The development space of polypropylene glycol (PPG) industry continues to expand, and overseas companies dominate the global market

Polypropylene glycol (PPG), also known as propylene glycol polyether, has a molecular formula of H(C3H6O)nOH and is an organic polymer. Polypropylene glycol appears as a colorless to light yellow viscous liquid, soluble in water, alcohols, aliphatic ketones and other organic solvents, but insoluble in aliphatic hydrocarbons and ether. Polypropylene glycol has the advantages of good chemical stability, non-corrosive, non-volatile, and strong solubility, and is widely used in many fields such as synthetic rubber, cosmetics, and medicine.

There are three methods for preparing polypropylene glycol: alcohol amine method, alkyd method and ethylene oxide method, among which the ethylene oxide method is widely used in its production process. The ethylene oxide method refers to using ethylene oxide as the main raw material, adding water and other organic solvents, and producing finished products through addition polymerization. In recent years, thanks to the continued efforts of local enterprises, my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity has rapidly expanded and output has continued to grow, becoming one of the world’s major producers. The advantages of raw materials have laid a good foundation for the development of my country’s polypropylene glycol industry.

​​ ​Polypropylene glycol is widely used in many fields such as synthetic rubber, cosmetics, and medicine. In the field of synthetic rubber, polypropylene glycol can be used as a synthetic rubber lubricant, which can prevent rubber aging and extend the service life of rubber; in the field of cosmetics, polypropylene glycol can be used to produce sunscreen, serum, anti-wrinkle eye and lip cream and other products; in the pharmaceutical field , Polypropylene glycol can be used as a pharmaceutical intermediate to produce pioglitazone hydrochloride and trimethoprim. Driven by downstream demand, the development space of the polypropylene glycol industry continues to expand. According to the “2023-2028 China Polypropylene Glycol (PPG) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that the global polypropylene glycol market size will reach US$410 million in 2022.

Major global polypropylene glycol manufacturers include BASF of Germany, DowDuPont of the United States, Exxon Mobil of the United States, Huntsman of the United States, and Ineos of the United Kingdom. ), Swiss Clariant, etc. DowDuPont occupies nearly 10% of the global polypropylene glycol market, and its independently produced polypropylene glycol Voranol™ 1010 L can be used in the coatings field.

The main polypropylene glycol manufacturers in my country include Sinopec Shandong Petroleum Branch, Kandis Chemical (Hubei) Co., Ltd., Wuxi Akoli Chemical Co., Ltd., etc. At present, Chinese companies mainly produce mid- to low-end polypropylene glycol, and high-end products rely on imports. This is a major problem facing the development of the industry.

Industry analysts said that polypropylene glycol has the advantages of good chemical stability and non-corrosiveness, and is widely used in many fields. Market demand is gradually released, and its industry development trend will continue to improve. Compared with overseas developed countries, my country’s high-end polypropylene glycol production capacity is low, and demand is highly dependent on imports. In the future, as local companies improve their independent research and development capabilities, my country’s high-end polypropylene glycol market share will increase.