Alkyl Ketene Dimer Market is Anticipated to Witness Steady Growth Owing to Increasing Demand for Sized Papers

The global alkyl ketene dimer market is primarily driven by its widespread usage in the paper industry. Alkyl ketene dimer is widely used as a sizing agent in the papermaking process, especially for sized papers such as writing, printing and packaging paper. It renders properties such as water resistance, surface strength and ink absorption to the paper products. Paper manufacturers prefer alkyl ketene dimer as a sizing agent over other alternatives due to its effectiveness, longer lifecycle and stability. Growing paper packaging as well as writing and printing industries have fueled the demand for sized paper, thereby augmenting the consumption of alkyl ketene dimer in papermaking.

The Global Alkyl Ketene Dimer Market Size is estimated to be valued at US$ 392.81 Mn in 2024 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.1% over the forecast period 2024 to 2030.

Key Takeaways

Key players operating in the alkyl ketene dimer market are 3M, American Polyfilm Inc., Avery Dennison Corporation, Covestro AG, Ding Zing Advanced Materials Inc., Gerlinger Industries GmbH, Huntsman International LLC, Okura Industrial Co. Ltd, Permali Gloucester Ltd, Schweitzer-Mauduit International Inc., Wiman Corporation, and The Lubrizol Corporation. These players are focusing on capacity expansion plans and new product launches to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

The major opportunities in the alkyl ketene dimer market lie in its increasing applications base. With ongoing research and development, alkyl ketene dimer is finding newer usage beyond paper sizing in areas such as latex binders, films and nonwoven binders. Growing demand from these application segments is expected to present remunerative growth prospects for market participants over the forecast period.

Key players are also investing heavily in expanding their global alkyl ketene dimer business footprint especially in high growth regions. Many companies are targeting Asia Pacific and Middle East countries to leverage the high economic growth and increasing paper consumption. New manufacturing plants, partnerships with local players and acquisitions are helping companies strengthen their supply and distribution networks internationally.

Market Drivers

- Growing paper packaging industry: Rapid growth of the e-commerce sector has boosted the paper packaging market significantly. This in turn is driving the consumption of alkyl ketene dimer for sizing paperboard and paper packaging materials.

- Increasing use in films and latex binders: With ongoing product development efforts, alkyl ketene dimer is finding new applications as a paper compounder, films binder and latex binder. This expanding application base is propelling the overall alkyl ketene dimer demand.

Market Restraints

- Availability of alternatives: Other substitutes such as alkyl succinic anhydrides are competing with alkyl ketene dimer in certain applications like paper sizing, which can hinder the market growth.

- Stringent environmental regulations: Manufacturing and processing of alkyl ketene dimer poses environmental risks. Growing environmental consciousness and stringent regulations can act as a major restraint for market players.
Segment Analysis

The Alkyl ketene dimer market is dominated by paper & paperboard sub segment as AKD is widely used as sizing agent for paper and paperboard manufacturing. AKD provides strength, moisture resistance and printability to paper and paperboard. When applied to the paper surface, AKD molecules react with cellulose fibers forming covalent bonds that make the surface water resistant while allowing the internal part to remain absorbent. This property of AKD makes it ideal for usage in paper and paperboard industry.

Global Analysis
Regionally, Asia Pacific dominates the global alkyl ketene dimer market and accounted for around 35% of the overall market share in 2024. Rapidly growing paper industry along with rising demand for high quality writing & printing paper from education and office sectors in countries such as China, Japan and India is driving the market in the region. North America is another major market for AKD owing to well-established paper industry in U.S. and Canada. However, Europe is expected to witness fastest market growth during forecast period on account of ban on usage of sizing chemicals such as alkyl succinic anhydride (ASA) and alkyl ketene dimer potassium salt (AKD-PS) by REACH and increasing preference of paper manufacturers for eco-friendly AKD variants.

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