Intermediates

Intermediates are half-finished goods. They are substances that appear in the production of some products. In old days they referred to intermediate substances produced in the synthesis of chemical products such as dyestuffs, resins and medicines with coal tar or oil products as raw materials. Today they have a broader sense and refer to various intermediate substances generated in organic synthesis process.  

Intermediates can be produced through the sulfonation, alkali fusion, nitrification and reduction of cyclic compounds such as benzene, naphthalene and anthracene. They can also be produced through the dehydrogenation, polymerization, halogenation and hydrolysis of acyclic compounds such as methane, acetylene, propylene, butane and butylene. There are numerous varieties of chemical intermediates. They can be classified by application into conventional intermediates and specialty intermediates. Conventional intermediates generally refer to organic chemical products with wide application scope and quite big output such as chlorobenzene, aniline, o/p-nitrochlorobenzene, 2-naphthol, anthraquinone, p-nitrophenol (sodium), ethyl amines, chloroacetic acid, benzyl chloride, chlorosulfonic acid, cyanuric chloride, ethylenediamine and dimethyl sulfate. Specialty intermediates have narrower application scope and smaller output. They are specially used to produce a certain category of products, which are usually technology intensive and difficult to produce.  

The output value of chemical intermediates in the world was around $80 billion in 2000. The turnover was around $50 billion, accounting for 10% of the total trade volume of chemicals. Specifically, turnover in west Europe, North America, Japan accounted for 40%, 25% and 15% respectively, while turnover in other countries and regions accounted for 20%. The production of organic intermediates and fine chemicals in the world is moving eastward today. A production and trade center with China and India as the core has already been developed. Starting from 1998, the exports of intermediates in China exceeded the imports and the output growth was much higher than the domestic demand growth. By the end of 2009, there were already more than 17, 000 state-owned and private fine chemical enterprises above designated size in China. 16 major categories and over 20,000 varieties of fine chemicals were produced and the annual output value reached RMB 1.8 trillion.

With the rapid development of the intermediate sector, the industrial size has been expanding in recent years, but the profits have been declining over the years. Owing to the recovery of the economy in China and the stabilization of the crude oil price in the world, the prices of chemical intermediates have been rising since 2016. However, it should be noted that there are still some major problems in China’s chemical intermediates sector.

       (1) Some medium/high-end products fail to meet the quality standards of Europe and the United States. There is an evident gap in product usability.

       (2) There are numerous varieties of intermediates, most of which are produced in small scale and involve complicate production processes. Great quantities of waste water, waste gases and solid wastes are             usually generated in their production. It is difficult to treat these wastes, so their production causes serious environmental pollution. As China toughens requirements on environmental protection, the development of the intermediate sector will be restricted.

      (3) Producers of conventional intermediates in China are usually large, while producers of specialty intermediates are generally small and are not very competitive in the market.

       (4) Processes used in many factories are outdated. No great efforts are made in the R&D and application of new technologies.