CEH: Acetone

Aug 2020. Acetone is a clear, colorless, volatile liquid with a sweet odor. It is both the simplest aliphatic ketone and the most commercially important. Nearly all world production of acetone is via cumene peroxidation, as a coproduct with phenol.

Over 97% of the world's acetone production is a by-product of phenol production; therefore, most of the trends in the phenol industry also apply to acetone. The remaining 3% of acetone production is derived via nonphenol routes such as coal, which mostly occurs in South Africa; an even smaller portion is derived via isopropanol dehydration. The supply/demand fundamentals between phenol and acetone are very similar, but the two products also differ in certain conditions. Acetone is often seen as a problem by-product for the phenol producer, and there have often been times when phenol has had to carry the underperforming acetone along. There are generally a few different reasons why acetone supply tends to be in excess globally.   

• Publish Date: 2020-08-14
• Chemical Focus: Aromatics and Fibers
• Number of Pages: 78
• Content Type: Report
• Delivery: Email with link to PDF file

• Global summary; regional coverage
• Producers with annual capacities and plant sites
• Consumption and five-year forecast by end-use application
• Price and production figures and trends
• Trade imports and exports

• Drive market research and commercial development
• Support competitive analysis, marketing and sales
• Inform merger and acquisition decisions