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Epichlorohydrin is a liquid epoxide most frequently manufactured by the chlorohydrination
of allyl chloride. The principal uses for epichlorohydrin are in the production
of epoxy resins, synthetic glycerin, epichlorohydrin elastomers, specialty
water treatment chemicals, wet-strength resins for paper production and surfactants.
The following pie chart shows consumption of epichlorohydrin by major region:
Total epichlorohydrin consumption is projected to increase. Most of this growth
will be driven by epichlorohydrin consumption in Other Asia because of increased
epoxy resin production in the region. In 2007, U.S. production of epichlorohydrin
declined because of decreased exports, particularly to Asia, where epichlorohydrin
production has increased substantially for use in epoxy resins and wet-strength
resins.
Epichlorohydrin and its role in the synthetic glycerin market have changed
recently. Traditionally consumed for the production of synthetic glycerin,
epichlorohydrin is now being produced with glycerin as the raw material. In
fact, with surplus glycerin available as a result of the growing worldwide
production of biodiesel, several companies have come up with glycerin-to-epichlorohydrin
technologies.
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