EVA Resin Demand Keeps Growing

By Gao Liping, China National Chemical Information Center

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate, is one of the more important ethylene polymers. There are three types, differing in the percentage of vinyl acetate (VA) content. EVA resin, 5 ~ 40% VA, can be used to produce foam products, hot-melt adhesives, cables and wires, films, plates, injection-molded products, polyethylene modifiers, etc. EVA elastomers, 40 ~ 70% VA, are often substituted for rubber in automobile parts and other products, or used as a modifier for polyvinyl chloride. EVA with 70 ~ 95% VA content is often an emulsion and is called VAE emulsion. It can be used to produce adhesives and coatings. In 2013, the global capacity for EVA was over 3 million t/a.

Table 1   Major EVA resin producers in China, 2013 (kt/a)

Company    Location    Capacity    Remarks
BASF-YPC Co., Ltd.    East China    200    JV between Sinopec and BASF, started production in 2005
Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company    North China    200    Started commercial production of EVA in 2011
Beijing Huamei Polymer Co., Ltd    North China    60    JV between Sinopec and DuPont, started to produce LDPE and EVA in 2010
Beijing Dongfang Petrochemical Corporation Organic Chemical Plant    North China    40    
Total    500    


Domestic supply of EVA resin will grow rapidly

From 2005 to 2009, the capacity for EVA resin in China remained around 240 kt/a; in 2010, it increased to 300 kt/a; from 2011 to 2013, it increased further, reaching 500 kt/a. The EVA resin producers in China are listed in Table 1.
Among China’s four EVA resin producers, only one unit is used exclusively for the production of EVA resin: the 40 kt/a unit in Beijing Dongfang Petrochemical Corporation Organic Chemical Plant. Other units are sometimes switched over to producing low density polyethylene (LDPE), according to the products’ profitability. All four producers are subsidiaries of Sinopec: two are wholly owned by Sinopec and the other two are joint ventures.
Due to a serious domestic shortage of EVA resin and ever-increasing demand from the makers of photovoltaic and coating films, many companies have begun to invest in EVA resin capacity in China, which is now expected to increase rapidly over the next five years. Figure 1 shows the capacity and production of China’s EVA resin sector and forecasts for 2014 and 2018.

Import volume has been high

With China's strong economic growth, domestic demand for EVA has increased rapidly. However, domestic producers have been unable to keep up. China imported 394 kt of EVA resin in 2005, and 527 kt in 2013 – an average annual growth of 3.7%. Meanwhile, a little EVA resin was exported from China: 8 kt in 2005, and 52 kt in 2013 with average annual growth of 26.4%.
In 2013, the major import sources of EVA resin were Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and the Unites States, altogether accounting for about 90% of the total volume imported. Most imported products were made by Formosa Petrochemical and USI of Taiwan, Hanwha and Samsung Total of South Korea, TPC of Singapore, and DuPont-Mitsui Polychemicals of Japan.
In 2013, six provinces and municipalities – Guangdong, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Shandong – imported 490 kt of EVA resin, 93% of the total. Most of the imported EVA resin was used to produce shoe materials, films and hot-melt adhesives. China’s foreign trade of EVA resin from 2005 to 2013 is shown in Figure 2.

Domestic demand keep growing rapidly

Among general-purpose plastics, EVA resins are relatively high-grade varieties. Normally, their prices are higher than those of PE and PP. The consumption of EVA resin has increased gradually, as it has good clarity and gloss, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack resistance, hot-melt adhesive waterproof properties, and resistance to UV radiation. The apparent consumption of EVA resin in China increased from 486 kt in 2005 to over 700 kt in 2013, with average annual growth around 6%.
Five years ago, major applications of EVA resin included the manufacture of shoe materials, films and hot-melt adhesives. In recent years, consumption in making photovoltaics, coating films and halogen-free flame-retarding cables has increased rapidly.
In China, over 40% of EVA resin consumption is in making foaming shoe materials. Foaming products made from EVA blends have excellent properties, including softness, elasticity, shock absorption and resistance to chemical corrosion. They also used in the soles of midrange and high-end hiking shoes, slippers and sandals. They can also be used to produce noise barriers, gymnastics mats and sealing profiles. Normally, VA content in EVA resin for shoe materials is between 14% and 23%. In recent years, due to the rapidly increasing production and labor costs in China, some shoe material producers have relocated to Southeast Asia.
EVA film is highly transparent, impact resistant, thermally stable, physiologically harmless, highly air-permeable, and dimensionally stable at low temperatures. It can be used in agricultural films, packaging films, medical films, laminated films and so on. In China, the most important applications of EVA film are in agriculture. However, its consumption in the manufacture of packaging materials has grown quickly in recent years. The VA content in EVA films is usually 1% ~ 14%.  
EVA hot-melt adhesives have many advantages. They are solvent-free, quick-curing, eco-friendly and non-flammable. Moreover, they are suitable for high-speed automated production lines for wireless book binding, packaging, furniture lining, shoe manufacture, carpet coating and metal part binding, as well as for the assembly of automobiles and electronic appliances. The VA content in EVA hot-melt adhesives is between 25% and 40%.
EVA coating materials are mainly used in pre-coating films, card cases, easy-open package films and binders of co-extruded films. Pre-coating films, which can be used to coat books and magazines, packages and digitally printing materials, are the main applications of EVA coating materials. As a new eco-friendly and advanced industry, China’s pre-coating film industry has developed rapidly in recent years and its total capacity has already exceeded 200 kt/a. Most pre-coating film producers in China are located in East China and North China. The EV content in EVA coating materials is usually 18% ~ 20%.
In the photovoltaic industry, EVA resin is mainly used to produce packaging film for silicon solar modules. The booming photovoltaic industry in China will surely promote the development of the domestic EVA resin sector. The VA content in EVA resin for photovoltaic packaging films is 28% ~ 33%.
Halogen-free flame-retarding cables and Si-XLPE cables are used more often in recent years in the development of IT and networking products. Owing to its excellent compatibility with fillers and its cross-linking properties, EVA resin is widely used to produce halogen-free flame-retarding cables, shielded cables for semiconductor products, and Si-XLPE cables. It can also be used to produce coating layers for some specialty cables. Usually, VA content in EVA resin used in these fields is 12% ~ 24%.
In conclusion, shoe materials, hot-melt adhesives and films are traditional applications of EVA resin, while the emerging application fields include photovoltaic packaging films, pre-coating films, and wires/cables. In the near future, the consumption of EVA resin in shoe materials will decrease due to the relocation of shoemakers to Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, in China’s booming photovoltaic industry, the consumption of EVA resin is expected to increase rapidly. As a new eco-friendly industry, pre-coating films have great market prospects, thus promoting the consumption of EVA resin. The application of EVA resin in cables and wires will also grow rapidly. In the next five years, the average annual growth of demand for EVA resin in China is expected to exceed 7%.