Methyl Ethyl Ketone Market Size

Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) Market size was estimated at over 1.4 million tons in 2014 and is likely to exceed 1.9 million tons by 2022, with gains at over 4%. Increase in paints & coatings demand owing to growth in construction spending, particularly in Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa, is likely to drive the industry over the forecast period./p>

Methyl ethyl ketone market is widely used as solvent in paints & coating applications owing to properties such as low viscosity, strong solvency and high evaporation rate. It is mainly used with polyurethane, epoxy, acrylic and polyester coatings due to miscibility with hydrocarbons without any effect on its characteristics./p>

Asia Pacific construction spending market was dominated by China, India and Indonesia. China construction spending was worth around USD 1.78 trillion in 2014, whereas India and Indonesia construction spending was over USD 425 billion and USD 265 billion respectively in 2014. Asia Pacific construction sector was the largest and accosted for close to 40% of the total volume in 2014. This factor is likely to drive methyl ethyl ketone market over the forecast period./p>

Global increase in vehicle sales over the past few years and expected production rise over the forecast period is likely to drive methyl ethyl ketone market share for paints & coating applications. It is also used as solvent in automotive paints industry which is essential for durable coating. Global vehicle (commercial & passenger) production was close to 84 million units which is expected to surpass 100 million units by 2018./p>

It is used in conjunction with alcohol for pharmaceutical industry to manufacture products such as anesthetics, antiseptics, lotions and medical drugs. Increasing number of healthcare facilities coupled with advancing medical research is likely to drive demand for pharmaceutical applications. Breaking quaternary structure of proteins and increase drug penetration are major factors for its use in pharmaceutical applications. Favorable crude and downstream petrochemical supply is expected to result in an attractive methyl ethyl ketone market price trend over the forecast period./p>

Stringent environmental norms over health concerns are likely to challenge industry growth. The EPA enacted the 33/50 Program which invites the voluntary reduction of the emissions of certain high priority toxic materials which includes MEK.