1.

3 Market Survey
1.3.1 Demand of Acetic Acid.

Figure : Global Acetic Acid Market Volume Share by Geography (2011)

Figure : World Consumption of Acetic Acid (2012) Vinyl acetate monomer is the largest use for acetic acid in China, the United States, Western Europe and Japan. The largest portion of global acetic acid consumption is for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) production (32% of the total). VAM is used in polymer manufacture for adhesives and coatings.The second-largest global acetic acid use is for terephthalic acid production (PTA). PTA is mainly used for the manufacture of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) solid-state (packaging) resins, fibers and films. A similar global volume of acetic acid is used for acetate esters (ethyl and butyl acetate combined). Acetate esters are used mainly as solvents for inks, paints and coatings. . (Transparency Market Research,2013) Acetic acid use for acetic anhydride production accounts for a somewhat smaller amount of total global acetic consumption. Acetic anhydride is mainly used for cellulose flake production. . (Transparency Market Research,2013) The remainder of acetic acid is consumed for other purposes such as monochloroacetic acid (MCA), ketene and diketene derivatives, pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs and other industries. . (Transparency Market Research,2013)

Future growth of the acetic acid market will continue to be driven by the Chinese market. New capacity is expected onstream in the next few years, while strong growth in Chinese consumption of about 7% per year is expected; compared to the global average rate of 4-5% per year. (Transparency Market Research,2013) Growing demand for vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) coupled with increasing demand for purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and ethyl acetate are the major factors driving the global market for acetic acid. Gradual upheaval of economies from economic depression has led to many technological changes, which have brought down capital requirements to a huge extent and have improved the profit margin for companies involved in the manufacturing of acetic acid. Incessant improvements in technology and focus on process improvement are further driving the growth of global acetic acid market. (Transparency Market Research,2013) Global Acetic Acid Market to Reach 11.3 Million Tons by 2015, According to a New Report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (San Jose, California (Vocus/PRWEB) January 07, 2011) In Malaysia, acetic acid is needed in local industries such as food industries and rubber industries for coagulation of latex. 1.3.2 Competitors and supply Currently, the market is dominated by companies like British Petroleum PLC, BP PETRONAS Acetyls Sdn Bhd, China Petrochemical Development Corporation, Celanese Corporation, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, Daicel Chemical Industries Limited, Kyodo Sakusan Co. Ltd., DuPont, Eastman Chemicals Company, Kuraray Co. Ltd., LyondellBasell Industries, Millennium Chemicals Inc., Showa Denko K.K., Sterling Chemicals Inc., and Wacker Chemie AG. (Acetic Acid: A Global Strategic Business Report, Global Industry Analysts, Inc., 2011) The supply in Malaysia is quite low since only few companies is producing acetic acid. One of the biggest is The BP Petronas Acetyls Sdn Bhd (BPPA) acetic acid plant in Kerteh is a joint venture between BP (70%) and Petronas (30%), the national petroleum company of Malaysia. The plant has an annual production capacity of approximately 560,000 tonnes of acetic acid. (retrieved from: http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9008837&contentId=7016417 ) To cater the high demand of acetic acid, it is being imported from other countries like china. They have a very high capacity of acetic acid production. But recently, there are small companies like Hiska Sinergi Sdn Bhd that emerges due to high demand of acetic acid and furthermore can cut dependence on imports. Two main chemical used in acetic acid production by methanol carbonylation are methanol and carbon monoxide. Supply of carbon monoxide was very high since it is commonly found and cheap. Furthermore, CO gas can be recycled from many production and one of the byproducts of many reactions. By using carbon monoxide, also means that the environment is being preserved because this unreacted gas is quite harmful.

For methanol, two main supply in Malaysia is from Petronas which are Labuan Methanol Plant and Gurun Urea/Ammonia Complex. Respectively, it has the capacity of 660,000 tpa Methanol and additional 1,700,000 tpa from Mega Methanol Project and 66,000 tpa Methanol. By methanol carbonylation method, the ratio of methanol to acetic acid produced is about 0.6:1, therefore, about 30,000MT methanol/year is needed to produce 50,000 metric tonnes of acetic acid. Therefore, the available supply would meet the production demand without the need of importing raw material. 1.3.3 Price Sample of Acetic Acid's Current Price: Europe German Supplier: AKos Consulting & Solutions Deutschland GmbH (AKos GmbH)

United Kingdom Supplier: Alfa Aesar, A Johnson Matthey Company

China Supplier : Henan Fengbai Commercial Company Limited Price : USD500-650/ Metric Ton Min. Order : 5 Metric Tons