Polyethylene oxide (PEO) has a wide range of application fields and good industry development prospects.

Polyethylene oxide (PEO), also known as polyethylene oxide and glycol ether, refers to substances with different degrees of polymerization formed by the polymerization of ethylene oxide. Polyethylene oxide appears as a white flowable powder and is soluble in a variety of organic solvents, including dichloroethane, acetonitrile, dimethylformamide and anisole, but is insoluble in ethylene glycol, aliphatic hydrocarbons and glycerin. Polyethylene oxide has oxidizing properties, water solubility, thermoplasticity and complexing properties, and is widely used in the fields of building materials, pharmaceutical production, light industrial textiles, oil recovery and mining.

According to the “2022-2027 China Polyethylene Oxide (PEO) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report span>》shows that the main raw materials of polyethylene oxide include ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol. Benefiting from the continued increase in market prices and strong downstream demand, my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity has rapidly expanded and output has continued to grow. In 2021, my country’s ethylene oxide production capacity reached 5.719 million tons, and output reached 3.592 million tons. At the same time, as an important organic chemical raw material, ethylene glycol’s industry prosperity continues to increase. In 2021, my country’s ethylene glycol production reached 12.737 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 24.6%. The sufficient supply of raw materials lays the foundation for the development of my country’s polyethylene oxide industry.

Polyethylene oxide needs to be produced by the ring-opening polymerization of ethylene oxide under the action of a catalyst, usually using aluminum alkoxide, alkyl zinc, alkyl aluminum and iron halide hydrate as catalysts. After years of experience accumulation, my country’s polyethylene oxide production technology has matured, driving its production capacity to continue to increase.

Polyethylene oxide has a wide range of applications. In the field of building materials, polyethylene oxide is mainly used as a dispersant, which can improve the water retention of cement slurry and suppress dust flying; in the field of pharmaceutical production, polyethylene oxide can be used as a controlled and sustained-release pharmaceutical excipient. By controlling the diffusion rate of drugs, the properties of the drugs are improved; in the field of light industrial textiles, polyethylene oxide can improve the dyeability of synthetic fibers and can also be used as a raw material for the production of baby diapers. Driven by downstream demand, my country’s polyethylene oxide market continues to expand.

The major global polyethylene oxide manufacturers include Japan’s Asahi Kasei Co., Ltd., Japan’s Sumitomo Group, Japan’s Meisei Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., and the American Dow Chemical Company. The main polyethylene oxide manufacturers in my country include Liaoyang Huanhua Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., Jilin Xingyun Chemical Co., Ltd., Yuntian Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd., Shanghai Liansheng Chemical Co., Ltd., etc.

Industry analysts said that polyethylene oxide has the advantages of water solubility and low toxicity, and is widely used in many fields. Market demand is gradually released, and the future development prospects of the industry will continue to improve. In recent years, my country’s polyethylene oxide production capacity and output have continued to grow, thanks to sufficient supply of raw materials and continuous breakthroughs and innovations in production technology. As local companies continue to develop and expand, the concentration of my country’s polyethylene oxide industry will further increase.