IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Monoethanolamine And Its Salts – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights’. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

The global decarbonisation trend, the increasing number of CCS projects (carbon capture and storage facility) being implemented, and the widespread use of monoethanolamine (MEA) as an absorbing agent to capture СО2 emissions could provide significant impetus to the further development of the MEA market. MEA is currently one of the most widely used absorbing agents in the oil and gas sectors for the purification of industrial waste. 

Key Trends and Insights

Over the past decade, the global MEA market has indicated steady, measured growth. According to IndexBox estimates, global consumption reached 636К tonnes. The USA (16.7%), China (16.6%) and Germany (7.7%) are the leading manufacturers of monoethanolamine.

The use of MEA as an absorbing agent for gas purification may increase significantly: MEA is widely used to capture carbon emissions. The number of CCS projects being implemented, according to Global CCS Institute data, is on the rise: there are currently 56 commercial CCS facilities, 26 of these are in operation, 2 remain idle, impacted by force-majeure circumstances, 16 are at the project stage or under construction, and 21 remain at the initial design stage. The total aggregate capacity of CO2 capture plant facilities, including those under design, increased from 85 million tonnes in 2019 to 110 million tonnes in 2020. Other physical and chemical absorbing agents can be used to capture carbon dioxide gas, but the use of MEA remains the most established. The USA, Australia, Europe and East Asia represent potentially promising markets for MEA: they boast the highest number of scheduled CCS projects.

In the medium term to 2030, the MEA market is set to expand to 800K tonnes (2.3% CAGR), spurred by rising demand from the gas purification sector and continued demand from other consuming industries, including emulsifiers, herbicides and surfactants.

Monoethanolamine Consumption by Country

The country with the largest volume of monoethanolamine consumption was China (148K tonnes), accounting for 23% of the total volume. Moreover, monoethanolamine consumption in China exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest consumer, India (64K tonnes), twofold. Belgium (53K tonnes) ranked third in terms of total consumption with an 8.4% share.

In China, monoethanolamine consumption expanded at an average annual rate of +4.4% over 2012-2020. The remaining consuming countries recorded the following average annual rates of consumption growth: India (+5.0% per year) and Belgium (+40.4% per year).

In value terms, China ($382M) led the market, alone. The second position in the ranking was occupied by India ($142M). It was followed by Belgium.

Global Monoethanolamine Imports

In 2020, overseas purchases of monoethanolamine and its salts decreased by -18.4% to 260K tonnes, falling for the second consecutive year after seven years of growth. In value terms, monoethanolamine imports dropped remarkably to $277M in 2020.

In 2020, China (44K tonnes), Canada (31K tonnes), the UK (26K tonnes), Belgium (23K tonnes) and India (22K tonnes) was the major importer of monoethanolamine and its salts in the world, achieving 56% of total import. The following importers – Germany (11K tonnes), the Netherlands (11K tonnes), Japan (9.8K tonnes), Spain (9K tonnes), Italy (7.7K tonnes), Poland (4.6K tonnes) and Sweden (4.5K tonnes) – together made up 22% of total imports.

In value terms, China ($36M), Canada ($32M) and India ($26M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2020, with a combined 34% share of global imports.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform