Acrylic Acid  

*Millions of pounds per year of crude acrylic acid (CAA). Industrial production is by gas-phase catalytic oxidation of propylene. Roughly, three-quarters of production are converted directly into acrylate esters and the rest is purified into glacial acrylic acid.

Dow Chemical Company acquired Union Carbide Corporation in February 2001, and along with it, the acrylic acid plant in Taft, La.

In summer 2001, BASF closed a 165 million-pound-per-year acrylic acid unit at Freeport, Tex., in response to weakness in the acrylic market and new capacity it added overseas. The unit was 20 years old and represented relatively high-cost production. Two other acrylic acid units at Freeport, with capacity totaling 485 million pounds were not affected.

Rohm and Haas formed a 50/50 joint venture in 2001 with Stockhausen (Krefeld, Germany), a subsidiary of Degussa-Huls. The new company, StoHaas (Marl, Germany), expanded capacity by 75 million pounds per year at Deer Park, Tex. the same year, and plans to add 220 million pounds at Marl, Germany in 2003. StoHaas operates the CAA plant for both Stockhausen and Rohm and Haas. Rohm and Haas will contribute 365 million pounds of CAA to the joint venture from the Deer Park plant. Acrylic acid and esters are marketed exclusively by Rohm and Haas.

American Acryl, a 50/50 joint venture of AtoFina Chemicals and Nippon Shokubai, has constructed a 265-million-pound-per-year acrylic acid plant at the Bayport Industrial District in Pasadena, Tex. Construction is essentially complete and the plant will commence startup shortly. Elf Atochem merged with TotalFina, to form AtoFina in 2000.

Profile last published 5/24/99; this revision, 4/1/02.

DEMAND
1999: 2.183 billion pounds; 2000: 2.308 billion pounds; 2004: 2.554 billion pounds, projected. Demand equals production plus imports (1999: 68 million pounds; 2000: 69 million pounds) less exports (1999: 70 million pounds; 2000: 76 million pounds).

GROWTH
Historical (1995 - 2000): 6.4 percent per year; future: 4.0 percent per year through 2004.

PRICE
Historical (1995 - 2001): High, $0.87 per pound, list, glacial acrylic acid, tanks, del.; low, $0.81, same basis. Current: $0.87, same basis. Current market prices are $0.62 to $0.70, same basis.

USES
Polyacrylic acid and salts (includes superabsorbent polymers, detergents, water treatment and dispersants), 34 percent; n-butyl acrylate, 32 percent; ethyl acrylate, 18 percent; 2-ethylhexyl acrylates, 6 percent; methyl- and specialty acrylates, 7 percent; miscellaneous, 3 percent.

STRENGTH
Most acrylic acid is consumed in the form of a polymer. Previously, the dominant share of acrylic acid was converted to esters. Today, however, the growth in demand for superabsorbents (used in diapers and hygienic products) has increased consumption for acrylic acid homopolymers. Acrylic acid is also used directly as a component for various copolymers. Consumption of acrylic acid grew at an average annual rate of 6.4 percent between 1995 and 2000. The largest contributors to this growth were polyacrylic acid (PAA) and n-butyl acrylate. PAA consumption grew at 6.5 percent annually; most of its increase was due to strong demand for superabsorbent polymers (SAPs). Acrylic acid accounts for about 80-85% of the raw materials in the manufacture of SAPs.

WEAKNESS
The general market condition has been that of oversupply as the growth rate of this sector transitioned from more than 6 percent annually to something closer to 4 percent, due to the depressed economy. Although prices increased about 5 percent last year, feed stock propylene prices increased by 15 percent. Thus, margins have also been depressed.

OUTLOOK
US demand for acrylic acid will grow at a 4.0 percent annual rate and reach nearly 2.6 billion pounds, valued at $1.7 billion, in 2004. Consumption of PAA for SAPs is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.5 percent. The strong growth will be the result of increased exports (especially to Canada and Mexico) and the increased amount of SAP used in diapers as producers redesign them to be smaller while retaining absorbency. Consumption of the largest-volume commodity acrylate ester, n-butyl acrylate, will grow at an average annual rate of 4.2 percent. This growth will be driven by its use in coatings, adhesives, inks and impact modifiers. The supply of acrylic acid should be more than ample because of new capacity additions in recent years.

Back to Chemical Profiles List