Owing to the rising demand for coatings from the construction sector, flourishing automobile sector, rapid technological advancements, and the mushrooming need for esters for use in various end-user industries such as cosmetics, lubricants, and personal care, the demand for esters will surge across the world. In addition to this, the burgeoning adoption of environmentally acceptable lubricants (EAL) is predicted to further contribute to the growing demand for esters across the globe. Esters are, in simpler terms, a chemical amalgamation formed by substituting hydrogen of acid with an alkyl or an organic group.
Driven by the above-mentioned factors, the global esters market is expected to demonstrate huge growth over the next few years. The most commonly obtained esters are oils, triglycerides, and fats. As these materials are extracted from vegetable oils, they have minimal negative impact on human health. Esters are widely used several industrial applications and niche markets such as reciprocating air compressors and high temperature industrial oven chain lubricants, due to their high-performance features and custom design versatility and their ability to function efficiently in situations where the operating complications are high.
The most widely used types of esters are polyesters, fatty acid esters, acrylic esters, and phosphate esters, out of which polyesters recorded the highest usage in the past. This is mainly attributed to the huge demand for these esters from various applications such as home furnishing, textiles, electrical insulation, packaging, and industrial fabrics. Phosphate esters are expected to register the fastest growth in utilization and consumption in the future, primarily on account of their high thermal stability and lubrication properties.
Esters are used in a plethora of applications, including those pertaining to textiles, packaging, lubricant, personal care and cosmetics, paints and coatings, food and beverage, and surfactants. Amongst these, the textile applications registered the highest usage of esters (polyesters) in the past and are predicted to record wide-scale adoption in future. This is mainly ascribed to the light weight and high strength properties of the polyesters. Esters are highly sought-after for use in lubricants in several industries such as marine, automotive, aviation, and in numerous industrial applications.
Globally, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region recorded the highest adoption of esters in the past and is expected to register the fastest growth in the usage of esters in the coming years. This is mainly due to the rising demand for polyesters for use in packaging and textile industries and the surging automotive industry in the developing APAC countries such as Vietnam, India, and Thailand. Moreover, the rapid industrialization in several APAC nations including India and China, are predicted to further propel the esters market in the region over the next few years.
Thus, it can be undoubtedly said that the demand for esters is expected to observe huge growth in the coming years on account of the burgeoning need for these materials from numerous industries owing to their useful characteristics and the thriving construction sector across the world.