Abstract
Global production and consumption of formaldehyde in 2007 was approximately 28 million metric tons. Global capacity utilization was 74% in 2007; this was a slight increase from 2006 due to a larger increase in consumption than capacity. Global formaldehyde consumption is estimated to have increased by 4.1% in 2007, and is expected to increase by 3.8% per year from 2007 to 2012, declining to 2.3% per year from 2012 to 2017. Average global utilization rates are expected to gradually increase throughout the forecast period but only reaching the mid-80s range by the end of the forecast.
Urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins accounted for almost 50% of global formaldehyde consumption in 2007, followed by phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resins with 10.5% of total consumption. Other applications for formaldehyde include acetylenic chemicals, MDI, and polyacetal resins.
The following pie chart shows world consumption of formaldehyde by end use:
