Tetrahydronaphthalene Market

Tetrahydronaphthalene, known variously by 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydronaphthalene or tetralin, is a hydrocarbon with several applications in chemicals manufacturing. Most often it appears as a colorless liquid, but may exhibit light color when in liquid form. Over the years, the chemical manufacturing sector in many industrialized nations have utilized Tetrahydronaphthalene for manufacturing paints and coatings and pesticide. Produced by catalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene, the compound can be used for making Alpha-Tetralone, where it acts as an excellent high-boiling point solvent. One of the key demands come from the use of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene for heat carrier.

Rise in demands for high-performance paints and coatings to meet specialized characteristics in various end-use industries is a key driver for the growth prospects in the 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene market. High-grade paints find use for corrosion protection and for aesthetics in certain architectural applications. Strides made in the synthesis of chemistries of hydrocarbon and the advances in material sciences are some of the promising trends that have kept the growth momentum of the market high over the past few decades. A major chunk of the demand also comes from agriculture industry, where it is used as intermediate for the insecticide carbaryl. In this regard, the chemical industry, the compound is used for making alpha naphthol. Growing body of knowledge on the catalysts used has helped researchers use tetralin for various lab synthesis reactions.

Tetrahydronaphthalene is a bicyclic hydrocarbon used as a constituent in petroleum and coal tar. Also called tetralin, tetrahydronaphthalene is produced by catalytic hydrogenation of naphthalene. It is largely used for the production of 1-Naphthol, an intermediate for insecticide carbaryl. Tetrahydronaphthalene is tarnished with air in the liquid phase to produce naphthalene ketone or tetralin alcohol. After dehydrogenation, naphthalene ketone is used in the production of alpha naphthol.

Tetrahydronaphthalene is used in coal liquefaction and as a substitute to turpentine in paints and waxes. Corynebacterium sp. strain C125 helps in degradation of tetralin by using pyrolis tehnology. Naphthalene is transformed into tetralin in the presence of activated carbon supported molybdenum carbides. Dehydrogenation of tetralin by microwave heating in the presence of platinum-supported activated carbon is a widely adopted technology for the manufacture of tetrahydronaphthalene.

Based on application, the tetrahydronaphthalene market can be segmented into paints & coatings, chemistry & chemical engineering, pesticides, heat carrier, and others. Tetrahydronaphthalene is used in high-grade paints to improve smoothness and gloss. Tetralin is a high boiling-point solvent; therefore, it is highly used in the manufacture of lubricants and alpha-Tetralone. It is also considered an important raw material for synthesizing high-temperature heat carrier. The compound is commonly used as a solvent for fats, oils, resins, and waxes.

In terms of geography, the market can be divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region of the tetrahydronaphthalene market due to the constant increase in demand for tetrahydronaphthalene in agriculture and chemical industries. Economic and operational benefits of using tetrahydronaphthalene in lubricants & greases and paints & coatings are also anticipated to act as key factors boosting the tetrahydronaphthalene market. The usage of tetrahydronaphthalene is further projected to increase in the near future owing to the continuous technological developments in the field of dye-carrier applications and plastics fabrication, degreasing and cleaning, electronic chemicals, specialty solvents, coatings, coal flotation, and certain fuels.

Key players operating in the tetrahydronaphthalene market include Chemieliva Pharmaceutical, Sigma Aldrich, Henkel, CM Fine Chemicals, and BOC Sciences.