Recently, the Jinjiu market has opened, and the domestic dimethyl carbonate (DMC) market has performed very hotly, with prices rising sharply. Mobei market data shows that from September 9 to September 16, the market price of premium dimethyl carbonate in East China rose from 9,500 yuan/ton to 12,000 yuan/ton, an increase of 26.3%!
Why is the DCM market so hot? There are three reasons:
01 Supply reduction
From the perspective of domestic supply, the on-site inventory is low, the supply is scarce, and the factory is mainly sold by multiple rows. Dongying Haike and Shidasheng Huajining are shut down. Zhongke Hui'an Chemical and Zhongyan Red Sifang are expected to start shipments next week.
02 Cost support
The main raw material of dimethyl carbonate is propylene oxide, and this year, the propylene oxide market is also booming, with prices constantly hitting new highs.
According to Mobei market data, the price of propylene oxide in East China was at a low point of 9,890 yuan/ton in early January 2020. The mainstream price on September 16 has approached 15,800 yuan/ton, an increase of 59.7% during the year!
The continued upward adjustment of propylene oxide has strongly supported the cost of dimethyl carbonate, and transesterification plants have to continue to push up prices due to pressure from raw materials.
03 Good demand
Relevant sources said that the market demand for dimethyl carbonate began to improve in July, and the demand was greater in August.
The demand for battery electrolyte increased slightly in July. In addition, the polycarbonate industry concentrated procurement in mid-July. Zhetie Dafeng DMC plant was shut down and needed to be purchased from the market. The downstream demand increased again. Lutianhua, Lihuayi, Zhetie Dafeng And Puyang Shengtong Juyuan’s concentrated phased purchases led to low on-site inventories, and factory auction sales made prices continue to rise.
Entering September, due to high prices, downstream switching to other alternative products, market demand has decreased, but the supply and raw material prices are still strong.
Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is one of the most widely used solvents in the industry. It is also the raw material for preparing other solvents such as diethyl carbonate (DEC) and ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC). It is the basic product of carbonate solvents. Its price trend is basically the same as that of other solvents.
Dimethyl carbonate is widely used. Using it as a raw material can directly synthesize food additives, antioxidants, plant protection agents, advanced resins, fuel and drug intermediates, surfactants, etc. At the same time, DMC has an oxygen content of up to 53.3%, which can be used as an environmentally friendly automotive gasoline additive. It is superior to the currently used methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in terms of increasing octane number and reducing emissions; DMC can also be used as High-energy battery electrolyte and transesterification method to prepare diphenyl carbonate (DPC) raw materials.
According to market statistics, the current domestic production capacity of dimethyl carbonate is 654,000 tons per year. According to data from Baichuan Yingfu, the domestic production of dimethyl carbonate in 2019 was 411,000 tons and the apparent consumption was 334,000 tons.
From 2020 to 2021, the production capacity of dimethyl carbonate will be further expanded. A total of about 500,000 tons/year of equipment may be put into operation, and coal-to-ethylene glycol production capacity will continue to expand. The by-product dimethyl carbonate may flow into the market after purification.
