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Polyvinyl Alcohol
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PRODUCER |
CAPACITY* |
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Celanese, Calvert City, Ky. |
115 |
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Celanese, Pasadena, Tex. |
75 |
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DuPont, LaPorte, Tex. |
135 |
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Solutia, Springfield, Mass. |
25 |
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Solutia, Trenton, Mich. |
25 |
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Total |
375 |
*Millions of pounds per year
of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Commercial production is from alcoholysis of
polymerized vinyl acetate. An estimated 70 percent of merchant PVA sales is
fully hydrolyzed grades, but partially hydrolyzed grades, custom blends and
copolymers are also produced.
Solutia’s production in
Springfield and Trenton is captive, and used for polyvinyl butyral (PVB).
In October, 2000, Air
Products completed the sale of its polyvinyl alcohol business to Celanese
AG, of Kronberg, Germany. Included in the sale were facilities in Pasadena,
Tex., and Calvert City, Ky. Celanese produces vinyl acetate monomer (VAM), a
key raw material for PVA. Celanese will divert about 15% of its 1.2-million
m.t./year VAM capacity for internal consumption.
Profile last published
1/5/98; this revision 1/1/01.
DEMAND
1998: 318 million pounds; 1999: 323 million pounds; 2003: 346 million
pounds, projected. Demand equals production plus imports (1998: 51.8 million
pounds; 1999: 42.8 million pounds) less exports (1998: 92.3 million pounds;
1999: 81.2 million pounds).
GROWTH
Historical (1994 - 1999): 1.5 percent per year; future: 1.6 percent per year
through 2003.
PRICE
Historical (1994 - 1999): High, $1.41 per pound, fully hydrolyzed, medium
viscosity, t.l., bags, dlvd.; low, $1.30, same basis. Current: $1.37 to $1.41
per pound, same basis.
USES
Polyvinyl butyral, 35 percent; textile warp sizing, 23 percent; adhesives,
17 percent; polymerization aids, 10 percent; paper coating and sizing, 8
percent; miscellaneous, 7 percent.
STRENGTH
The largest application sector for PVA in the U.S. is for the manufacture of
polyvinyl butyral, presently growing at 2.5 percent per annum. The driver for
PVB is its use in laminated safety glass for automotive windshields and load
resistant architectural glass applications. The trend to lighten automobiles
holds promise to incorporate even more PVB into automotive glass, as lighter
laminates replace heavier monolithic side and rear windows. Annual growth in
adhesives is also good, but slightly less at 2.4 percent. Demand for PVA in
paper coatings is expected to grow at 2.8 percent, driven by increasing use of
recycled fibers in printing stock. In papermaking, PVA's higher strength gives
it an edge on conventional pigment binders such as casein, soy protein and
starch. PVA for polymerization aids is also doing modestly
well, with growth projected at 2.8 percent annually.
WEAKNESS
PVA-based textile sizing agents are slowly declining, at about 1.4 percent
per year, primarily due to textile imports displacing U.S. production.
OUTLOOK
Most of the applications for PVA are mature and consequently their growth
rates are somewhat below the GDP rate. But because of the declining textile
sizing segment, PVA’s second largest market, the overall growth will be
constrained to 1.6 percent per year through 2003.
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