The World Market

As well as regular market forces, other forces acting on the additives market include environmental and health issues, new technologies, inter-material competition, strategic repositioning for increased shareholder value, and customer-driven factors. 

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Economic Aspects. In 1994, there were 14 producing MDF mills in the United States. These mills produced 2.240 million m of product (2). The market for MDF in the United States is fairly weU saturated at this time and for this reason the industry is expanding only slowly. However, as noted herein, the world market is stiU growing rapidly and the manufacturers are building to satisfy this market. Currentiy, some U.S. manufacturers are also exporting MDF into these markets. 

Commercial production of acetic acid has been revolutionized in the decade 1978—1988. Butane—naphtha Hquid-phase catalytic oxidation has declined precipitously as methanol [67-56-1] or methyl acetate [79-20-9] carbonylation has become the technology of choice in the world market. By-product acetic acid recovery in other hydrocarbon oxidations, eg, in xylene oxidation to terephthaUc acid and propylene conversion to acryflc acid, has also grown. Production from synthesis gas is increasing and the development of alternative raw materials is under serious consideration following widespread dislocations in the cost of raw material (see Chemurgy). 

In 1968 a new methanol carbonylation process using rhodium promoted with iodide as catalyst was introduced by a modest letter (35). This catalyst possessed remarkable activity and selectivity for conversion to acetic acid. Nearly quantitative yields based on methanol were obtained at atmospheric pressure and a plant was built and operated in 1970 at Texas City, Tex. The effect on the world market has been exceptional (36). 

Prospective Processes. There has been much effort invested in examining routes to acetic acid by olefin oxidation or from ethylene, butenes, or j -butyl acetate. No product from these sources is known to have reached the world market the cost of the raw materials is generally prohibitive. 

The soft magnetic spinel ferrites, by far the most important cubic ferrites, were first introduced by Philips under the trade name Ferroxcube (14) and are now widely commercially available under various trade names. The world market for soft magnetic ferrites amounts to about one biUion dollars (1991), about 350 million dollars of which is in the United States. 

M-type ferrites are mainly used as permanent magnet material. They have largely replaced the alnicos as preferred permanent magnet material, as a result of the lower material and processing costs. These ferrites were first introduced under the trade name Ferroxdure, the isotropic form in 1952 (22) and the anisotropic (crystal oriented) form in 1954 (23), and are widely available commercially under various trade names such as Oxid and Koerox. They cover about 55% of the world market of permanent magnet materials, corresponding to 1100 million U.S. doUars (1991), as weU as 55% of the U.S. market, at 300 million. 

World markets for vegetable fibers have been steadily declining in recent years, mainly as a result of substitution with synthetic materials. Jute has traditionally been one of the principal bast fibers (toimage basis) sold on the world market however, the precipitous decline in jute exports by India (Fig. 2) indicate the decreasing market demand for this fiber that is vitally important to the economies of India (West Bengal), Bangladesh, and Pakistan. 

High purity hexafluorozirconic acid and its salts are produced by Advance Research Chemicals of the United States, and Akita and Moritta of Japan. The technical-grade green-colored material is suppHed by Cabot Corp. of the United States. In 1993, the U.S. market for fluorozirconic acid was about 250,000 kg/yr the world market was less than 500,000 kg/yr. A principal part of this production is consumed by the wool, garment, and upholstery industries. The 1993 price varied between 2.4 to 6.6/kg depending on the quaUty and quantity required. Potassium fluorozirconate [16923-95-8], K ZrF, is commercially important the world market is about 750,000 kg/yr. The most important appHcation is as a fire-retardant material in the wool (qv) industry, for the manufacture of garments, upholstery for aeroplane industry, and children s clothes (see Flame retardants). The 1993 unit price was between 5.0 and 6.6/kg. 

