CEH Report

Table of Contents

Abstract

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.