Current status of China's dye intermediates in 2021

Dye intermediates are important raw materials for synthetic dyes. The upstream industry is petrochemicals. Petrochemical prices directly affect the industry’s procurement costs. In recent years, the decline in oil prices has reduced the cost of dye intermediate production. However, due to factors such as the epidemic and environmental protection, the supply is relatively tight. The prices of some dye intermediates, such as disperse dye intermediates, have skyrocketed. In downstream industries, affected by environmental protection, dye supply has shrunk, dye prices have risen, and revenue in the dye industry has risen; in the printing and dyeing industry, operating benefits have fallen due to rising costs.

Dye intermediates generally refer to various aromatic derivatives used in the production of dyes and organic pigments, and are important raw materials for the synthesis of dyes. It is prepared through a series of organic synthesis unit processes using aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, naphthalene and anthracene from coal chemical and petrochemical industries as basic raw materials. With the development of the chemical industry, the scope of application of dye intermediates has been extended to the pharmaceutical industry, pesticide industry, explosives industry, information recording material industry, as well as auxiliary agents, surfactants, fragrances, plastics, synthetic fibers and other production sectors.

There are many types of dye intermediates, and there are hundreds of more important ones, mainly including benzene series intermediates, toluene series intermediates, naphthalene series intermediates and anthraquinone series intermediates; in addition, there are some heterocyclic intermediates. The main reaction processes commonly used in the production of intermediates are nitration, sulfonation, halogenation, reduction, amination, hydrolysis, oxidation, condensation, etc. The synthesis of an intermediate with a more complex structure often involves many unit processes, and sometimes it can be used. Different basic raw materials and different synthetic routes.