The market for acetic acid is expected to witness moderate growth in the region over the period of forecast due to growing consciousness about environmental degradation and a steady increase in the usage of vinyl acetate monomers in various end-user industries.

The mainstream construction industry alone is responsible for around 15% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, to reduce the carbon impact of construction, it is essential to increase the use of timber in the buildings. The worldwide rise in environmental concerns has led to significant growth in the timber industry due to its renewability. Polyvinyl acetate is a vinyl acetate monomer which is primarily used as a construction adhesive in timber construction. In recent years many of the world’s tallest timber buildings are constructed in the European countries such as France, Austria and Norway. European architects and researchers have long been at the forefront of mass timber design and construction.

The European acetic acid market is segmented on the basis of application and end-use. The end-user segment is further segmented as Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare, Plastics & Polymers, Paints & Coatings, Adhesives, and Textiles, among others. Polyvinyl alcohol is formed by the polymerization of vinyl acetate and used as packaging films for food protection. Polyvinyl alcohol is proven safe in close contact with food products and the films made of polyvinyl alcohol exhibit excellent air and water barrier properties for food packaging systems. Aquapak Polymers, a UK based company, have introduced HydropolTM, a flexible polymer-based on polyvinyl alcohol for packaging in the region.

Some of the key players in the market are BP Plc, Celanese Corporation, PetroChina Company Limited, Daicel Corporation, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Lonza Group AG.

In November 2019, Kuraray’s MonoSol announced the expansion of their polyvinyl alcohol-based packaging with the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Poland. The addition of the Poland facility will expand MonoSol’s manufacturing presence to mainland Europe and is driven by the strong growth of the unit dose concept in continental markets.

In July 2019, INEOS awarded Fluor Corp. the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for its new vinyl acetate monomer plant at the Saltend Chemicals Park in Hull, U.K. The new VAM plant represents one of three projects in the U.K. worth GBP one billion that INEOS announced in February 2019. INEOS reported that it would spend GBP 150 million on the Northern England project.

Our Europe Acetic Acid Market report provides deep insight into the current and future state of the acetic acid market in the region. The report examines the market drivers and restraints that are influencing the growth in detail. The study also covers emerging market trends, developments, opportunities, and challenges in the industry. This report also covers extensively researched competitive landscape section with profiles of major companies and their market shares.