DOP development encounters bottlenecks, DOTP as a substitute shows promising prospects

Release Date: 2014-03-28

For a long time, DOP has been the most widely used plasticizer due to its excellent plasticizing effect, moderate price, and other comprehensive advantages. With the development of the industry, due to the damage to the human reproductive system and potential carcinogenicity of phthalate plasticizers such as DOP, their consumption and application are increasingly restricted. With the continuous introduction of bans on phthalate plasticizers in various countries, a wave of expansion of green and environmentally friendly plasticizers is coming worldwide. International plasticizer manufacturers are announcing expansion plans for environmentally friendly plasticizers to accelerate market share acquisition. The development of green and environmentally friendly plasticizers has become a major trend.

Currently, the domestic market represented by DOP has a severe overcapacity of traditional plasticizers. The pace of expansion of domestic traditional plasticizer capacity will slow down in the future. With the widening market demand gap for environmentally friendly plasticizers, domestic plasticizer manufacturers are continuously improving relevant production technologies, transforming production concepts and business strategies, paying more attention to the production of new environmentally friendly plasticizers and their development trends, and increasing sales promotion efforts for environmentally friendly plasticizers. The development and application of environmentally friendly plasticizers in China have entered an accelerated era.

China's plasticizer industry has long been dominated by DOP, with domestic DOP capacity accounting for about 50% of all plasticizer capacity. In recent years, due to increasing concerns about the impact of phthalate plasticizers on children's health, products containing phthalate plasticizers (such as toys) and P-type plasticizers have become a stumbling block for exports. DOTP, as a non-phthalate plasticizer, has become very popular and is widely used in exported PVC products, including toys, home furnishings, and packaging. Due to its isomeric relationship with DOP, similar chemical properties, and comparable price, it has become the main alternative to DOP at the same level.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Furthermore, as can be seen from the two profit charts above, DOTP currently has a larger profit margin than DOP and has been in a state of positive growth for a long time. Therefore, the development momentum of DOTP should not be underestimated in the future.