Rubber Chemical Industry Production Review in the Past Three Years

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According to publicly available information from the rubber chemical industry, China's rubber chemical production commenced at 38 tons in 1952. As we entered the 21st century, the production reached 138,000 tons in 2001. By the year 2022, the production had surged to 1.3749 million tons, with the first half of 2023 witnessing a breakthrough of 741,000 tons. It is anticipated that this year will set a new record, maintaining a production share of over 75% globally.

Now, let's take a look at the production trends, growth patterns, and key products in the rubber chemical industry over the past three years:

The Production Situation of Rubber Chemicals

Category	Production (Thousand Tons)
Category	2020	2021	2022
Antioxidants	36.7	41.45	39.42
Sulfur Accelerators	33.2	35.67	34.87
Processing Aids	27.5	29.28	30.9
Curing Agents and Peroxides	14.5	17.25	19.3
Special Functional Additives	12	13.38	13
Total	123.9	137.03	137.49

The Growth Situation of Rubber Chemicals

Category	Comparison between 2022 and 2020
Category	Increment (Thousand Tons)	Growth Rate
Antioxidants	2.72	0.0741
Sulfur Accelerators	1.67	0.0503
Processing Aids	3.4	0.1236
Curing Agents and Peroxides	4.8	0.331
Special Functional Additives	1	0.0833

The growth of vulcanizing agents and peroxides is notable. This category of products primarily includes elemental sulfur, selenium, tellurium, sulfur-containing compounds, organic peroxides, quinone compounds, amine compounds, sulfur resins, metal oxides, and other sulfurizing agents. Currently, sulfur compounds, particularly elemental sulfur, are widely used as the primary vulcanizing agents in China. In 2022, the production of vulcanizing agents reached 193,000 tons, with the major growth product being insoluble sulfur, reaching a domestic production of 163,000 tons, and an export volume of 29,000 tons. Processing aids, specialty functional additives, rubber anti-aging agents, and vulcanization accelerators have all experienced varying degrees of growth.

Major Growth Products in Rubber Chemicals

Category	Main Growing Products
Antioxidants	6PPD, TMQ, phenolic antioxidants, physical antioxidant microcrystalline wax, etc
Sulfur Accelerators	TBBS, CBS, DCBS, MBTS, DPG, as well as commonly used dithiocarbamates, thiazoles, thiurams, and sulfenamides in non-tire rubber products
Processing Aids	Processing AidsViscosity-increasing resins, leveling agents, isolating agents, dispersants, anti-scorching agents, plasticizers, etc
Curing Agents and Peroxides	Insoluble sulfur, organic peroxides, etc
Special Functional Additives	Adhesive resins, reinforcing resins, bonding agent silane coupling agents, cobalt salt adhesives, anti-moisture slip resins, anti-tearing resins, etc