Furfural: Global Markets

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Oct 05, 2016, 08:04 ET

LONDON, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- This BCC Research report imparts an understanding of the drivers, restraints and opportunities and innovation in the furfural market, as well as identifying the major regions and countries that will drive the future growth of global furfural market. Forecasts provided through 2021.

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Receive information about drivers, restraints and opportunities in the furfural market
Analyze applications for the furfural market and the dynamics of each application
Identify market segments with high growth potential
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Highlights

The global furfural market reached nearly $582.0 million in 2015.

The market is expected to reach nearly $1.1 billion by 2021 from $625.5 million in 2016, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.7% from 2016 to 2021.
The chemicals industry segment is expected to grow from $489.3 million in 2016 to $840.3 million in 2021 at a CAGR of 11.4% for the period 2016-2021.
Food and beverage as a segment will grow from $79.5 million in 2016 to $142.9 million in 2021 at a CAGR of 12.4% for the period 2016-2021.

INTRODUCTION

Furfural is an organic compound derived from agricultural byproducts such as sawdust, wheat bran, oat, corn cobs, etc. In the last 10 years, there has been a major shift toward production of bio-based chemicals in many countries in many regions. This shift in the value chain has been caused by volatility in the crude oil market and increasingly stringent environment restrictions towards non-renewable feedstock-based chemical production. Moreover, rising demand for chemical feedstock that is compatible with pharmaceutical applications and other industries has also fueled the growth of the market for bio-based chemicals. For the furfural industry, similar factors such as growing environmental concerns, the push to decrease dependency on crude oil-based chemicals and increasing penetration of furfural derivatives in various industry level application markets are driving the growth.

Furfural (C5H4O2) is also known as Furan-2-carbaldehyde or furfuraldehyde. From a texture perspective, furfural is a colorless, oily liquid with an almond-like aroma. Furfural is a heterocyclic compound consisting of a furan ring (an important component of the sucrose molecule) and an aldehyde group. Furfural is produced from biomass rich in pentosans such as sunflower husks, corn cobs, wheat bran, oat, etc. Furfural can be commercially produced via one of three processes: the Chinese batch process, the Quaker batch process and the Rosenlew continuous process. Furfural is produced through pressure cooking of fiber (bagasse) with the help of acid. In the initial phase, as a result of heating, soluble pentose is formed through the reaction between solid pentosan and water. When the temperature is increased above 165°C, furfural is produced through the dehydration of pentose.

Growing global demand for environmentally sustainable biomass-based chemicals has fueled the overall growth of the furfural market, along with the growing application of furfural and its derivatives in the pharmaceutical industry. These factors have concomitantly triggered demand-side growth of the furfural market. Furfural derivatives such as 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), polytetrahydrofuran (poly-THF) and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) are increasingly being used as important secondary fuel sources globally.

Furthermore, the growing use of variants of furfural, as well as furfural itself, in application areas such as nonhazardous solvents, agricultural formulations, herbicides chemical solvents and the food and beverage industry, is also contributing to the market's growth. During the forecast period, it is expected that non-traditional applications of furfural will fuel the market's growth.

The furfural market is driven by business-to-business (B2B) sales and demand generated by industrial customers. Penetration of the retail market is very limited. During the forecast period, B2B sales will drive the global furfural market.

As of March 2016, volatility in crude oil prices, rising demand for non-toxic "furfurylation" of woods and increased awareness of the benefits of furfural are driving a significant portion of growth of overall furfural industry. For the next two to three years, it is expected that the price of commercial furfural will decrease due to a decline in raw material prices. With the predicted recovery of the agriculture sector, the price for commercial furfural is expected to increase after 2018. The popularity of furfural is forecast to significantly increase in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region.

The regional scope of the report includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world (RoW). The report provides the current market size and a forecast through 2021.

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