Silicone Surfactants Market size is forecast to reach $61 million by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 4.26% during 2020-2025, owing to the rising demand of silicone surfactants from various end-use industries such as oil & gas, automotive, paints & coatings, agriculture, textiles, personal care, leather and more. The demand for silicone surfactants is increasing in varied industries due to its extensive set of properties such as improving the quality of the foam, lowering the surface tension, promoting nucleation of bubbles during mixing, excellent defoliants stabilizing the rising foam and reducing stress concentrations in thinning cell walls. Also, silicone surfactants are being extensively used as a formulation ingredient in water-soluble herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and more, which is anticipated to drive the silicone surfactants market substantially during the forecast period.
Key Takeaways
- Asia Pacific dominates the silicone surfactants market, owing to the increasing construction activities in the region due to various government initiatives such as 100 smart cities and Housing for all by 2022.
- Silicone surfactants, also known as spreading agents are being widely used in the textiles industry to provide lubrication, final product's softness, feel, wearability, versatility, and improved processing during the manufacturing stage, which is anticipated to drive the silicone surfactants market in the textile industries during the forecast period.
- Methylated seed oils usually contain silicone surfactants as adjuvants and defoliants and they provide improved leaf cuticle penetration of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides than conventional crop oil concentrate. The methylated seed oils improve efficacy and also minimize the amount of the chemicals needed, due to which there is an increasing demand for silicone surfactants from the agricultural sectors.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the countries have gone under lockdown, due to which operations of various industries such as automotive has been negatively affected, which is hampering the silicone surfactants market growth.
By Application – Segment Analysis
Emulsifiers held the largest share in the silicone surfactants market in 2019, owing to the increasing demand of silicone surfactants emulsifiers from the personal care for various products such as lotions, creams, foundations, sunscreens, hair conditioners, cleansers and more. The silicone surfactants have low surface tension in comparison to hydrocarbon surfactants, are excellent spreading agents, and are strong emulsifiers, which make them suitable for various end-use applications. Also, the silicone surfactants based emulsifiers are utilized mostly in the color segment and even included in the concealers, primers. The silicone surfactants can contribute to formulas include wash-off resistance, substantivity, improved barrier function, emolliency, moisturization, and in some cases they can influence the penetration of actives, which is anticipated to boost the demand of silicone surfactants based emulsifiers during the forecast period.
By End-Use Industry – Segment Analysis
The personal care sector held the largest share in the silicone surfactants market in 2019 and is growing at a CAGR of 5.39%, owing to increasing applications of silicone surfactants which varies from gloss enhancer to carrier material for active ingredients. Silicone surfactants improve moisturization, radiance, enhance a soft & refreshed skin feeling, and even acts as spreading agents. Silicones give an elegant, silky feel to color cosmetics, improving an evenly spreading of pigments and water resistance of skin formulations. Also, silicone surfactants are used in the personal care Industry for aesthetic effects in end products. Silicone surfactants are being extensively used in hair care products to improve conditioning and to meet the increasing consumer demands such as frizz control, increased shine, heat and color protection, improved combing and also to create a long-lasting soft feel, which is anticipated to further drive the silicone surfactants market during the forecast period.
By Geography – Segment Analysis
Asia Pacific region held the largest share in the silicone surfactants market in 2019 up to 48%, owing to the increasing demand of silicone surfactants as a spreading agent from the personal care and cosmetic product industries in the region. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), China is the 10th largest market for U.S. personal care and cosmetics exports. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India's beauty, cosmetic and grooming market size is projected to reach $ 20 billion by 2025 from the $ 6.5 billion in 2016. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the beauty and personal care products market of Thailand was valued at approximately $6.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $8.0 billion in 2022. Thailand's beauty care and personal care industry are anticipated to have a growth of 7.3% per year from 2019 to 2022. Since the personal care and cosmetic industries are booming, the demand for silicone surfactants is also showing a significant increase. According to Assocham, the rise in the middle-class disposable incomes and people’s growing aspirations to live a good life and look good is increasing the personal care and cosmetics market, which is anticipated to further drive the silicone surfactants market during the forecast period.
