China is likely to register the highest phenol capacity additions globally by 2028, contributing around 67% of the total capacity additions from upcoming projects, according to research by GlobalData, Offshore Technology’s parent company.

Its latest report, Phenol Industry Capacity and Capital Expenditure Forecasts with Details of All Active and Planned Plants to 2028, reveals that China is likely to witness a phenol capacity addition of 1.74 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) during 2024–28 from six planned projects.

Nivedita Roy, oil and gas analyst at GlobalData, said: “Phenol, popularly known as carbolic acid, is a volatile crystalline compound widely used for the synthesis of various kinds of pharmaceutical drugs, phenolic resins and plastic polymers.”

She added that with “China being one of the largest markets for plastics and epoxy resins, there is a need for increased production capacity in the country”.

In China, the highest capacity addition is expected from the Hainan Huasheng New Material Technology Company Dongfang Phenol Plant and Rongsheng New Materials Taizhou Phenol Plant, with a capacity of 400,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) each.

Both are currently under construction and are expected to commence phenol production in 2026.

Some of the other major capacity additions are from Shiyou Chemical Yangzhou Phenol Plant 2 and SABIC Fujian Petrochemical Zhangzhou Phenol Plant.

Both are expected to come online in 2026 with a capacity of 280,000tpa and 250,000tpa, respectively.

Phenols are widely used in household products, such as a disinfectant in household cleaners and in mouthwash.