The downstream enameled wire is developing well, but m-p-cresol still has room for further development.
M-p-cresol is a mixture of m-cresol and p-cresol. Since the boiling points of m-cresol and p-cresol are very close (0.4°C difference), it is difficult to separate them by distillation in industry. Usually, m/p mixtures are used. form exists. Meta-p-cresol is mainly derived from chemical synthesis or by-products of coking, oil shale distillation and city gas. It is widely used in antioxidants, enameled wires, flotation agents, anti-corrosion coatings, insulating paint and lubricant additives, pesticides, disinfectants agents, plasticizers and other industries.
According to the different intermediate cresol content (meta content) of the product, m-p-cresol can be divided into m-p-cresol with a m-cresol content of 45%, m-p-cresol with a m-cresol content of 50%-55%, m-p-cresol with a m-cresol content of 50%-55%, and m-p-cresol with a m-cresol content of 50%-55%. m-p-cresol with a phenol content of 60% and above. At the same time, the higher the m-cresol content, the higher the price of m-p-cresol products.
Although there are many m-p-cresol production companies in China, there is still considerable room for improvement in production capacity. Some companies have actively expanded production capacity and enriched product lines through measures such as expanding production capacity and optimizing production processes, or by separating m-p-cresol. Phenol produces m-cresol and p-cresol, extending product lines and value chains, and enhancing industry competitiveness. Moreover, there is only one local standard in China, “DB22/T 264-2018 Determination of p-cresol content in industry – Large-diameter capillary column gas chromatography”, and industry standards need to be improved urgently.
According to the “2023-2028 China para-cresol industry market in-depth research and development prospect forecast report released by the Industrial Research Center , in recent years, with the continuous development of China’s economy, downstream industries such as antioxidants, enameled wires, flotation agents, anticorrosive coatings, insulating paint and lubricant additives, pesticides, disinfectants, plasticizers, etc. have shown good development situation, driving the market demand for m-p-cresol to continue to grow. In 2022, the sales volume of m-p-cresol in China will be 58,000 tons.
With the development of China’s fine chemical industry, more and more companies have begun to invest and enter the crude phenol separation and purification business. China has certain production strength and capacity scale in crude phenol separation and purification, and has developed Anhui Huilong Agricultural Materials Group Co., Ltd., Heze Ruisheng Chemical Technology Co., Ltd., Henan Hongye Technology and Chemical Co., Ltd., Chifeng Boyuan Technology Co., Ltd., Yili Xindi New Materials Co., Ltd. and other well-known companies have relatively high industry concentration.
Industry analysts said that m-p-cresol has a wide range of downstream applications, including enameled wires, antioxidants, phenolic resins, insulating paint, Paints, plasticizers, pesticides, disinfectants, interpair separation and many other industries. Among them, enameled wire is an important component of products such as power equipment, industrial motors and transportation equipment. Driven by new energy vehicles, electric power industry, rail transit equipment and other industries, the industry will further develop and expand, thus providing a driving force for the growth of demand for m-p-cresol. force. From this point of view, the m-p-cresol industry still has room for further development in the future.
