Japanese giants retreat, ROHM expands production!

On March 24, the Rohm Group announced that its large-scale industrial methyl methacrylate (MMA) plant in Baytown, Texas, USA, which was built using its proprietary C2 route LiMA production technology, has successfully commenced operations.

Upon full commissioning, the Rumbei City plant will have an annual capacity of 250,000 tons of MMA. The new technology, which uses ethylene, natural gas, and methanol as raw materials, not only improves product yield but also significantly reduces energy consumption, water waste, and waste emissions compared to traditional production processes.

The Bay City plant will replace the 150,000-ton-per-year MMA plant in Westwego, Louisiana, owned by Roehm, which will close in June this year.

Source: Rohm Chemical官网

Romheld is one of the world's leading producers of methyl acrylate chemicals, with manufacturing bases across the globe producing MERACRYL® methyl acrylate monomers and PLEXIGLAS® polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) molding compounds. These products are widely used in various fields such as paints, coatings, automotive taillights, medical devices, aircraft transparencies, home appliance displays, and road markings.

From the process flow角度来看

MMA can be synthesized using various methods, including the acetone cyanohydrin process (ACH method or C3 method), the isobutene/tert-butanol oxidation method (C4 method), the ethylene method (C2 method), and the methanol-methyl acetate method (C1 method). From the process perspective, based on the carbon number of the raw materials, they can be categorized into C1, C2, C3, and C4 routes.

Currently, the main processes used for MMA globally are ACH and C4 routes, with the ACH route accounting for over 55% of production capacity and the C4 route accounting for over 34%.

Domestic enterprises primarily adopt the ACH technology route, accounting for more than 75%. The ACH process is relatively simple but is characterized by high pollution and high toxicity (use of hydrogen cyanide).

As the world's largest producer of MMA, China is accelerating technological upgrades. The country's C2 route is in the pilot production stage, with Panjin Sanli possessing a thousand-ton-scale pilot line that combines three processes: "ethylene hydroformylation to propionaldehyde," "hydroxyalkylation condensation of propionaldehyde and formaldehyde," and "one-step oxidation-esterification process for producing MMA."

In addition, the pilot plant for the ethylene carbonyl esterification method (C2) to produce MMA, led by CNOOC Chemical and the New Materials Science Research Institute, successfully commenced operation on May 25, 2024, promoting the advancement of domestic technology towards greenness.

Green transformation

Under pressure from environmental protection and policy driving, the MMA industrial chain is transitioning from "linear production" to "closed-loop recycling," with the elimination of traditional processes accelerating.

Mitsubishi Chemical has decided to close the Cassel plant in the UK, reduce production capacity in Hiroshima, Japan by 10.7 tons, and halt the planned 350,000-ton project in the United States for the promising exclusive new ethylene method (Alpha process).

In addition, Sumitomo Chemical shut down two out of three methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) production lines at its Singapore facility last September. Sumitomo Chemical stated that the structural supply-demand imbalance in the MMA industry has had an impact on revenue, profits, and product margins for general-purpose products. The company is now focusing on specialty/high-value-added PMMA products and sustainable development products within the MMA supply chain. For instance, Sumitomo Chemical's announcement in March regarding the start of sales of PMMA materials made from MMA monomers produced through chemical recycling clearly demonstrates the company's transformation and development.

Kuraray is no exception, as it decided in June 2024 to reduce its current MMA annual production capacity by half and to stop external sales of MMA, focusing on internal use instead. However, the PARAPET™ PMMA produced at Kuraray's Niigata factory received the ISCC PLUS certification in October 2024 through the International Sustainable Product Certification Program, indicating Kuraray's shift towards producing sustainable products.

In addition, regarding green development, Shengxiao's PMMA depolymerization facility located in Ro Town, Italy, opened in June last year. This PMMA depolymerization facility mainly utilizes advanced continuous processes to produce high-purity recycled MMA from both pre-consumer and post-consumer acrylic solutions.

It is worth mentioning that ROMIRA also announced the establishment of a PMMA recycling alliance across Europe in January this year. (Note: There seems to be a typo in the original Chinese sentence where "罗姆化学" is mistakenly written as "罗姆ira". The correct company name should be "罗姆化学" (Romira).)

These leading international MMA suppliers are transforming their MMA-PMMA industrial chain towards more sustainable products.

Intensified competition and changes in demand structure.

According to relevant data, by the end of 2023, global MMA production is close to 4 million tons per year, and it is expected to exceed 5 million tons per year by 2030. From 2023 to 2030, global MMA production is projected to grow rapidly at a rate of 4%, which will lead to a severe market environment. This is reflected in the fact that Sumitomo Chemical, Mitsubishi Chemical, and Celanese have closed some MMA plants.

From the perspective of downstream demand, the demand structure for MMA is changing, extending from traditional advertising and building materials to fields such as new energy and electronic information. Over 60% of MMA is used to produce PMMA, with automotive lightweighting driving the application of PMMA in car lights and instrument panels. However, high-end products such as optical-grade and medical-grade still rely on imports in China.

In recent years, China's new materials sector has developed rapidly, with many new materials achieving breakthroughs in industrialization. Some new materials such as MS resin, COC, PC, COP, PETG, PCTG, TAC, POE, and carbon fiber composites have replaced PMMA.

In summary, if small and medium-sized enterprises cannot bear the cost of green transformation, they may be eliminated. Leading companies, through technology alliances (such as the ROHM PMMA Recycling Circle Alliance), control the standards for recycled materials, creating "green barriers." For China, accelerating the commercialization of C2 technology, promoting the import substitution of high-end products, and addressing the competition from new materials are the core tasks.

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