BDO market trends in 2023

1,4-Butanediol is an organic chemical raw material used in the production of plasticizers, pharmaceuticals, polyester resins, polyurethane resins and so on. Its downstream derivatives include tetrahydrofuran (THF), polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), polyurethane (PU) and coatings.

By the end of 2022, the total global 1,4-butanediol production capacity reached 3,350,000 tons, with foreign 1,4-butanediol production capacity of about 1,100,000 tons and Chinese 1,4-butanediol production capacity of about 2,250,000 tons. The production sites of foreign 1,4-butanediol are mainly laid out in the United States and Western Europe, among which BASF has the most complete production distribution for 1,4-butanediol.

The number of Chinese 1,4-butanediol producers is around 20, among which the number of state-owned enterprises accounts for more than 70%. The production and demand of 1,4-butanediol industry in China is relatively balanced, and the competition among relevant producers is fierce, and the development space for new entrants is small and difficult.

Data show that in 2018, the global 1,4-butanediol production 1.92 million tons, an increase of 4%; in 2019, the global 1,4-butanediol production 1.98 million tons, an increase of 3%; in 2020, the global 1,4-butanediol production 2.1 million tons, an increase of 6%; in 2021, the global 1,4-butanediol production 2.15 million tons, an increase of 2.3%; in 2022, the global 1,4-butanediol production 1,4-Butanediol production 2.5 million tons, an increase of 17% year-on-year.

In recent years, along with the increase in demand for downstream products, Chinese domestic enterprises have expanded the production of BDO, and the production and consumption of 1,4-butanediol (BDO) has been growing steadily. Data show that China's 1,4-butanediol (BDO) production is 1.51 million tons and apparent consumption is 1.61 million tons as of 2022.

According to the statistics, by the end of 2022, China's 1,4-butanediol production capacity totaled 3.03 million tons/year, accounting for about 66% of the total global production capacity. Among them, the production capacity of the calcium carbide method accounts for about 75% of the country, while the more environmentally friendly maleic anhydride method accounts for about 8%. As the environmental protection policy becomes stricter and stricter, the environmental protection requirements for chemical enterprises are getting higher and higher, the calcium carbide production enterprises may invest more money for environmental protection.

The economic benefits of 1,4-butanediol market are very promising. 1,4-butanediol production technology is relatively low cost and the market demand is large, the production capacity of 1,4-butanediol is expected to continue to increase in the future.