the downstream application fields have gradually expanded, involving almost all industries in society, and the market demand is huge. Against this background, my country’s ethylene oxide companies continue to expand production capacity, large-scale production equipment is gradually put into operation, and production capacity has been greatly improved. In 2022, my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity will be 7.459 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.2%.

At present, my country has become one of the largest producers and exporters of ethylene oxide in the world, and export volume is gradually growing. According to data released by the General Administration of Customs, in 2022, my country’s ethylene oxide export volume was 621.8 tons, and the export value was 8.615 million yuan.

From the perspective of export destination countries, my country’s ethylene oxide export destination countries mainly include Malaysia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Colombia, etc. Among them, Vietnam has become the country with the largest export volume of ethylene oxide in my country, accounting for 19.3% of the export volume; followed by Malaysia, accounting for 16.9% of the export volume; Thailand ranked third, accounting for 13.5% of the export volume.

Industry analysts said that my country’s larger ethylene oxide companies mainly include Shanghai Petrochemical, Sierbon Petrochemical, and Sanjiang Chemical , Aoke Chemical, Satellite Chemical, Levima New Materials, Red Wall Co., Ltd., Guochuang High-tech, etc. Among them, three companies, Oak Co., Ltd., Shanghai Petrochemical and Levima New Materials, have become leading companies in the industry due to their large market share. As my country’s large-scale ethylene oxide companies gradually expand, the living space of small and medium-sized enterprises is constantly being squeezed, and they may be merged or disappeared in the future, and the concentration of ethylene oxide production is expected to further increase.