The Demand for Eco-Friendly Plasticizers is the New Drift in the Construction Industry.

With the advancement in technology, the materials being used in construction industry have also improved. Growing urbanization has set the pace in the construction industry, due to which the market for the raw materials has also experienced a steady drift.

Plasticizers are one of the major chemical additives used in the residential construction segment. The growing need for residential buildings to accommodate the increasing population is a matter of concern for any country’s construction industry. Amidst the burgeoning demand for plasticizers, there’s an increasing cognizance towards the invention of eco-friendly plasticizers which could ease the way of construction by eliminating the risk of harmful chemicals. Earlier the major ingredient being used in the manufacturing of plasticizers was dioctyl phthalate (DOP), which is now getting switched with ecofriendly ingredients called dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) and dipropyl heptyl phthalate (DPHP).

In the construction sector, plasticizers are basically used to improve the plasticity or fluidity of the concrete. These plasticizers are used in the construction sector for reducing water content form the slump. They generally are capable of reducing almost 5% to 8% of water from the concrete.These admixtures are easily available in the market and generally range in between $1,000 to $3,000 per ton. On the contrary, the cost of eco-friendly plasticizers is high because of the higher production cost as compared to the conventional plasticizers. The reason for this increase is the limited availability of the feedstock isononanol (INA) which goes in the production of di-isononyl phthalate (DINP). The major manufacturers of these products are BASF SE (Germany), Bozzetto SPA (Italy), Kao Corporation S.A. (Japan), REMEI Blomberg GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Rhine Chemotechnik GmbH (Germany) and many more. The primary synthetic products available in the market are MasterFlow 150, MIGHTY® 21 EA, REDUCEM XXL (BV), Alphalith Plasticizer 1 and many more.With the advent of new technologies, soon the companies would start producing ecofriendly plasticizers.

As these admixtures are mixed in concrete, they find their application in almost all the new construction activities across the world, but their usage is more in residential buildings, as the commercial buildings require more advanced water reducing agents. The majority of the demand for plasticizers comes from Asia-Pacific, due to the soaring need of residential buildings for their increasing population and hence the demand for ecofriendly construction additives is assured to grow in the near future. The growth of plasticizers is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4%-5% annually. On the other hand,China market for ecofriendly plasticizers is set to grow at a CAGR of 7%, providing a strong impetus of growth in ecologically friendly plasticizers.

The major reason for the shift from conventional plasticizers to eco-friendly plasticizers is the series of regulations set by different governments. The emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) from these chemical additives is a major concern in many countries. With the strict regulations coming up in various countries, the demand for ecofriendly construction products is on a surge.

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