Polymerization Additives Growth Opportunities

Customer Experience Driven by Enhancement of Polymer Properties

The polymerization additives market comprises segments including nucleating agents, stabilizers, antiblock, slip, antistatic, and others (including processing aids and organic peroxides). By end-use industry type, the market is divided into construction, automotive, consumer goods, packaging, and others (electrical and electronics and medical). Additives form an integral part of the polymer industry.

Polymer manufacturers extensively use them to enhance the physical and chemical properties of base polymer resins during the polymerization process. The growth of the polymerization additives market underpins the increasing penetration of polymers across different end-use industries, including packaging, construction, automotive, consumer goods, electrical and electronics, and medical. Although the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted the market for stabilizers, processing aids, and organic peroxides in 2020, the consumption of nucleating agents, antiblock, slip, and antistatic additives were relatively less affected due to their extensive usage in manufacturing polymers for critical applications related to the packaging industry.

Pre-pandemic consumption levels of the overall polymerization additives are likely to be attained by 2021 with economic recovery and resumption of production activities worldwide. Nucleating agents are premium products and contributed to the largest revenue share in the global plasticizers market in 2020. They are extensively used to accelerate the crystallization rate, improve optical properties, and increase the production rate of polypropylene, polyethylene, and PET, among others.

Stabilizers, on the other hand, accounted for the largest share by volume in the global polymerization additives market in 2020. They are classified into UV stabilizers and antioxidants and added to raw polymers to inhibit their degradation against UV light and oxidation, respectively, throughout the polymer lifecycle, ensuring longevity and effective performance. Stabilizers are commonly used for the polymerization of commodity thermoplastics (PO and PVC), engineered plastics (such as polyamide, polyester, and polycarbonate), and thermoplastic elastomers (TPO, TPV, and TPS). Packaging contributed to the largest share in the global polymerization additives market in 2020 by value and volume.

Additives consumption in this sector is forecast to remain strong during the forecast period owing to the increased usage of plastics in various rigid and flexible packaging films and end-products worldwide. Major polymerization additives used in this industry include nucleating agents, antiblock, antistatic, slip, stabilizers, and processing aids. Plastics are also increasingly used in the construction industry for manufacturing pipes and fittings, door and window profiles, wires and cables, flooring, roofing membranes, wall coverings, and building insulation. This, in turn, is driving the demand for various polymerization additives such as stabilizers, processing aids, organic peroxides, antiblock, slip, and antistatic for enhancing the properties of construction plastics.

Polymerization additives such as stabilizers, processing aids, organic peroxides, and nucleating agents are also expected to record increasing consumption for manufacturing base polymers used across interior, exterior, and under-the-hood automotive parts during the forecast period.

The growth of polymerization additives in the consumer goods segment is mainly driven by the extensive usage of processing aids, organic peroxides, and nucleating agents for plastic-based toys, childcare products, sports and leisure products, and furniture, among other consumer goods applications. Rapid economic development and urbanization in developing countries, especially those in Asia-Pacific, MEASA, and Latin America, are other factors propelling the expansion of the polymerization additives market. These countries have emerged as prominent low-cost manufacturing hubs for polymers with increasing penetration of plastic products across multiple end-use industries, including packaging, construction, automotive, and consumer goods.

The market for polymerization additives is expected to benefit from the growing demand for polymers due to their capabilities to enhance the properties of base polymers for easier compounding or processing. The market is projected to register high growth in countries, including China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Mexico, and Brazil. Despite the growing demand for polymerization additives across several end-use industries, certain individual chemistries are under the scanner, particularly in developed economies, for probable toxicity and ill-effects, such as increasing the risk of neurodevelopmental problems, reproductive harm, endocrine disruption, and cancer. For instance, certain lead- and tin-based stabilizers are banned for a few applications within the construction and packaging industries, particularly in Europe and the United States. This, in turn, is driving the demand for 'safer' alternatives such as calcium and zinc stabilizers.

The polymerization additive market is highly fragmented, with a major presence of large-,medium-, and small-scale enterprises that focus on particular additive categories based on their technical know-how. Polymer additive manufacturers are anticipated to emphasize strengthening long-term relationships with raw material suppliers, distributors, and polymer companies to control their positioning over the supply chain. The market is expected to exhibit significant mergers and acquisitions coupled with vertical integration activities among companies to increase their product offerings and stay ahead of the competition.