Drivers – Silicone Surfactants Market
- Increase in Automotive Production
Silicone surfactants are being extensively used as a stabilizer in a variety of polyurethane applications, including rigid foams, flexible foams, and elastomers. And automotive industries require foams for manufacturing car components such as seat, headrests, armrests, and more. Foams are being even utilized within the bodies of cars, as their insulation properties protect against the heat and noise of the engine, which is expected to increase the demand of silicone surfactants in the automotive market. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), China is the world’s largest vehicle market and the Chinese government is expecting that automobile production will reach 30 million units by 2020 and 35 million by 2025. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, in 2018 over 27 million vehicles were sold. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), in 2017 a total of 1.2 million new passenger vehicles, SUVs, and commercial vehicles were sold in the Australian market, an increase of 0.9% from 2016. Also, according to OICA, the production of light commercial vehicles has increased by 10.2 % in 2018 in the APAC region. Thus, the increasing automation production will require more polyurethane foams which will act as a driver for the silicone surfactants market.
- Increasing Construction Activities
The silicone surfactants are often used for formulating polyurethane foams which are then used in the building and construction activities such as roof and wall construction. The building and construction activities are expanding at a lucrative rate across the world due to the increasing population and rising per capita income of the individuals. According to the US Census Bureau, in February 2020 total construction of the United State was at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,366,697 which is 6.0 percent above the February 2019 rate of 1,288,951. According to the European Commission, the total construction investment in Germany increased by 9.5% over 2008-2015. Also, the European Construction 2020 Action Plan aimed at stimulating favorable investment conditions. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the construction value of China in 2018 was USD 893.58 and it is forecasted to reach USD 968.06 by 2019. Also, the Chinese construction industry is forecasted to grow at an annual average of 5% in real terms between 2019 and 2023. The building and construction activities are also increasing owing to the various government initiatives such as Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). Such initiatives are leading to increased building and construction activities in various regions, which act as a driver for the silicone surfactants market during the forecast period.
Challenges – Silicone Surfactants Market
- Health Hazards From Silicon Surfactants Emulsion
The silicone surfactant industry has been facing many environmental challenges due to the fact that silicone is contained in an emulsion. As there is equilibrium between the silicone and the substrate, such as fabric, fiber, metal, rubber, hair, or skin. And the silicone surfactants used in the emulsion ends up in the wash water. Not only is this very expensive and inefficient use of expensive raw materials, but since the wash water ends up in the sewer, there are real environmental concerns. Emulsions are susceptible to freezing thaw instability and if detergents are added, the emulsion will be split as a result of the HLB shift. Thus, it becomes complicated for silicon surfactant emulsion manufacturers to meet environmental regulations because of their wastewater streams and sewer challenges, which acts as a restrain for the silicone surfactants market.
- Covid-19 Impact on The Silicone Surfactants Market
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the silicone surfactants end-use industries are facing issues such as delays in receiving surfactants from the manufacturers due to the restriction on import and export of materials. There are delays in receiving raw materials especially from China, which is further resulting in delayed shipments to the customer. Also, the shipment orders are being heavily affected due to the non-availability of vessels and blank sailing, which is further leading to decreased storage stock of agricultural products. Moreover, COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on aviation and the automotive industry. The production of automotive and aircraft has been disruptively stopped, contributing to a major loss in the total automotive and aerospace sectors. With the decrease in automotive and aircraft production, the demand for advanced polymer matrix composites for manufacturing various parts have significantly fallen, which is having a major impact on the advanced polymer matrix composites market.
Market Landscape
Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the silicone surfactants market. In 2019, the market of silicone surfactants has been consolidated by the top five players accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the silicone surfactants market are Evonik Industries AG, Dow Corning Corporation, Momentive Performance Materials Inc., Wacker Chemie AG, Innospec Inc., Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Siltech Corporation, Elé Corporation, Elkem ASA, Supreme Silicones, Silibase Silicone New Material Manufacturer Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Maysta Chemical Co., Ltd., Elkay Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Hangzhou Ruijiang Performance Material Science Co., Ltd., Harcros Chemicals Inc., and SST Australia Pty Ltd.
Acquisitions/Technology Launches
- In August 2017, Shin-Etsu Chemical has expanded its silicone production capacity in the United States. The expansion of the production capacity of the Akron Plant is expected to help the company cater to the increasing demand for silicone products in North America.
- In April 2020, Elkem ASA acquired Basel Chemie, to strengthen its position in the downstream specialized silicones. This acquisition helped Elkem ASA in bringing additional technologies to the specialty portfolio of Asia.
- In January 2019, AB Specialty Silicones completed an expansion of production facility in Waukegan, Illinois to further increase its silicone business. The expansion is projected to increase the company’s production capacity and gratify to the demands of customers.
