Market drivers, natural products

The key drivers are cost and efficacy The emergence of parasite resistance has blighted most products. In some markets, the producer s response is to increase the dose or to increase the frequency of dosing, thus ultimately compounding the problem further. This completes my overview of the current market scene and how natural products have played a major role. 

The monetization of remote natural gas has been a key economic driver for catalysis research over the past 20 years. Significant reserves of natural gas exist in remote locations, distant from available gas pipehnes, which cannot be readily brought to market. The conversion of these resources to higher-valued, transportable products, such as methanol or polyolefins can allow the economical utilization of these stranded assets. Other low-valued natural gas streams, such as associated gas from oil production, could also provide feedstocks to such a technology. The conversion of remote gas, typically valued at US 0.50-1.50 per MMBTU, into polyolefins, valued at more than US 1000/t, via methanol has sparked the development of several MTO technologies. 

---