China’s water-based epoxy curing agent market is participated by domestic and foreign brands, and downstream applications are concentrated in the coating field.

Water-based epoxy curing agent is a water-diluted curing agent, mainly used with water-based epoxy resin to form polymer materials that meet market needs, such as coatings, adhesives, composite materials, etc. Water-based epoxy curing agent and water-based epoxy resin can be mixed to prepare water-based epoxy floor paint, anti-corrosion coating, etc. with characteristics of water resistance, alkali resistance, salt spray resistance, leveling property, adhesion, and environmental protection. Building interior wall coatings, water-based peelable coatings, water-based matte paints and other products. At the same time, water-based epoxy adhesives prepared with water-based epoxy curing agents can be quickly cured, cured at room temperature, and cured at low temperatures, and have the characteristics of high temperature resistance, low temperature resistance, and high strength.

According to the different functions of water-based epoxy curing agents, they can be divided into Type I water-based epoxy curing agents that are used as both emulsifiers and cross-linking agents, and Type II water-based epoxy curing agents that are only used as cross-linking agents. Among them, Type I water-based epoxy curing agent is suitable for water-based epoxy resins based on liquid or semi-solid epoxy resin; Type II water-based epoxy curing agent is suitable for water-based epoxy resins with high relative molecular weight. Common Type II water-based epoxy curing agents are suitable for water-based epoxy resins based on liquid or semi-solid epoxy resin. Oxygen curing agents are mostly unmodified aliphatic polyamines, alicyclic polyamines or aromatic polyamines.

In recent years, the production capacity of China’s water-based epoxy curing agent industry has shown a trend of expansion, and the number of companies in the industry has also increased. Among the more representative companies are Huangshan Liangu New Material Technology Co., Ltd. and Guangdong Diaisheng Tongde Resin Co., Ltd. , Bass Synthetic New Materials (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Sanmu Group Co., Ltd., Kadelai Chemical (Zhuhai) Co., Ltd., etc. In addition to the above-mentioned companies, imported brands such as Westlake Chemical Corporation, Huntsman Corporation, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Ltd. also participate in the competition in the domestic market.

From the perspective of demand, water-based epoxy curing agents have strong adaptability and extremely high adhesion to many substrates, and are suitable for many industries such as coatings, adhesives, and composite materials. According to the “China Water-based Epoxy Curing Agent Market Feasibility Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center, 2017- In 2022, driven by industries such as coatings, adhesives, and composite materials, domestic demand for water-based epoxy curing agents will show an overall growth trend. From the perspective of downstream applications, water-based epoxy curing agents are most used in the coatings field, followed by adhesives and composite materials. In 2022, the demand for water-based epoxy curing agents in the coatings field will account for more than 60%.

Industrial analysts said that compared with type I water-based epoxy curing agents, type II water-based epoxy curing agents produce water-based The coating has a long pot life, easy construction, and excellent overall coating performance. It is the mainstream development direction of the water-based epoxy curing agent industry. Manufacturing companies can regard this type of product as a “key” product and focus on layout. However, water-based epoxy curing agent products have relatively narrow applications and have applicability issues. Therefore, improving product applicability is a necessary measure to solve the application limitations of water-based epoxy curing agents.