The resin market was hit hard during the 2008 recession and has continued to recover since then and is expected to sustain growth until at least 2020. A number of reports released in 2015 and early 2016 indicate that mature markets are experiencing a healthy recovery in the resin market, including acrylates, adhesives and UV curable resins, while the Asia Pacific region has experienced explosive growth.

According to P&S Market Research, the global market value of UV curable resin in 2014 was $3.5558 billion, and the compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 9.4% during 2015-2020.

The report said: "The factors driving the growth of the global market include the government's strict regulations on emission standards and the increasing demand in the electronics market. Because traditional inks, adhesives and coatings contain hydrocarbon solvents and are cured (and at high temperatures) The release of hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, so government regulations on controlling VOC emissions in the environment are becoming more stringent."
According to the report, many substances, including PVC adhesives, are being phased out, especially in Europe and the United States. Radiation-curable adhesives, inks, coatings, and both sub-classes of EB-cured and UV-cured coatings are viable alternatives due to their emissions. UV curable products have more advantages in radiation curable eco-product systems because these products are UV curable and therefore have a minimal environmental impact.
Researchers add that for these reasons, UV systems based on coating systems have also become the fastest growing segment of the green coatings ecosystem. Waterborne coatings, powder coatings and high solids coatings are other types of green coatings. Even in radiation curing systems, aqueous UV curable systems are attracting more attention than traditional radiation curing systems.
Governments are constantly aware of the negative effects of traditional VOC emissions systems and look forward to replacing them with more sustainable systems. The above driving force has greatly affected the rapid growth of the market and is expected to further maintain a high impact during the forecast period.
According to another research firm, Markets and Markets, the value of the global viscose resin market is expected to be $113 million in 2015, and the compound annual growth rate is expected to reach 4.88% from 2015 to 2020. Applications in this market segment include automotive, packaging, industrial and other industries. Construction, automotive markets, and medical adhesives can all see growth or recovery.
Major players in this market segment include EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (USA), ExxonMobil Chemical (USA), Eastman Chemical (USA), Dow Chemical (USA), Lauter (USA), Mitsui Chemical American Corporation (USA), Mitsubishi Chemical (Japan), Georgia-Pacific Chemicals (USA), Ashland Corporation (USA), and Yparex BV (Netherlands).
According to the report, these companies have been focused on expanding production capacity to gain a competitive advantage and to serve customers more effectively. The introduction of new products is the preferred strategy for some leading companies and contributes significantly to the demand for viscose resins. Its strategies to expand the undeveloped markets of developing economies include agreements, partnerships and joint ventures.
Asia Pacific is the region with the largest and fastest growing viscose resin due to growing demand in India, China, Japan, Korea and Australia. North America is a mature market and is expected to maintain a low compound annual growth rate by 2020.
The acrylic resin market is also expected to grow and is expected to reach $150 million in 2019. Markets and Markets found that the Asia Pacific region, Europe and North America have dominated this market, accounting for more than 85% and 75% of market capacity and value, respectively.
According to the researchers' conclusions, developing regions dominate the acrylic resin market due to the growth of related fields.
According to the report, among the countries, China is the number one consumer of acrylic resin and also has the largest acrylic resin market. It is expected that its compound annual growth rate will exceed twice the global average during 2014-2019. The United States is the second largest consumer of acrylic resins. On the other hand, the growth rate of the Middle East and Africa in 2014-2019 is expected to be higher than the global average. The market in the region is facing an increase in demand for multiple uses of acrylic resins.
The researchers added that the paint and coatings market is the most important application segment for acrylics, and that methyl methacrylate is a key ingredient in this market. Paints and coatings account for more than 35% of the market in terms of market capacity and value. Paints and coatings for residential and commercial buildings, as well as decorative coatings and DIY coatings are expected to achieve the fastest growth in the acrylics market until 2019. Acrylic acid is the main raw material of acrylic resin, and it is in the dominant position in the acrylic resin market in terms of market capacity and value.
Being bullish
Arkema Coating Resins believes that the forecast of existing home sales is the best indicator of architectural coatings. In 2014, the architectural coatings market showed a medium-digit growth in single digits, with sales below the total sales in 2013.
However, the increase in the liquidity of tenants will result in a strong turnover of units and an increase in demand for properties in the multi-family housing market, which is offset by the above. In addition, the industrial resin market continued to recover slowly, and the auto market once again performed strongly in 2014.
The Recuck Group believes that certain areas of the market continue to show signs of recovery, while other sectors are struggling with depressed crude oil and derivatives prices. The automotive sector has remained strong, agriculture and oil fields are still in a downturn, and the housing and construction sectors are in line with GDP growth rates.
According to the Sun Chemical Coatings division, they see that the global resin market is actively rising, especially the UV-curing, water-based and powder coating resin sales continue to increase, but the resin market is still highly competitive.
The Solar Chemical Coatings division also said that environmental regulations, social changes in sustainable raw materials and smaller environmental impacts are driving rapid change and innovation in all areas of the coatings market. This trend has been established in Europe and the United States, but is rapidly forming in other regions, including China. New regulations have been established in these areas to improve air quality and reduce VOC emissions. This requires coating manufacturers to replace solvent-based formulations with aqueous or low VOC formulations. The increasingly important waterborne coating technology has created exciting new opportunities for resin producers.
Meet the demand and maintain the price
In addition to meeting environmental regulations, customers in the resin industry often place technical requirements on their suppliers.
According to Lubrizol's Performance Coatings division, customers can formulate coatings based on the resin's conventional needs to deliver superior performance in thin film thicknesses.
In contrast, thinner films can dry quickly, or at lower temperatures, speed up the production line and set the oven at lower temperatures. In 2015, Lubrizol introduced the Permax V1000 vinylidene chloride acrylic resin to meet this demand. The resin can be used in an anticorrosive coating having a dry film thickness of 1.5 mils (38 microns), which is equivalent to other grades achieved by products having a dry film thickness of at least 3.5 mils (89 microns).

