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Furfuryl Alcohol and Furan Resins
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Published: August 2011
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The majority of furfuryl alcohol is used in the production of furan resins for foundry sand binders in the metal casting industry. Furan is a generic term for binders containing furfuryl alcohol and either urea- or phenol-formaldehyde, or mixtures of both. Currently, furfuryl alcohol is used mainly in binders for the traditional furan no-bake system and in smaller quantities in furan hot-box, warm-box, and gas-hardened processes. In its main application, the foundry business, furfuryl alcohol competes mainly with phenol, the feedstock for phenolic resins.
The following pie chart shows world consumption of furfuryl alcohol:
China continues to be the world's largest producer and consumer of furfuryl alcohol, accounting for 80% of worldwide capacity and 55% of worldwide demand in 2010. China will also continue to be the main driving force of the furfuryl alcohol market, with strong annual growth of about 6–7%. In the early to mid-2000s, a number of foundry industry plants relocated to China and increased domestic demand for furan resins. High furfuryl alcohol demand for furan resins—especially from the automotive industry—and continued furfuryl alcohol exports will lead to the strong growth.
Other Asian countries (not including China and Japan) together account for about 14% of global furfuryl alcohol demand, despite having only 6% of global capacity. Furfuryl alcohol is produced in India and Thailand in this region. About 93% of consumption in Other Asia is in the Republic of Korea, India and Taiwan. This market is expected to grow at a rate of 3% annually, mainly in furan resins used in the shipbuilding, automotive, machinery and electronic industries.
It is estimated that about 85–90% of worldwide demand for furfuryl alcohol in 2010 was for the production of furan resins. The remaining uses include tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), in solvents, flavor and fragrance chemicals, and pesticide and pharmaceutical products. THFA is used mainly as a specialty solvent or chemical intermediate, with its primary end markets being agricultural chemicals, coatings and cleaning solutions.
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