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Commodity |
| POLYPROPYLENE |
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| Description | Overview |
History | Polypropylene
producing
countries | Indian polypropylene market |
Major trading centers |
| Description |
Polypropylene is lightweight thermoplastic polymer that provides
raw material for manufacturing various textiles, containers,
equipments, and components and is used in various industrial
applications also. In other words, it is a kind of thermoplastic
resin that is hard and tough and also can be converted into fibers
and moulded articles. Polypropylene is made from the polymerization
of pure propylene gas at low temperature and pressure. This
polymer is known for its unique features such as anti rusting,
good insulator, low density, highly crystalline, high resistance
to fatigue and a high melting point. It is also known as a
saturated polymer.
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Overview |
Polypropylene is a type of plastic polymer that is mainly used in
packaging and moulded articles. The polymer was discovered much
after polyethylene but even though; it gained much importance and
rose up to the level in context of popularity. Since it has been
discovered, uptill now, it has made its mark into the daily
routine activities of the masses. The advantage of crystalline
texture possessed by polypropylene over the dull texture of
polyethylene and also polypropylene being cheaper than the latter
was enough to earn fame as soon as it came into existence. The
major uses in which polypropylene is required are flexible
packaging, rigid packaging, automotive parts, consumer products,
fiber products and other industrial applications.
Polypropylene is produced by polymerizing propylene gas or
propylene monomers in the presence of a catalyst. In the year
2004, United States of America is the largest producer of the
polymer with a total production of around 8.4 million metric tons.
The major companies indulged in the production include Exxon Mobil
and Shell. Consumption of polypropylene is dominated by Asian
continent with a share of around 40% in the total consumption
figures of around 32.9 billions tons. Country – wise, United
States of America stands at top in the list of major polypropylene
consumer countries. The following is the list relating to the
major plastic consuming countries of the world
- United States of America
- Germany
- Japan
- Singapore
- Canada
- Malaysia
- Thailand
- Indonesia
- Vietnam
- China
- India
- Pakistan
The world market is growing at an average of
3% per year. The world trade in polypropylene has a same pattern
as in the case of polyethylene. The major exporters of this
polymer lie in the Southern Asian and the Middle Eastern area and
South Korea is one of the dominant players in the world market.
The other exporters include USA and the countries in the western
European region.
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History
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Polypropylene is a polymer of the modern world.
It was discovered as late as in 1954 by
professor Giulio Natta. Till this time
polyethylene was already discovered and the
catalysts that were used in the polyethylene
industry were used by the professor to the
propylene gas to produce polypropylene. The
commercial production of polypropylene initiated
in the year 1957 as it can also be produced at
room temperature and low pressure. For his work,
Natta along with Karl Ziegler, the discoverer of
the catalysts, got the Nobel Prize in the year
1963. With its production, it was readily
accepted by various industries as it is
economical and possesses exclusive physical
properties.
With time and the
introduction of new technologies of production,
improvements were done relating to the types of
catalysts used and controlling the structure of
the product. The world production of the polymer
crossed the 14 million tons mark. Polypropylene
is a versatile polymer as it can be used in a
vast number of applications and today the
polymer has become non – substitutable.
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| Polypropylene
producing countries |
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Polypropylene is a polymer that is known in almost
every country of the world for the vast number of uses
it offers. The world production operation of
polypropylene is undertaken by some of the biggest
energy companies of the world. Due to the enormous and
ever increasing demand of the polymer, high production
standards are maintained throughout the world to keep
up with the demand. The major international
polypropylene manufacturing countries are listed below
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Exxon Mobil
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Honam Petrochemicals
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Hyundai Petrochemicals
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Shell
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Samsung
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Dow Chemicals
United States of America is the
largest producer of polypropylene with the production
figures of around 8.4 million metric tons pertaining
to the year 2004. Japan and South Korea are the other
two major producers of polypropylene lying in the
Asian continent having production figures of 2908000
metric tons and 2930000 metric tons respectively. In
the European continent, Germany, France and United
Kingdom sum up to produce a mere 3.96 million tons,
though the production trend is up. Taiwan is an
important Asian producer indulging in propylene
production up to an extent of around 1 million tons.
Production of
polypropylene in India
India is not among the dominant
producers of polypropylene in the world but is an
upcoming player. The country is able to produce around
4500 thousand metric tons of plastic products annually
from which around 3150 thousand metric tons is shared
by polyethylene and polypropylene. In India too, like
in the world scenario, the production operation is
held by various private and public sector companies.
Reliance is the most dominant player of all the other
companies operating in the country. The major Indian
companies indulged in the production of the polymer
are
The Indian petrochemical industry
is on a rise and a lot more integrated with new and
more developed technology coming up in the country.
The industry registered a growth rate of around 9.5%
since the year 1999-2000. As a result, the dependency
on imports to satisfy domestic consumption demand has
reduced gradually over the years. Also, new uses of
polypropylene are being discovered and to satisfy the
increasing demand, more of the current capacity of
production is being utilized.
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| Indian
polypropylene market
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Since polypropylene has made an impact into every
aspect of life and work, India also is not far from
being affected. The polymer has found its way into
various industrial applications and has become an
integral part of the economy as a whole. India has an
installed polymer production capacity of around 4500
thousand metric tons per year. Polyethylene and
polypropylene production accounts for around 70% of
the total polymer production in India. The major
producers of polypropylene in India are Reliance,
Haldia Petrochemicals and Gas Authority of India.
Regarding the consumption of polymers in the country,
India stands at the 8th place with a mere 4 kg per
capita consumption per year. The Indian plastic
polymer consumption in 2003-04 stood at around 4.2
million tons. But, it is expected to take a jump from
the eighth position to the third position in the major
consuming countries’ list in the upcoming years if
the rate of consumption continues.
The polymer industry in India is
growing @ 12-15% annually. India was a net importer of
plastic products some time ago but due to the high
rate of development in this sector in the country,
India has transformed into a net exporter. The country
registered an export surplus of Rs 462 crore in
plastic products in the year 2003, though 1995-96,
India was importing plastic polymers worth a
staggering Rs 1538 crore. The prices of polypropylene
in the country are excessively fluctuating as they
directly depend on the international demand and supply
conditions.
Market Influencing Factors
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Fluctuations in the crude oil
and natural gas prices
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Economic growth of the major
polypropylene consuming countries like USA and
China
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Domestic industrial growth
and development
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Demand for consumption in the
international market
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Government policies and
regulation
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| Major
trading centers of polypropylene |
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Polypropylene is traded in the Indian commodity
exchange namely Multi Commodity Exchange of
India.
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