Lubrizol added that resins with better environmental performance are another common requirement. To meet this demand, the company introduced a non-halogen flame retardant acrylate Hycar 3069. The resin imparts flame retardancy to cellulose and does not use additives or halogenated materials. The medium properly treated by Hycar NH3069 can pass the vertical burning test of NFPA 701 and the MVSS302 horizontal burning test. In the past 2 years, Lubrizol has introduced a variety of resins for filter media that do not contain or produce formaldehyde.

According to BASF's North American Industrial Coatings Dispersion and Resin Division, efficiency is the main driver for customers. Customers are looking for resins that can be bonded to any material, including substrates that have poor handling. The focus of development is on direct bonding to metallic materials, and it is expected that a single coating system must match the performance of a multi-coat system.

In order to balance customer demand with rising costs, BASF has identified its customers as “the key to our success”.

BASF will communicate with its customers in a fast and open manner to meet their needs. Respond truthfully and deliver the product. While cost is always a problem, the value of BASF's relationship with customers is a major factor in guiding them to take action in the market.

Maintain environmental performance

In the past few years, global environmental regulations have required a reduction in VOC content. To meet the demand for these products, suppliers have brought several new "green" technologies to market.

Daikin America has developed a low VOC solventborne fluorourethane and an aqueous 2K fluorourethane. Its performance is similar to the solvent type. Pierre Kuyl, business development manager for surface modification technology at the company, said that by reducing the number of recoats, the product has a lower life cycle cost and thus has a positive impact on the environment.

Emerald Performance Materials says it prioritizes the development of chemicals that reduce environmental impact without compromising performance or economy. These include products that reduce VOC, use innovative renewable materials, or replace materials that are associated with toxicity, mutagenicity or carcinogenicity.

Some of Emerald Performance Materials' formulations use 100% low viscosity solid epoxy instead of molecular weight materials to significantly reduce VOC. Formulators typically use bulk epoxy for high solids primers, but this will increase drying time. Epoxy resins such as EPALLOY 7200 can reduce VOC by 1/3, thereby accelerating the curing speed, achieving better economy and high value-added properties such as solvent resistance and viscosity.

Some products can also be used to replace special materials of interest, such as the four-functional epoxy resin reactive modifier ERISYS GA-240, which is an alternative to polyfunctional aziridine (PFAZ) for coatings and adhesives. PFAZ is associated with mutation, and ERISYS GA-240 is a safer and non-mutagenic alternative. Because the storage period is longer than PFAZ, manufacturers can avoid re-inoculation, which improves economics.

Emerald also supplies natural derived materials such as ERISYS GE-60, a multifunctional epoxy resin based on sorbitol. ERISYS GE-60 is a reactive cross-linking agent that optimizes the abrasion resistance and corrosion/impact resistance of MEK in 2K enamels with carboxyl-functional acrylic polymers, resulting in durability of acrylic/epoxy coatings. The use of bio-based materials reduces carbon emissions and water use throughout the life of the product, and Emerald continues to look for new ways to purchase these components to provide value to customers and maintain or even improve product performance.

BASF insists on providing coating manufacturers with the most comprehensive portfolio of resins, additives and functional additives.

BASF's innovations include complete new products and technologies, and through the synergy of product portfolios, provide the required performance and meet environmental regulations. They know that customers are eager to sell their products freely in all regions, and there is no need to develop recipes for environmental regulations for specific regions. The company is developing a new cross-linking technology that can replace amino resins, epoxy resins and isocyanates.

Reichhold said it will continue to offer waterborne coating solutions that address the challenges of low VOCs through self-crosslinking BECKOSOL AQ alkyd emulsions, polyurethane UROTUF and EPOTUF epoxy esters.

These technologies are bio-based technologies with low VOC emissions. By oxidative crosslinking, the low molecular weight advantages of these biobased polymers can be enhanced to form performance advantages for the petroleum-based polymers being replaced. Such advantages include good flow, leveling, permeability, high gloss, hardness, adhesion and durability.

Arkema Coating Resins said that the company has developed a full range of products under the EnVia trademark. EnVia products have passed the company's rigorous certification process to ensure they are suitable for durable paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants and building product formulations. All products certified by the Arkema EnVia program meet the following key requirements, including: no alkylphenol ethoxylate (APEO) surfactant added; no formaldehyde or formaldehyde donor added; total VOC <5g in latex /L; below regulatory limits for carcinogens, reproductive toxins and ozone-depleting substances; low residual monomer content (total monomer content <500ppm); minimizing the amount of hazardous substances; Green Seal for each component Harmful components <0.01%; minimize the substances in California Proposition 65 and provide data records as required; hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) <0.1%; no added phthalates, triphenyl or tributyltin 1,2 - dichlorobenzene.

One of the latest "green" technologies from Sun Chemical is the WATERSOL range. This WATERSOL waterborne resin provides similar performance characteristics to solvent-based resins and has excellent corrosion resistance, high hardness, pigment dispersibility, and low-temperature film formation.

Recently, Sun Chemical has introduced the UV-curable water-based polymer WATERSOL WQS-364, which can be used in water-reducible coatings. The coating is used for hydrophobic multifunctional methacrylate and urethane acrylate cores surrounded by hydrophilic groups. This unique technology has excellent packaging stability and excellent chemical and solvent resistance to cured films, which is not available in other UV-curable coating systems.