Environmental protection coatings, inks and adhesives market grows rapidly

The worldwide awareness of environmental protection has led to the steady development of the radiation curing technology known as the 21st century's green industrial technology. In 2005, the global consumption of radiation-curing products reached 270,000 tons, worth US$2.75 billion. It is expected that this market will continue to maintain an average annual growth rate of 6% in the next five years, when the total global consumption will reach as high as 355,000 tons, and the market value will reach US$3.53 billion. The products using radiation curing technology mainly include paints, inks and adhesives. This is the latest statistics released by Kusumgar Nerlfi & Growney Consulting.

After nearly 30 years of development, radiation curing technology has been widely used in many fields such as coatings, inks, adhesives, and electronic products. Due to the adoption of this technology, the curing speed can be accelerated, the energy consumption for construction can be reduced, the solvent emission can be reduced, and the cured product performance is excellent. Therefore, the radiation curing technology and various materials obtained are hailed as the 21st century's green industrial technologies and product.

Europe and North America, the pioneers of environmental protection, are mature markets for radiation-curing products, accounting for about two-thirds of the market's total value. But in recent years, environmental concerns and quality of life have made Asia the second-largest consumer in the world. market. It is estimated that by 2010, the Asian consumer market dominated by China will increase at an annual rate of 9%.

Coatings are the largest application area for radiation-curing products. In 2005, they accounted for three-quarters of the total volume and the market value accounted for one-half of the total. Wood (furniture and flooring) is the main application area for radiation-cured coatings, and Europe is the main consumer of this market, accounting for 40% of its share. Paper printing is the second largest area for radiation-cured coating applications, with North America accounting for 40% of the total. Others such as fiber optics, CDs, PVC flooring and plastic substrates are also major applications for radiation-curing coatings.

Ink consumption accounts for 20% of total radiation-cured products, and consumption accounts for approximately 40%. Radiation-curable inkjet printing inks are the areas that consume the least amount of money, accounting for 3% of consumption. It is expected that ink-jet printing inks will increase significantly in the coming years.

Adhesives account for about 5% of the radiation-curing product consumption and 9% of the market value. CDs and DVDs are the main areas of consumption for radiation-curing adhesives, and nearly 40% of radiation-curing adhesives are used in the production of DVD discs. (Rao Xinghe)

Source: China Chemical News