The sales of antagonists of receptors, eg, diphenhydramine, terfenadine, and astemizole, used in the treatment of allergic diseases, represent 1% of the overall pharmaceutical market, ie, 1.7 biUion (U.S.). antagonists, eg, cimetidine and ranitidine, are effective in peptic ulcer disease and esophageal reflux. Sales represent 3.5% of the world market, ie, 6 biUion (U.S.). agonists or antagonists have not yet found a clear indication. 

Hydraikic fluids are the second largest use of lubricants for automotive and iadustrial markets. Estimates for 1992 are that 1.089 x 10 L(81 x 10 gal) of hydraikic fluids were sold out of 8.9 x 10 L(2.3 x 10 gal) of total iadustrial lubricating fluids. The world market is shown ia Table 6. Most hydraikic fluids were mineral ok-based products. The remainder represented principally fire-resistant hydraikic fluids and synthetic-based lubricants. 

The total world marketplace can vary widely from year to year, however, due to the cyclic nature of the textile and coUateral appHcations which can be sizable but short-lived. Perhaps this is the reason that there are no published estimates for the world market for fluorescent color. Also, competition has forced most producers to develop higher strength fluorescent materials that offer greater color yield and a better money value. This reduces unit volume and, in many cases, doUar sales. 

Process Technology Evolution. Maleic anhydride was first commercially produced in the early 1930s by the vapor-phase oxidation of benzene [71-43-2]. The use of benzene as a feedstock for the production of maleic anhydride was dominant in the world market well into the 1980s. Several processes have been used for the production of maleic anhydride from benzene with the most common one from Scientific Design. Small amounts of maleic acid are produced as a by-product in production of phthaHc anhydride [85-44-9]. This can be converted to either maleic anhydride or fumaric acid. Benzene, although easily oxidized to maleic anhydride with high selectivity, is an inherently inefficient feedstock since two excess carbon atoms are present in the raw material. Various compounds have been evaluated as raw material substitutes for benzene in production of maleic anhydride. Fixed- and fluid-bed processes for production of maleic anhydride from the butenes present in mixed streams have been practiced commercially. None of these... 

Table 4 gives typical analyses of some of the commercial manganese ores available ia the world market. Table 5 gives a breakdown of the world s total estimated manganese ore reserves that account for 98—99% of the known world reserves of economic significance. No manganese ores of commercial value are to be found ia the United States. 

The throwaway fuel cycle does not recover the energy values present ia the irradiated fuel. Instead, all of the long-Hved actinides are routed to the final waste repository along with the fission products. Whether or not this is a desirable alternative is determined largely by the scope of the evaluation study. For instance, when only the value of the recovered yellow cake and SWU equivalents are considered, the world market values for these commodities do not fully cover the cost of reprocessing (2). However, when costs attributable to the disposal of large quantities of actinides are considered, the classical fuel cycle has been the choice of virtually all countries except the United States. 

Calcium peroxide is made by EMC, L Air Liquide, Nippon Peroxide (Japan), Shimakyo Chemical (Japan), Solvay Deutschland, Solvay Interox (United Kingdom), and Tomita Seiyaku (Japan). Trade names used for calcium peroxide are Calper, IXPER 60 C, IXPER 75 C, PermeOx, and Trap2ene. The world market for calcium peroxide ia 1992 was about 2000 t. The U.S. prices ia 1994 were, for the food-grade (75% Ca02), 3.97/kg and for the technical grade (60%), 2.97—3.30/kg. 

The world market in 1993 was about 450,000 t. Sodium peroxoborate is made commercially by Atochem, Ausimont, Caffaro, Degussa, Eka Nobel, Foret, L Air Liquide, Solvay Interox (Belgium, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, United States), and Treibacher Chemische Werke. The U.S. price in 1994 was in the range 1.32—1.43/kg, the German price was DM 1.35—1.60/kg ( 0.78—0.92/kg). 

