Natural Oil Polyol Market: Snapshot

Polyols find extensive usage as raw materials in the manufacture of polyurea and polyurethane, both important compounds with vast applications in industries such as construction, paints and coatings, furnishing, and automotive. While a significant share of the global polyol production still heavily involves petroleum and petroleum-derived feedstock, the rising demand for cleaner and environment friendly polyols is bringing about a dynamic shift in the scenario. Production of polyols from natural oils is increasingly gaining traction and the global natural oil polyol is swiftly becoming one of the key arms of the global polyol industry.

Natural oil polyols, as the name suggests, are derived from a variety of natural oil sources and hold an impressive environment friendliness quotient owing to their non-polluting, bio-based raw materials. Key varieties of plant oils as well as animal oils used to manufacture polyols include soy oil, palm oil, castor oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, peanut oil, olive oil, mustard oil, lard, and tallow. However, the demand for plant oil polyols is presently much higher than that for animal oil polyols.

In this report, Transparency Market Research suggests that the global market for natural oil polyol will exhibit a promising CAGR of 9.3% over the period between 2014 and 2020. At this rate, the market is expected to rise from a valuation of US$3.88 bn in 2013 to an opportunity of US$7.22 bn by 2020.

Soy Oil Polyol Segment to Continue to Account for Massive Share in Global Revenues

In terms of the source of the natural oil used to manufacture polyols, the report segments the global natural oil polyol market into soy oil, castor oil, palm oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, mustard oil, and olive oil. Of these, the segment of soy oil accounted for the dominant share of the global natural oil polyol market in 2013 and is likely to retain dominance owing to vast domestic production in a number of industrialized economies and low cost.

Castor oil followed the segment of soy oil in terms of use for the production of natural oil polyols in 2013 and is also expected to hold on to its leading spot over the forecast period owing to excellent physical features of the polyols derived from it. Specific to production of oil in specific regions, the usage of different types of oil for the production of polyols is also likely to follow the same pattern as past years, with soy oil to be more preferred in North America and Europe while palm and castor oils to find more demand in Asia Pacific.

North America Market to Continue its Bullish Run

From a geographical standpoint, the market for natural oil polyol in regions such as North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, has been examined in the report. Of these, the market in North America accounted for the dominant share of nearly 45% of the global natural oil polyol market. The region