Acetic Acid Market by Size, Share, Types (Food Grade, Industrial Grade), Applications (Acetic Anhydride, Acetate Esters, Ethanol) and Forecasts by 2027

Global Acetic Acid market was valued at around USD 19.34 billion by 2027 and is expected to grow with the CAGR of 5.06% during forecast period 2021-2027.

Market Overview:

Acetic acid, also referred as ethanoic acid, is an organic compound with the formula CH3COOH. It is a major commodity chemical derived largely from natural gas. Vinegar is the dilute form of acetic acid and is the most common chemical substance among people. Acetic acid is used in several industries, such as the agricultural (herbicide to control weeds), canning (flavoring for pickles), chemical (acidifier and neutralizer), textile and dye (nylon production, dye catalyst), food (preservative for livestock grains and hay), cosmetics (bleaching agent), and manufacturing industries (production of lacquers).

Industrially, acetic acid is used in the preparation of metal acetates, vinyl acetate, cellulose acetate, and volatile organic esters (such as ethyl and butyl acetates), as well as widely used as solvents for paints, resins, and lacquers. Biologically, acetic acid is an important metabolic intermediate, and it occurs naturally in plant juices in body fluids. It is also used as a solvent in polyester fiber production and in the manufacturing of synthetic fibers and resins. As acetic acid kills microbes and fungus, it is commonly used for general disinfecting and combating mildew and found in several conventional cleaning products, such as mold and mildew cleaners, floor cleaners, window cleaners, surface cleaners, cleaning and dusting sprays, and roof cleaners, in the form of vinegar or as an ingredient by itself. Acetic acid has a lot of uses in the medical field including antiseptic against pseudomonas, enterococci, streptococci, staphylococci and others. It is also used in cervical cancer screening and for the treatment of infections. Further it is used as an agent to lyse red blood cells before white blood cells are examined. Apart from these, acetic acid is used for the making perfumes, manufacturing of dyes and inks, and rubber and plastic.

Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

• Rapid expansion of textile industry across the globe

Rapid expansion of textile industry is one of the key factor driving the growth acetic acid market. Globally, the textile industry is witnessing the high growth, owing to rising income levels in the developing countries, increased standard of living, and changing fashion trends and customer preferences. Textile industry uses variety of chemicals that are made using the acetic acid. In addition to this, Asia Pacific region is boosting the growth of market, owing to high textile industry in the China and India.

• Increasing demand for acetic acid in the food industry

In the food industry, acetic acid finds its use most commonly in commercial pickling operations, and in condiments like mustard, mayonnaise, and ketchup. It is also used for seasoning various food items like salads and pasta etc. Additionally, vinegar can react with alkaline ingredients like baking soda and when that happens it produces a gas which helps to make baked goods become puffier.

Restraints:

• Highly corrosive nature of acetic acid could hamper the market growth

Acetic acid is highly corrosive in nature particularly for the skin and eyes and at high concentration, it is harmful for the animals and plants. Acetic acid can also be damaging to the internal organs if ingested or in the case of vapor inhalation. Thus, highly corrosive and harmful nature, is anticipated to restrain the market growth.

Opportunities:

• Opportunity to tap the emerging countries

The acetic acid market is witnessing the significant growth in the emerging countries. This is mainly due to, emerging countries are observing rapid growth in the economy characterized by large scale expansion of chemicals, textile, and coatings manufacturing facilities. Thus, the growth in these industries in the emerging countries, offers huge growth prospect for the acetic acid market.

Challenges:

• Fluctuating raw materials prices

One of the major challenge in the acetic acid market is fluctuating raw material prices used in the production of the acid. Owing to this, many companies engaged in the production of acetic acid, are seeking alternative option for profit margins, which in turn, they are unable to formulate their expansion plans for acetic acid business segment. Thus, unpredictability in expansion plans are likely to restrain the growth of the acetic acid market over the forecast period.

Segmentation Analysis:

The global acetic acid market has been segmented based on form, manufacturing process, application, end user industry, and regions.