The triple salt is better known by the trademarks Caroat (Degussa), OXONE Monopersulfate Compound (Du Pont), and Curox (Laporte). It is also known as potassium caroate. It has been made on a commercial scale siace the 1950s, and the world market ia 1994 was several thousand tons. It is made commercially by Peroxid-Chemie (Germany), Degussa (Germany), Du Pont (United States), and Migas (Japan). In 1994, the United Kingdom price was J1.80/kg ( 2.67/kg). 

Worldwide, approximately 85% of acetone is produced as a coproduct with phenol. The remaining 17% is produced by on-purpose acetone processes such as the hydration of propylene to 2-propanol and the dehydrogenation of 2-propanol to acetone. The cost of production of 2-propanol sets the floor price of acetone as long as the acetone demand exceeds the coproduct acetone supply. However, there is a disparity in the growth rates of phenol and acetone, with phenol demand projected at 3.0%/yr and acetone demand at 2.0%/yr. If this continues, the coproduct supply of acetone will exceed the total acetone demand and on-purpose production of acetone will be forced to shut down the price of acetone is expected to fall below the floor price set by the on-purpose cost production. Projections indicate that such a situation might occur in the world market by 2010. To forestall such a situation, companies such as Mitsui Petrochemical and Shinnippon (Nippon Steel) have built plants without the coproduction of acetone. 

Presentation of The 1992 DCMA.Mnnual Meeting, The World Market for Organic Pigments-, Mmer. InkMakerlO, 38 (1992). 

Total sales of prescription bronchodHators and antiasthma products in 1989 were approximately 1.2 and 3.3 bHHon in the North American and world markets, respectively (166). The three largest shares of the world market were held by Glaxo Holdings pic, Schering-Plough Corporation, and Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation. 

Oxidation of Straight-Chain Alcohols. Two methods have been developed. One uses an air oxidation catalyzed by a metal, eg, copper, platinum, etc, whereas the other is a caustic oxidation. Generally, however, fatty alcohols are priced higher on the world market than their corresponding fatty acids and, consequently, these conversions are uneconomical. 

Several countries supply monazite concentrates for the world market. Extensive deposits along the coast of western AustraUa are worked for ilmenite and are the primary source of world monazite. Other regions of AustraUa, along with India and Brazil, also supply the mineral. Because monazite contains thorium [7440-29-1], India and Brazil have embargoed its export for many years. In the United States, commerce in the mineral is regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

The world market for ch oline chloride used in animal feeds is estimated at 113,000 t on a 100% basis. The market for good grade ch oline chloride is a small market by comparison and is utilized mainly in the supplementation of infant formulas. Other ch oline salts are utilized solely in the human vitamin supplementation markets and are also small compared to animal feed usage. 

Detergent compositions also vary from country to country. The world market for household detergents can be divided into four segments according to the physicochemical properties of the wash solutions prepared from the detergents. 

Glucose Isomeriza.tion, Enzymatic isomerization of glucose to fmctose provides a real alternative to sugar (sucrose) derived from sugarcane or sugarbeets. The commercial product obtained is known as high fmctose com symp (HECS). Two grades of the symp have become estabUshed on the world market, HECS-42 and HECS-55, which contain 42 and 55% fmctose on dry substance basis. These products account for over one-third of the caloric sweetener market ia the United States. 

Batteries, both primary and secondary, have become very big business indeed, which moreover is growing rapidly. Salkind (1998) in a concise overview of the entire domain of battery types and technologies, estimates that in 1996, the world market in the two types of battery combined totalled ss 33 billion dollars, and that the ratio of secondary to primary battery sales is steadily edging upwards. In spite of its poor charge density per unit mass, the lead-acid battery still accounts for more than a quarter of the total, because it costs so much less than its rivals and lasts well. 

From Table 3 it is clear that PVC is by far the cheapest among the five bulk polymers in the world today. Its unmatched versatility and low cost make PVC commercially one of the most important thermoplastics today. Even in applications in which it is in competition with some of the other bulk polymers its price-performance ratio gives it a slight edge. Despite the attacks from the environmental lobby, PVC continues to retain its commercial significance in the world market. 

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