Strong growth forecast for Styrenic Resins
Resins, which is widely used for packaging within the food and
beverage industries, will becoming an increasingly important
material in the future.
Phillip Townsend Associates (PTAI) has indicated that Styrenic Resins, which is widely used for packaging within the food and beverage industries, will become an increasingly important material in the future.
PTAI estimates that worldwide demand for rigid styrenic polymers (including polystyrene, ABS, SAN and various specialties) amounted to about 16.5 million tonnes on 2001. The report also highlights that strong growth rates are forecast for those specialty styrenic resins offering both toughness and transparency.
Dr. David Durand, PTAI's director of consulting, said: "Among the specialty copolymers and terpolymers, high styrenic styrene-butadiene block copolymers (such as Chevron Phillips' K-Resin) account for the largest volume, at about 225 kilotonnes."
He also noted that an above average growth rate of approximately 7 per cent per year is forecast for this particular resin, driven by continuous penetration in transparent packaging and polymer modification applications.
In addition to high styrenic styrene-butadiene copolymers, the report also finds that users of tough, transparent polymers have other options among the specialty copolymers and terpolymers, including impact-modified versions of styrene-methyl methacrylate copolymers, styrene-methacrylate-butadiene graft terpolymers, and so-called "transparent ABS."
Future growth rates for all of these transparent materials typically exceed those for opaque specialties, despite limited availability in some regions.
"Among the specialty modified polystyrenes, the fastest growing resin is syndiotactic polystyrene with an annual average growth rate of approximately 12 per cent," said Durand. He attributed this strong growth to the unique combination of mechanical and electrical properties that it offers, coupled with a relatively low specific gravity.
According to the study, forecast growth rates for specialty styrenic resins as a whole range from about 6 per cent per year for South America to approximately 2 per cent per year for Japan/Korea/Taiwan. In the latter case, growth is expected to be limited due to some shifts in consumption to emerging areas such as China, India, and Southeast Asia.
Phillip Townsend Associates is a global consulting company based in Houston.
