Bio Plasticizers Market   - Competitive Analysis

Key industry participants are continuously investing in R&D and innovation to develop improved products and enter in novel application fields. Majority companies are vying to compete with competitive commodity and energy prices in order to increase the profit margins. However, the market is characterized with the presence of highly differentiated products leading to high switching cost that is anticipated to enhance supplier power.

Bio Plasticizers Market – Market Overview

Shift in trend towards bio-based products from end-use industries such as automotive, consumer goods, and construction is anticipated to boost market growth over the forecast period. They exhibit properties such as better biodegradability and low toxicity in comparison with conventional plasticizers. Bio plasticizers Market growth are added to polymer matrix in order to enhance the chemical properties and flexibility.

Strict regulatory norms coupled with rising awareness regarding consumer health are expected to remain key market driving factors over the next seven years. Governments across the globe are promoting the usage of bio-degradable products to ensure reduced environmental pollution and assure sustainability. They are widely deployed as additives in PVC’s that are finally used in PVC resins, cables, automotive parts, and wire jacketing.

Strong growth of automotive manufacturing in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America is further anticipated to boost product demand. In addition, wide raw material availability coupled with continuous product development is expected to further benefit the industry growth. Rising consumer awareness in developing economies of Asia Pacific such as China and India regarding the supply of hazardous phthalates such as benzylbutylphthalate (BBP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) is expected to fuel the demand for bio-plasticizers.

They also have performance advantages when utilized for manufacturing cables such as better electrical & temperature functioning in comparison to conventional synthetic polymers. Bio plasticizers are majorly obtained from renewable feedstock such as castor oil, citrates, and epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO). ESBO has emerged as the favoured additive in PVC gasket that are extensively utilized in food packaging application.

The growth of packaging industry in developing region is expected to positively influence the demand for bio plasticizers. Food packaging is the leading consumer segment within packaging application owing to benefits offered by bio plasticizers. Bio-based materials used in food packaging help maintain the quality and extends the residing shelf life of the food products. The global packaging industry is projected to exceed USD 900 billion by 2022, thus providing lucrative opportunities for industry participants to capitalize upon.

Asia Pacific emerged as the leading regional market and is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period. Rapid urbanization coupled with significant economic growth in countries such as China, India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia is driving the growth of bio plasticizers. China is the leading country level market within Asia Pacific with demand being driven by population expansion and increasing per capita disposable income.

Developed regions including the U.S., Canada, UK, and Germany among others are also anticipated to witness above average growth rate due to mature end-use industries coupled with general awareness among industry participants to shift towards environment friendly products.

Industry/ Innovation/ Related News

June 2017: Emery Oleochemicals, a global specialty chemical manufacturer and supplier announced the launch and commercial availabilty of its novel low temprature plasticizer EDENOL® DOZ that was prepared in accordance with demand for readily available azelaic acid based plasticizers specially for PVC and synthetic rubber usage.

Novemeber 2016: Polyone Coroporation announced the commercial launch of SynPlast L9TM plasticizer for flexible PVC. The product has similar characteristics as 810M linear plasticzier. The latter plasticizers created huge problems for Polyone’s customers due to suply shortages. However, the company aims at negating the supply demand imbalance created and satisfy the customers across the globe.