Zhongjing Petrochemical 1 million Tons of Butyl Octanol Started in Year, How to Develop the Market in the Future

Project Strategic Positioning and Industrial Chain Value

fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co., Ltd. has an annual output of 1 million tons of multi-carbon alcohol new materials project has entered the preparatory stage, plans to start construction at the end of 2025, is expected to be completed and put into operation in 2027. The project has a total investment of 6 billion yuan and covers an area of 220000 square meters. The core device is a 1 million-ton/year butyl octanol production line. After the completion of the project, an annual production capacity structure of 304000 tons of n-butanol, 704000 tons of octanol and 116800 tons of by-product isobutyraldehyde will be formed, with a total production capacity of 1.008 million tons/year, which will surpass Sinopec Group to become the largest butyl octanol monomer production enterprise in China.

The strategic value of this project is reflected in the vertical extension of the complete carbon three industry chain of Zhongjing Petrochemical. After more than ten years of deep cultivation, Zhongjing Petrochemical has established a whole industrial chain system of "propane trade receiving & rarr; propane storage & rarr; propane dehydrogenation to propylene & rarr; polypropylene production", and currently has a propylene production capacity of 2.8 million tons/year and a polypropylene production capacity of 3.8 million tons/year. As an important branch of propylene downstream deep processing, the butyl alcohol project will digest its own propylene production capacity, reduce the external dependence of raw materials, and upgrade the product structure from bulk general-purpose plastics to high value-added fine chemicals.

From the technical path, butyl octanol production to propylene as the core raw material, through the hydroformylation reaction (carbonyl synthesis) and synthesis gas reaction to produce n-butyl aldehyde and isobutyl aldehyde, and then through the hydrogenation and condensation process to produce n-butanol and isooctyl alcohol. This process route has a strong dependence on propylene and syngas resources, and the layout of Zhongjing Petrochemical in Jiangyin Port City Economic Zone can make full use of the advantages of the terminal to obtain low-cost propane raw materials, while supporting syngas resources to form regional industrial synergies.

Market Demand Drivers and Industry Growth Logic

the core application of butyl octanol is concentrated in the field of acrylate production, downstream covering coatings, adhesives, synthetic resins and other industries. Among them, butyl acrylate and octyl acrylate are the key film-forming substances of water-based coatings, which directly affect the core performance indicators such as weather resistance, adhesion and flexibility of the product.

In recent years, China's environmental protection policies have continued to increase to become the main driving force for industry growth. After the implementation of regulations such as the "Unorganized Emission Control Standard for Volatile Organic Compounds", the coatings industry accelerated the transformation to a water-based direction with low VOC emissions, significantly driving the growth of demand for butyl octanol. In 2024, the total domestic output of butyl octanol reached 5.42 million tons, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, while the demand reached 5.7822 million tons, up 10.1 percent year-on-year, showing a strong trend of supply and demand.

It is worth noting that the international market expansion has made a breakthrough. In 2024, China's octanol exports surged by 262.02 year-on-year. This growth is due to the comprehensive advantages of domestic enterprises in raw material costs, process optimization and scale effects, making Chinese products more competitive in the international market. With the tightening of global environmental standards and the development of the coating industry in emerging markets, there is still much room for growth in overseas demand.

Capacity Pattern Evolution and Market Risk Early Warning

at present, the domestic production capacity of butyl alcohol is concentrated in the hands of Sinopec system, large private chemical enterprises and coal chemical enterprises. According to public data, the total domestic production capacity in 2024 is about 677.8-6.92 million tons, accounting for 1/3 of the global production capacity. Among the main production enterprises, Zhejiang Satellite has 540000 tons of n-butanol and 300000 tons of octanol. Luxi Chemical has 300000 tons of n-butanol and 490000 tons of octanol. Wanhua Chemical has 300000 tons of n-butanol. Nanjing Chengzhi has 100000 tons of n-butanol and 445000 tons of octanol. Each enterprise unit has a certain degree of flexibility and can adjust the production ratio of n-butanol, octanol and isobutyraldehyde according to market conditions.

However, the industry is facing the challenge of concentrated capacity release. In addition to the Zhongjing Petrochemical project, a number of large-scale projects are planned to be put into operation in 2025-2026. It is estimated that the total domestic production capacity will exceed 11 million tons by the end of 2026, an increase of more than 60% over the current level. This growth rate far exceeds the growth rate of downstream demand, especially the butanol market may be the first to appear overcapacity.

For overseas chemical trade and supply chain practitioners, it is necessary to pay close attention to the following trends: first, China will further consolidate its position as the main supplier of butyl octanol in the world, and the continuous growth of export volume may have an impact on the international market price system; second, under the pressure of overcapacity, domestic enterprises will increase their efforts in overseas market development, and the trade pattern will be reshaped; third, intensified industry competition will promote technology upgrading and cost optimization, enterprises with the advantages of raw material integration and scale effect will occupy a favorable position in the competition; fourth, the demand structure driven by environmental protection will continue to change, and the market share of high-performance and low VOC products will continue to increase.