Substantial new acetic acid capacity is expected to be released in next 3 years owing to considerable profits in previous stage and rapid development of VAC and EVA industries.
China Acetic Acid Capacity and Capacity Growth Rate
Source: OilChem
According to OilChem, the average acetic acid capacity growth rate was 3.93% over 2011-2022, with highest capacity growth rate of 13.38% in 2014 and lowest one of -2.07% in 2013 on elimination of some units. Up to 2022, China acetic acid capacity reached 10.55 million tonnes/year. The number of new acetic acid capacity rose in recent years because of more mature acetic acid technology, rapid development of PTA, VAC and other downstream industries, more frequent failure of overseas units and relatively high profits.
Theoretical Profit of Acetic Acid and Downstream Industries
Source: OilChem
The profit of acetic acid industry was substantial and faced large fluctuation in recent years. By the first half of 2023, the profit of acetic acid industry was rare. However, downstream large-sized enterprises put acetic acid units in succession on large profits of VAC and EVA industries. Thus, the number of acetic acid projects was relatively large in recent years.
Table: 2023-2025 New Acetic Acid Unit
| Enterprise | Capacity (mt/y) |
Operating Date |
Progress |
| Hualu-Hengsheng Chemical (Jinzhou) | 0.8 | Aug-23 | Under Construction |
| Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) | 0.4 | Q4 2023 | Under Construction |
| Xinjiang Zhonghe Hezhong New Material | 1.0 | Q3 2024 | Under Construction |
| Kingboard (Hebei) Chemical | 0.8 | Q2 2024 | Under Construction |
| Inner Mongolia Zhuozheng Coal Chemical | 1.0 | 2027 | To Be Constructed |
| Qianxin Jingmen New Materials | 0.6 | 2025 | To Be Constructed |
| Grand Resource | 1.0 | 2025 | To Be Constructed |
| Jiangsu Shenghong New-material Group | 1.0 | 2025 | To Be Constructed |
| Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical | 1.0 | 2025 | To Be Constructed |
| Fujian Billion Polymerization Fiber | 0.3 | N/A | To Be Constructed |
| Total | 7.9 |
Source: OilChem
New acetic acid capacity under construction or to be constructed may be 7.9 million t/y in total over 2023-2025. Two new units with total capacity of 1.2 million t/y will be put into production in 2023 and China total acetic acid capacity may reach 11.75 million t/y in 2023. In addition, a relatively large number of new units will be put into production over 2024-2025, but market insiders should pay attention to construction progress and actual commissioning status of the units.
Written by Wendy Wang, wangfang@oilchem.net
Edited by Navy Liu, liuchuanjun@mysteel.net
