Vinyl Acetate Monomer anticipated to grow at a healthy rate with emerging applications

Vinyl acetate monomer, also known as VAM, is one of the most essential chemicals used in the manufacture of polymers. Vinyl acetate monomer is manufactured through catalytic conversion reaction of acetic acid and ethylene with oxygen. Due to higher reactivity of vinyl acetate monomer, a polymerization inhibitor is required in order to control the degree of polymerization. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is used as an intermediate in the manufacture of various copolymers and homopolymers such as polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-vinyl acetate and ethylene-vinyl alcohol among others. These copolymers are used in various end-user industries such as adhesives, paints and coatings, textiles, paper and packaging among others. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is one of the key ingredients used in the manufacture of furniture glue and adhesives. On the basis of applications, the vinyl acetate monomer market is classified into polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), ethylene-vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE), among others. As per Research and Markets, polyvinyl acetate accounted for the highest demand market share for vinyl acetate monomer over the past few years. Polyvinyl acetate is one of the major copolymers used in the adhesives industry. Polyvinyl alcohol was the second-largest application for vinyl acetate monomer market in 2013. Polyvinyl alcohol is used in manufacturing films and resins which further find applications in packaging, molding and textile industries. With around 7% market share, ethylene-vinyl acetate was the third-largest application for vinyl acetate monomer in 2013. Ethylene-vinyl alcohol is anticipated to be the emerging application for vinyl acetate monomer and is anticipated to grow at a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. Other applications such as vinyl acetate ethylene and polyvinyl butyral (PVB) are likely to offer encouraging growth for the vinyl acetate monomer market over the forecast period. The global vinyl acetate monomer market is growing due to strong a outlook for adhesives from end-user industries such as packaging, construction and furniture. Vinyl acetate monomer based copolymers are commonly used in manufacturing adhesives in large amounts, thus driving the demand for vinyl acetate monomer. Paints and coatings is another major end-user industry driving the growth of vinyl acetate monomer market in the past years. Growing demand for EVOH films in the food manufacturing industry is likely to spur the growth of vinyl acetate monomer over the forecast period. In addition, the rising demand for ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) films for applications in solar photovoltaic cells is expected to augment the growth of the market in next few years. Environmental regulations associated with vinyl acetate monomer and volatile prices of raw materials, limited technology and over production in the market are some of the factors that are anticipated to hinder the growth of vinyl acetate monomer market over the coming years.