1,3-Butylene Glycol Market Size & Share Analysis - Trends, Drivers, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

1,3-Butylene Glycol Market Size

1,3-Butylene Glycol Market Trends & Growth Drivers

Quest To Develop Cost-Effective Fermentation Process to Produce 1,3-Butylene Glycol Is a Key Trend

• 1,3-butylene glycol is an important raw material for the synthesis of industrial chemicals. Still, a bioprocess for its efficient manufacturing from renewable resources has not been fully achieved despite its high demand.
• According to a study, the fermentation condition was optimized to further improve its production by recombinant Escherichia coli.
• Batch fermentation was made with an improved overall oxygen transfer coefficient (82.3 h−1) and pH (5.5), wherein this chemical’s concentration reached 98.5 mM after 36 hours, with a high maximum production rate (3.63 mM h−1) and a high yield (0.444 mol [mol glucose] −1).
• In addition, fed-batch fermentation enabled the recombinant strain to produce 174.8 mM 1,3-butylene glycol after 96 hours of cultivation, with a yield of 0.372 mol (mol glucose) −1, a maximum production rate of 3.90 mM h−1, and a 98.6% enantiomeric excess (% ee) of (R) 1,3-butylene glycol.
• Additionally, this chemical can also be recovered from fermented liquors in a pure state by alcohol–lime extraction or by vapor‐phase (steam) extraction, with recovery yields of around 95.0%.
• Hence, the development of new processes for the manufacturing of this chemical is becoming the major market trend.

Growing Demand for Cosmetic Products Drives the Market

• 1,3-butylene glycol is used as an emollient and humectant in cosmetics and skincare products. The chemical decreases viscosity and prevents the drying of cosmetics.
• It has a good distribution coefficient, which leads to a better efficacy of the preservatives mixed into formulations, thus making it possible to lower the dose of the applied preservative.
• Moreover, as compared to sorbitol, glycerol, and propylene glycol, this chemical is a more effective antimicrobial agent.
• The market for beauty products is driven by the increasing aging population, rising disposable income, and the presence of a large number of cosmetics companies.
• Furthermore, the increasing disposable income across the globe has led to high spending on personal care and beauty products. According to the AAD, acne affects around 50 million individuals in the U.S., and the treatment and prevention costs exceed $3 billion every year.
• With the increase in household disposable income, the buying power of customers increases, thus leading to a growth in the sales of personal care and beauty products. This has been driving the growth of the market.

Uncertain Global Economic Condition Is a Challenge

• Currently, the economic conditions across the globe are uncertain, and the uncertainty is expected to persist throughout the forecast period. This has created a high-risk environment in the market.
• Crude oil prices are also volatile, which has had a strong negative impact on global economies. These conditions are expected to negatively impact the value chain of 1,3-butylene glycol.
• The uncertain global economic conditions and fluctuating raw material prices hamper the growth of the market.
• Annual fixed-price contracts with distributors are not feasible in this volatile market. With the change in the price of raw materials, the entire pricing policy needs to be revised; therefore, investors refrain from investing in such high-risk environments.
• The fluctuating raw material prices put pressure on the entire supply chain, which affects the ability of the manufacturers throughout the value chain for long-term project and product planning.

1,3-Butylene Glycol Market Analysis

Product Insights

• The pharmaceutical grade category dominates the 1,3-butylene glycol market. This is because its pharmaceutical-grade is a common chemical solvent in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food production, due to its antibacterial properties.
• Related to comparable organic compounds, including propylene glycol, glycerol, and sorbitol, it is an effective antimicrobial agent, that helps in the removal and inhibition of mold, yeast, and gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.
• Thus, the high need for this chemical from various end-use industries results in higher usage of its pharmaceutical grade.

Products covered in the report include:

• Pharmaceutical Grade (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• Industrial Grade

Function Insights

• The emollient category is expected to witness the fastest growth in the coming years, advancing at a CAGR of over 6%, in the market.
• This can be because emollients are normally utilized to treat itchy, dry, and scaly skin caused by conditions including psoriasis, eczema, and ichthyosis.
• Also, emollients cover the skin with an oily film that locks the moisture, and it also aids in the inhibition of inflammatory patches.

The following functions are included in the report:

• Humectant (Largest Category)
• Emollient (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Stabilizer
• Intermediate
• Others

Application Insights

• The cosmetics and personal care products category hold a larger market share. In this industry, it is used as a masking agent, humectant, viscosity controller, skin conditioning agent, and solvent.
• Moreover, it forms a blockade to avoid the loss of moisture or the drying out of from these products. The chemical also helps in avoiding the crystallization of insoluble substances, which makes it a favorite composite for personal care and cosmetic applications.

Applications covered in the report are:

• Cosmetic & Personal Care Products (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• Food Products
• Others

Regional Analysis

• Globally, the APAC region leads the 1,3-butylene glycol market, with an estimated share of around 45%, and it is also projected to witness the same trend in the coming years.
• The need for this chemical in developing countries of the region is increasing highly, as the demand for personal care and cosmetic products, including sunscreen creams and lotions, hair styling gels, body moisturizing lotions, face washes, and makeup for men and women, is rising. This encourages players to take steps to cater to the high demand.
• Moreover, due to the large population of countries such as India and China, they are expected to emerge as major healthcare and cosmetics markets in the coming years.
• As a result, companies in the pharmaceutical industry are investing heavily in these nations, which is expected to result in the growth of the market.

Further, regions and countries analyzed for this report include:

• North America (Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • U.K.
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Largest Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • Japan
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Mexico
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest and Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E.
  • Rest of MEA

1,3-Butylene Glycol Market Share

The global 1,3-butylene glycol market is medium consolidated in nature, due to the presence of a few major and local companies operating in the industry, where OQ Chemicals GmbH, Daicel Corporation, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd., Genomatica Inc., and KH Neochem Co. Ltd. accounted for the majority share in the market.

1,3-Butylene Glycol Market News

• In March 2022, OQ Chemicals announced that it increased the price of 1,3-Butylene Glycol (1,3 BG).
• In May 2020, Genomatica Inc. and Glenn LLC announced Glenn LLC as the exclusive distributor of Genomatica’s Brontide natural butylene glycol in the U.S.