• The form segment is divided into liquid and solid form. The liquid form segment led the acetic acid market with a market share of around 70% in 2019. It generally comes in the form of clear, colourless liquid, which has a strong and pungent smell. Liquid form acetic acid has many applications such as industrial use, medicinal uses, household, and food industry.
• The manufacturing process segment includes synthetic route and biological route. The synthetic route segment accounted for the largest market share of 81.6% in 2019. About 75% of acetic acid used in the chemical industry is made by the carbonylation of methanol. However, biological route is anticipated to grow at significant growth rate, as it remains crucial for the production of vinegar because many food purity laws require vinegar used in foods to be of biological origin.
• The application segment includes vinyl acetate monomer, purified terephthalic acid, acetate esters, acetic anhydride, and other applications. The vinyl acetate monomer held the major market share and valued at USD 4.52 billion in 2019. It is the largest consumer for the acetic acid, followed by purified terephthalic acid (PTA), acetate esters, and acetic anhydride. It is a chemical building block used in the variety of industrial and consumer products. The vinyl acetate monomer used in polymer manufacture for adhesives and coatings. The growing demand for these application across the globe, is likely to boost the growth of this segment over the forecast period.
• The end-user industry segment is divided into plastics and polymers, food and beverage, inks, paints and coatings, chemicals, and other. Paints and coatings segment is anticipated to grow at the highest CAGR of 6.4% over the forecast period. A major use of vinyl acetate monomer is in the production of emulsions as base resins for water-based paints, adhesives, paper coatings and textile finishes. Thus, increasing demand for paints and coating across the globe, driving the growth of market over the forecast period.

Regional Segmentation Analysis:

The regions analyzed for the market include North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. The Asia Pacific region emerged as the largest market for the acetic acid market with a 54.6% share of the market revenue in 2019.

• Asia Pacific region is the largest consumer of Acetic acid, owing to strong industrial base in the region. Textile industry is one of the largest consumer of acetic acid in the region, due to increased demand for the clothes across the region. Textile industry uses different types of chemicals that are made up from the acetic acid. In addition to this, China is the leading country in the Asia Pacific region, as it is the world’s largest producer and exporter of acetic acid.
• The European regional market is projected to register the highest growth during the forecast period due to increasing investments in healthcare, along with growing concerns towards healthcare, coupled with rising consumption of vinegar.

Competitive Analysis:

Developing and developed countries are offering greater opportunities and major players are continuously focused on new developments, strategic partnerships, acquisitions and venture capital investments to obtain high growth in the market.

In August 2018, BP and Eastman Chemical Company announced that the both companies have signed an agreement, in which BP will take over sales and marketing of US acetic acid made by Eastman Chemical.

In October 2019, BP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (ZPCC) to establish joint venture. Under the joint venture, the companies are planning to open an acetic acid plant in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, with a production capacity of one million tonnes per annum (Mtpa).

List of Key Market Players:

• Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation
• Sinopec
•  Wacker Chemie
• GNFC Limited
• Saudi International Petrochemicals
• DuPont
• Eastman Chemical Company
• Daicel Corporation
• Jiangsu Sopo (Group)
• LyondellBasell

Key Target Audience

• Pharmaceutical Companies
• Government Authorities and R&D Institutions
• Food and Drug Administration
• Consulting And Research Firm
• Raw Material Suppliers
• Potential Investors

What will the report include?

• Highlights of main global R&D activities and new technological developments
• Estimation of the actual market size and revenue forecasts for global market
• Description of the most relevant research and development activities related to Acetic Acid market places
• Production of Acetic Acid, and review of application for Acetic Acid and assessment of emerging applications
• Analyses of the global market trends, with data from 2020, estimates for 2021, and forecast through 2027
• Review of current industry players, including manufacturers of Acetic Acid, technology developments, and future market participants

Some of the key questions addressed in the report were…

• What were the market size in 2014 and the outlook from 2021 to 2027?
• How much growth will the industry market experience between 2017 and 2027?
• What are the important factors, constraints, and opportunities, and how they will affect market?
• What are the key segments of the Acetic Acid market growth and why?

• Who are the main participants and strategies they use to compete in the market?