Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) November 11, 2012

Ethylene oxide (EO) is an organic heterocyclic chemical ranking only second to polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) among ethylene industrial derivatives, with extensive applications in the production of ethylene glycol (EG), surfactant, polycarboxylate water reducer, ethanolamine, etc.

In 2011, the ethylene oxide capacity approximated 27.5 million tons around the globe, mainly in Asia-Pacific, North America, Middle East, etc.; the consumption reached 22.5 million tons approximately, in particular, Asia featured the largest consumption. During 2005-2011, the capacity of ethylene oxide and commodity ethylene oxide presented rapid growth tendency in China, and reached 4.043 million tons and 1.653 million tons respectively by the end of 2011. Over 50% capacity was distributed in East China, corresponding to the supply and distribution characteristics of raw material ethylene. In 2011, 34.5% of Chinas ethylene capacity was distributed in East China, approximating 52.82 million tons; the apparent consumption amounted to 16.33 million tons.

At present, the domestic EO facilities all co-produce ethylene glycol basically. In 2011, the consumption of Ethylene Oxide in China approximated more than 2.6 million tons, in particular, the EO consumed by ethylene glycol contributed 68% or so, followed by nonionic surfactant, with share approximating 8%. Along with the expansion of application width and depth, it is predicted that consumption of EO will reach 5 million tons by 2015, with AAGR between 2011-2015 hitting 17.5%.

In 2011, the ranking of the top 10 enterprises by EO capacity in China remained basically the same. Ranked by equivalent EO capacity, Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company was still No.1 in 2011, accounting for 650,000 tons or 16.1% of the total capacity; the second place went to Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited, accounting for 13.1% of the total capacity, followed by SINOPEC SABIC TianJin Petrochemical, CNOOC and Shell Petrochemicals Company Limited and Yangzi Petrochemical Company Limited. When ranked by the capacity of commodity EO, top three companies were China Sanjiang Fine Chemicals Company Limited (ranking 3rd in 2010), Yangzi Petrochemical Company Limited and Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited. In particular, China Sanjiang Fine Chemicals Company Limited is not only Chinas largest privately-owned EO producer, but also the largest AEO surfactant producer.

This report mainly involves the following contents: