Amorphous Polyalphaolefin Market Expected to Reach $649.3 Million by 2030—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "amorphous polyalphaolefin market by product type and application: global opportunity analysis and industry forecast, 2021–2030,"the global amorphous polyalphaolefin market was valued at $375.8 million in 2020, and is projected to reach $649.3 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2021 to 2030.

Amorphous polyalphaolefins (APAO) are homo-polymers or co-polymers that are formulated from monomers such as ethylene, propylene, and 1-butene. Manufacturing of APAOs involves different stages of polymerization reactions such as combination of molecules that further yield isoparaffins. Fractional distillation can be used to obtain APAOs of desired size and then these unsaturated APAOs are saturated through hydrogenation.    

Amorphous polyalphaolefins are available in different viscosity grades, which allows consumers to choose appropriate viscosity grade APAOs that are tailored to offer enhanced performance for specific applications. For instance, Exxonmbil Corporation offers three viscosity grades of polyalphaolefin such as 3.6cSt, 4 cSt, and 6 cSt. Each grade of APO is tailored for some specific application. 3.6 cSt APO is suitable for formulation of greases and automotive driveline fluids that are designed to offer enhanced performance. In addition, properties such as volatility, viscosity, and thermal resistance makes APAOs suitable for the aviation & aeronautics industry. These factors are predicted to notably contribute toward the global amorphous polyalphaolefin market growth.  

However, biodegradability, minimal additive solubility, and risk of shrinkage are the factors that are anticipated to hamper the market growth.  

Growth in demand for fuel economy has significantly increased use of different types of base oils for formulation of engine oils and other automotive oils. However, choosing the right base oil that is capable of improving fuel economy and simultaneously offer protection from wear and tear is difficult. This factor has created a new opportunity for low viscosity oils that are expected ultimately enhance fuel economy. This is anticipated to create remunerative opportunities for expansion of the amorphous polyalphaolefins market in the future.

The amorphous polyalphaolefin market is segmented on the basis of product type, application, and region. 

By product type, the market is segregated into homo-polymer, co-polymer, and terpolymer. The co-polymer segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2020, with around half of the total market share. This is attributed to the fact that beneficial properties such as improved processability, resistance to deformations, wettability, and enhanced resistance to heat makes it a perfect choice for formulation of low viscosity grade transmission oils. 

By application, the market is classified into paper & packaging, personal hygiene, wood working, adhesives, and others. The adhesives segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue, in 2020, with around three-eight of the total market share. Adhesives such as pressure sensitive adhesives and structural adhesives are used in end-use sectors such as automotive, aerospace, building & construction, and electrical & electronics. 

Region wise, the amorphous polyalphaolefin market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific amorphous polyalphaolefin market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, and accounted for two-fifth of the amorphous polyalphaolefin market share in 2020, owing to growth in demand for amorphous polyalphaolefins among different end-use industries such as automotive, packaging, construction, and wood working.

Key players operating in the global amorphous polyalphaolefin market include Liaoyang Liaohua Qida Chemicals Co. Ltd., Ter Hell & Co. GMBH, Exxonmobil Corporation, Chevron Phillips Chemical, Evonik Industries AG, REXtac LLC, Ineos Oligomers, Soltex, A S Harrison & Co. Pty Limited, and Labdhi Chemicals.

COVID-19 analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and economy around the globe. The amorphous polyalphaolefin market has been negatively impacted due to the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, owing to its dependence on construction, automotive, and wood working sectors. According to a report published by Wipro, the automotive industry witnessed 30% decline in sales from March 2019 to March 2020, owing to lockdowns and shutdowns of automotive plants. Several automotive companies have either shutdown or shrank their operations due to the risk of infections among workforce where amorphous polyalphaolefins are used for formulation of hot melt adhesives. Adhesives are used as prime bonding material for hoods, grills, interior panels, and other vehicle parts. This has temporarily hampered demand for adhesives amid the COVID-19 period, which, in turn, has negatively impacted on the production and demand of amorphous polyalphaolefins. Amorphous APOs are used for formulation of pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) and these PSA are used in construction and roofing tapes. Rise in number of COVID-19 infections has forced government bodies to impose strict lockdowns, which has affected deadlines of construction projects being delayed. Moreover, the construction sector accounted for 7.7% of global employment, and it was projected to reach 13.4% by 2022. However, current pandemic situation has created stress among workers and downfall in the revenue from the construction & building sector has impacted negatively on this sector.

Key findings of the study

• The co-polymer product type is estimated to display highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 5.9% from 2021 to 2030.
• The personal hygiene segment is anticipated to register highest CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period.
• Asia-Pacific garnered highest share of 39.05% in 2020, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.