Ethylene glycol, also known as glycol, is the simplest glycol. Ethylene glycol is a colorless, odorless, sweet liquid that is toxic to animals. The lethal dose for humans is about 1.6 g/kg. Ethylene glycol is miscible with water and acetone, but its solubility in ethers is small. Used as solvent, antifreeze and raw material for synthetic polyester. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), a polymer of ethylene glycol, is a phase transfer catalyst and is also used in cell fusion.
Purpose
Ethylene glycol is also widely used, mainly used in polyester products, antifreeze, and can also be used in lubricants, plasticizers, surfactants, coatings, explosives, inks, etc. Among them, polyester products (including polyester fiber, polyester film, polyester plastic and others) account for about 90% of ethylene glycol consumption. About 85% of polyester is used in the production of polyester, which is mainly used in textiles and clothing.
Another important consumption area of ethylene glycol is antifreeze. The demand for antifreeze is closely related to automobile consumption.
Production method
Ethylene glycol production routes are mainly divided into: ethylene method and coal-based synthesis gas oxalate ester method.
According to different sources of ethylene, the ethylene method can be divided into naphtha cracking to produce ethylene, ethane cracking to produce ethylene and MTO method to produce methanol and then to produce ethylene. The syngas oxalate method is mostly used in China, and most manufacturers use it. Coal-based syngas, a few manufacturers purify CO in the exhaust gas of calcium carbide furnaces as syngas.
Based on 2017 data, my country’s ethylene glycol production accounted for about 70%, and coal-based synthesis gas oxalate production accounted for about 30%. Because my country’s resource structure is poor in oil, less gas and more coal, the coal-based syngas method can be regarded as an ethylene glycol production method with Chinese characteristics. Relatively speaking, this method causes serious environmental pollution.
Current situation analysis
Supply side:
1. Production cost and profit analysis
No matter which production process is used to prepare ethylene glycol, its raw materials are closely related to the price of crude oil. When analyzing the relationship between price trends of chemical industry varieties and crude oil, there is a characteristic: when the price falls near the cost price, the impact of crude oil price on the price of finished products increases.
At the beginning of July, OPEC decided to extend the production reduction plan until next year. What is rare is that this time the willingness and intensity of member countries to implement production reductions are more determined than before. This will play a role in crude oil prices in the second half of the year. The function of supporting the bottom.
With bottom support for crude oil prices, it is bound to play a certain supporting role in the weak ethylene glycol prices.
