pentaerythritol

The capacity of pentaerythritol units worldwide is typically 5 000--36 000 t/ a. The global capacity is around 500 000 t/a at present and is mainly distributed in countries and regions of Western Europe, North America and Asia. The total output was approximately 355 000 tons in 2000 and the average operating rate was around 70％. In spite of considerable capacity in Asia, especially in China, the operating rate was only around 50％. As an important fine petrochemical raw material, pentaerythritol is mainly used in the synthesis of alkyd resin coatings, lube oils, rosin esters, pentaerythritol nitrate and polyurethane raw materials such as polyester polyols and polyether polyols. Pentaerythritol usually includes monopentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol and tripentaerythritol. Tripentaerythritol and dipentaerythritol are high-grade products in the product series and mainly used in the synthesis of high-grade coatings and lube oils.