The glacial acrylic acid (GAA) market is expected to grow during the forecast period (2017-2023) due to the production of super absorbent polymer (SAP) using glacial acrylic acid (GAA). Super absorbent polymers are the fastest growing application segment with increasing end-use applications comprising manufacturing diapers, adult incontinence products and female hygiene products. Diaper application has been the largest glacial acrylic acid (GAA) consuming segment. The segment is likely to witness significant growth during the forecast period.
The glacial acrylic acid (GAA) is a clear, colorless liquid with a pungent odor. It is miscible with water, alcohols and ethers. The chemical formula is CH2=CHCO2H. Glacial acrylic acid (GAA) is a monocarboxylic acid used in the production of polymers and acrylate esters and as a feedstock for chemical synthesis. The glacial acrylic acid market is driven by the increase in demand for SAP. SAPs are used for baby diaper applications and healthy growth in this segment are supported by emerging nations of Asia-Pacific and South America. The increasing awareness for hygiene among the consumers coupled with the ageing population in Japan, is driving the demand for female hygiene and adult incontinence products. Glacial acrylic acid (GAA) is used in the manufacturing of homo, co, and tertiary polymers that is used as an anti-scaling agent in water treatment market. Glacial acrylic acid (GAA) is being used as a co-monomer in polyacrylamide flocculants and used for waste treatment, zinc diacrylate, painting and dying. It is used for soil conditioning, drilling fluids, horticulture and landscaping.
The glacial acrylic acid market is categorized as purity level, end users, and regions. On the basis of purity level, glacial acrylic acid (GAA) can be segmented into glacial acrylic acid 100% and glacial acrylic acid 80%. The market by end users, is classified into chemical, water treatment and detergent. On the basis of region, glacial acrylic acid market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Others. Asia-Pacific has been the largest region for acrylic acid market over the past few years with China accounting for the fastest growing market in the region. Additionally, China is likely to witness further growth in glacial acrylic acid production capacity to meet the end-user industry demand.
The declining fossil fuel reserves coupled with volatile propylene prices and market availability is expected to hamper the market growth of glacial acrylic acid during the forecast period.
The decline in fossil fuels encourage the manufacturers to develop bio based routes. With the developments in the bio-based routes, a possible reduction in the production cost can be observed and a hedge over market volatility.
The key players operating under this market are Dow, OPX Bio, Novoenzymes, Cargil, Arkema, Novomer, Metabolix and Nippon Shokubai. These companies are involved in research for producing technologies for manufacturing acrylic acid from renewable resources such as sugar and glycerol.
Market Segmentation
By purity
- Glacial acrylic acid 100%
- Glacial acrylic acid 80%
By end-user
- Chemical industry
- Water treatment industry
- Detergent industry
- SAP
By region
- North America
- Europe
- Germany
- France
- UK
- Russia
- Italy
- Rest of Europe
- Asia-Pacific
- China
- Japan
- Korea
- India
- Southeast Asia
- Rest of Asia-Pacific
- Rest of the World (RoW)
- Middle East and Africa
- South America
