Cationic surfactant production is growing there are opportunities for the development of the industry

Cationic surfactants can form hydrophobic cations in water, referring to nitrogen-containing compounds with surface activity. According to the different chemical structure, cationic surfactants can be divided into four categories: quaternary ammonium salt type, ferric salt type, amine salt type and heterocyclic type. Cationic surfactants have the advantages of bactericidal, antistatic and anti-corrosion, and are widely used in clothing softener, fungicide, antistatic agent, hair conditioner, asphalt emulsifier and other products.

China's cationic surfactant industry started late, but the development momentum is rapid. In recent years, affected by the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, China's sales of sterilization, disinfection and other products have been increasing, driven by market demand, China's cationic surfactant production has been increasing. According to statistics from the China Daily Chemical Industry Information Center, China's cationic surfactant production in 2021 reached 167,000 tons, an increase of 13.0%.

Cationic surfactants account for a relatively high demand in the fabric softener market. In recent years, China's clothing cleaning supplies market scale continues to expand, in 2021, China's clothing cleaning supplies market size reached 74.15 billion yuan, an increase of 4.1%. The rapid development of the clothing cleaning supplies industry has driven the demand for clothing softeners to continue to increase, and cationic surfactants are the main raw materials for clothing softeners, and the market space is constantly expanding.

Quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant is the mainstream product of cationic surfactant market, accounting for nearly 70.0% of the market share. Quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant is made by further alkylation of fatty tertiary amines, and the arrangement of fat tail groups adsorbed on the fiber surface makes it soft, which can make the washing clothes more supple. According to the different reaction components, quaternary ammonium cationic surfactants can also be subdivided into alkyl dimethyl benzylammonium, alkyl trimethyl ammonium and alkyl isoquinolinium cationic surfactants.

The agricultural and textile industries in tropical regions have a high boom, and there is a strong demand for pesticides, fungicides and detergents. Under this background, the export scale of cationic surfactants in China has been expanding continuously. According to the statistics of the General Administration of Customs of China, the export volume of cationic surfactants in 2021 reached 118,000 tons, an increase of 6.3%, and the export amount reached 1.37 billion yuan, an increase of 8.7%. Indonesia, Vietnam and Bangladesh are the main exporters of cationic surfactants in China.

Compared with non-ionic and anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants have lower application requirements. However, with the rapid economic development and the continuous improvement of downstream industry prosperity, cationic surfactant application scenarios will be more abundant, and the market space will continue to expand. In recent years, China's cationic surfactant production continues to increase, driven by technological progress, the future development prospects of the industry will continue to improve.