Maleic Anhydride Development Trends
IV. Maleic Anhydride Development Trends
In China, benzene feedstock is abundant with flexible supply regulation, and the domestic technology for 10,000-ton-scale benzene oxidation-based maleic anhydride production is mature. Thus, the recent development directions are as follows:
On one hand, focus on optimizing and upgrading the benzene oxidation process to reduce consumption and pollution, thereby enhancing competitiveness.
On the other hand, increase R&D efforts for downstream products of maleic anhydride. For example, the demand for products like polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) (a downstream product of 1,4-butanediol, BDO) and polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) (a downstream product of tetrahydrofuran, THF) is growing rapidly. The domestic market has a large supply gap, and these products mainly rely on imports.