As a concrete admixture, the water-reducing agent industry has good development prospects

Water reducing agent is a concrete admixture that can reduce the water consumption of the concrete mixture while maintaining the fluidity of the concrete mixture. According to different water-reducing effects, water-reducing agents can be divided into ordinary water-reducing agents and high-performance water-reducing agents. Water-reducing admixtures have the advantages of improving concrete strength, reducing unit cement and water consumption, increasing the fluidity of concrete mixtures, and improving concrete properties. They are widely used in concrete projects.

According to the “2022-2027 China Water Reducing Agent Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, Waterproofing agents, pumping agents, rust inhibitors, air entraining agents, expansion agents, colorants, water reducing agents, etc. are the main products of concrete admixtures. In 2021, my country’s concrete admixture sales reached 18.026 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.7%. Affected by factors such as rising prices of concrete raw materials such as cement and sand and gravel, water-reducing admixtures, as essential admixtures for concrete, are experiencing increasingly strong market demand, accounting for nearly 70% of the mixed soil admixture market, and the industry has entered a stage of rapid development.

The technical barriers to the production of water-reducing agents are relatively high, and the production methods include chemical synthesis and physical compounding. Chemical synthesis methods can be divided into three types: macromolecular reaction method, macromonomer method and in-situ polymerization method. The chemical synthesis method requires the application of polymerization technology and has high requirements for professional talents and equipment. The physical compounding method includes mother liquor compounding and ingredient compounding, and is widely used in ready-mixed concrete. In recent years, my country’s concrete ready-mix rate has continued to increase, and the demand for water-reducing agents has further increased. The physical compounding method has been widely used as the main production technology of water-reducing agents.

At present, polycarboxylic acid-based water-reducing agents are the mainstream products in my country’s water-reducing agent market. Different from the naphthalene-based high-efficiency water-reducing agent, the molecular structure of the polycarboxylic acid-based water-reducing agent is comb-shaped, which provides sufficient space for the dispersion of cement particles and makes the cement dispersion effect better. In addition, polycarboxylic acid-based water reducing agents can also change the molecular structure according to needs to improve the properties of concrete. As a high-performance water-reducing agent, the demand for polycarboxylic acid-based water-reducing agents continues to grow. It is widely used in concrete projects due to its advantages of green environmental protection and high water reduction.

my country’s water-reducing agent market is relatively low-concentration, dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises, with leading companies accounting for less than 10.0% of the market. Subote, Kezhijie Group, and Lizhi Group are the leading water reducing agent companies in my country. At present, Subote has formed a complete industrial chain, and its water-reducing agent production capacity ranks first in the industry.

Industry analysts said that as a subdivided product of concrete admixtures, water-reducing admixtures have gained a broad market with their advantages such as water reduction and environmental protection. prospect. In recent years, polycarboxylic acid-based water-reducing agents have gradually replaced naphthalene-based high-efficiency water-reducing agents and become the mainstream product in the market. As demand in the construction field continues to grow, the polycarboxylic acid-based water-reducing agent industry will gain greater development space. However, currently, due to factors such as high technical barriers, my country’s water-reducing agent market concentration is low, and industry development faces challenges.