Although only a small segment presently, it is growing at 6.5 percent per year because of demand for terephthalic acid in polyethylene terephthalate resins. Vinyl acetate, the largest market for acetic acid, is growing at 3.5 percent per year. During the fourth quarter, Celanese's new Singapore acetic plant ran at about 20 percent of its capacity because of an ongoing inability of Singapore Syngas to produce a reliable supply of carbon monoxide feed to the plant. This situation plus other plant outages in the US and Europe over the past year have contributed to a tight domestic supply situation. Additionally, acetic acid is under severe pressure from the high cost of methanol, and producers are seeking price increases.
Acetic acid is a mature product and is manufactured by a limited number of large producers.
Much of the production is for captive use in the production of vinyl acetate, acetic anhydride and acetate esters. Growth is projected at 2.6 percent annually. Return to top Return to this weeks profile Return to archives menu For questions or comments about ChemExpo contact ChemExpo's Editor.