CEH Report

Table of Contents

Abstract

Acetone is a clear, colorless, volatile liquid with a sweet odor. It is both the simplest aliphatic ketone and the most commercially important. Nearly all world production of acetone is via cumene peroxidation, as a coproduct with phenol. Its main use is as a chemical intermediate in the manufacture of acetone cyanohydrin for methyl methacrylate, bisphenol A and aldol chemicals. Direct solvent applications account for a large portion of world demand.

Direct solvent applications and acetone cyanohydrin/methyl methacrylate accounted for 29% and 24%, respectively, of global acetone consumption in 2010, followed by bisphenol A at 22%. The other large market for acetone is aldol chemicals (including methyl isobutyl ketone [MIBK], methyl isobutyl carbinol [MIBC] and isophorone).

Demand for methyl methacrylate, bisphenol A and acetone in direct solvent applications is greatly influenced by general economic conditions. As a result, demand for acetone largely follows the ups and downs of the world's leading economies.

The following pie chart shows world consumption of acetone:

Asia will continue to play a large role in the global acetone market. The most recent scenario was the significant increase in demand and lack of sufficient domestic acetone supply in the region, helping boost phenol/acetone production in the developed regions for exports to Asia. However, with the additional capacity that is slated to come onstream by 2015, particularly driven by phenol demand for bisphenol A (for polycarbonate and epoxy resins) and phenolic resins, there will likely be a significant amount of surplus acetone on the market.

INEOS Phenol is the largest global acetone producer, with two plants in Europe and one in the United States. Mitsui Chemicals has plants in Japan and Singapore while Sunoco operates two plants in the United States. Shell operates one plant in the United States and one in Europe; its European plant produces acetone from isopropyl alcohol.

Growth rates for end-use markets vary by region. Consumption of acetone for bisphenol A will be driven by growth in Asia and the Middle East. Increased demand and capacity for bisphenol A will result in strong demand for acetone in these regions. Overall, world consumption of acetone for bisphenol A is expected to grow at an average annual rate of around 3.5% during 2010–2015. Consumption of acetone for methyl methacrylate shows more regional variation than bisphenol A. In the United States, a pickup in demand for methyl methacrylate and the restarting of Lucite's methyl methacrylate plant will result in an average annual consumption growth rate of approximately 3% for acetone for the production of acetone cyanohydrin/methyl methacrylate. In Western Europe, acetone consumption for methyl methacrylate is forecast to remain relatively flat during 2010–2015, in contrast to Asia (including Japan), where consumption is expected to grow at approximately 2% per year. Global methyl methacrylate consumption is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of approximately 4% during 2010–2015.