Asia Pacific projected to reflect the highest growth during the forecast period

Asia Pacific and North America are the key contributors to the growth of the global micronized polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) market where China and the U.S., respectively, occupy a majority chunk of the market share. Demand for micronized PTFE in these two countries is driven by a strong domestic production base of ink, coating, thermoplastic and elastomer industries, as per Persistence Market Research. The ink industry is the largest consumer of micronized PTFE and the U.S. dominates the global printing ink market in both value and volume terms. Printing ink consumption in China stood at 305.7 thousand metric tons in 2005 and rose to 592.6 thousand metric tons in 2010, before further increasing to 1,046.9 thousand metric tons by the end of 2014. Strong growth in the packaging, e-commerce, and -books markets is driving the demand for printing ink consequently intensifying the growth of micronized PTFE. Japan, South Korea, and India, in that order, are the other major markets for micronized PTFE after China. Owing to continuous industrialization and the rise of the manufacturing sector, Asia Pacific is projected to reflect the highest growth during the forecast period. Rising innovation and developments in the micronized PTFE consumer industries for high-quality products is positively impacting the use of PTFE micro powders. On the basis of end-users, the global micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market is segmented into: Inks, coating, thermoplastic, elastomer, and others. The ink industry, followed by coating, remains the largest consumer of micronized PTFE globally. However, the thermoplastic industry witnessed the highest growth among all end-users. The global thermoplastic market is growing robustly thanks to an increasing demand from the automotive industry, advancement in the TPE processing industry, and replacement of EPDM and EPR. This in turn, is providing growth opportunities to the micronized PTFE market in the thermoplastic industry. Leading manufacturers of thermoplastics such as tyrenic block copolymer (SBC), thermoplastic olefins (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), copolyester ether (COPE), and polyether block amide (PEBA) are continuously focusing on the development of bio-based thermo plastic – a factor that is again driving the growth of micronized PTFE market. Some leading global players operating in the micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market include: Shamrock Technologies, Inc, Daikin Industries Ltd., E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Company, Solvay SA, Micro Powder, Inc, 3M, Asahi Glass Co., Ltd, Chenguang Research Institute of Chemical Industry, Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited, Reprolon Texas, Guarniflon S.p.A, and Shanghai 3F New Materials Company Limited. Micronized PTFE, also known as polytetrafluoroethylene micro powder, is used where higher surface lubricity and anti blocking properties are required. Micronized PTFE is prepared by the utilization of virgin PTFE resin or recycled PTFE scrap. In order to make micronized polytetrafluoroethylene, virgin or recycled PTFE scrap is irradiated via technologies such as thermal degradation and electron beam irradiation. After the irradiation, the PTFE resin is ground into micro powders. Micronized PTFE resin is used in a wide range of industries such as thermoplastic, coating, ink, elastomers and lubricant and grease, for the enhancement of physical and chemical properties such as tensile strength, wear resistance, lubricity, and flame retarding attributes. Improving infrastructure and increasing infrastructural spending, coupled with rising disposable incomes of the average consumer, is expected to drive the demand for coating market. This in turn provides strong growth opportunities for the micronized polytetrafluoroethylene market.