Acetone Knowledge Guide

1. What is Acetone?

Acetone, also known as dimethyl ketone or 2-propanone, is the simplest saturated ketone and a major basic organic chemical raw material. Under normal temperature and pressure, it is a colorless, transparent, highly fluid, and extremely volatile liquid hazardous chemical with a boiling point of 56℃, a melting point of -94℃, and an extremely low flash point, classified as a highly flammable liquid.

Acetone is miscible with water in any proportion and compatible with most organic solvents such as alcohols, ethers, and esters, featuring stable chemical properties. However, it is prone to dehydration and condensation side reactions under acidic and alkaline conditions. Acetone vapor is denser than air, easy to accumulate in low-lying areas, and poses risks of long-distance flashback and explosion.

It serves as both a high-performance industrial solvent and a vital organic synthesis intermediate, widely applied in the preparation of fine chemicals, resin monomers, and pharmaceutical intermediates, acting as a core raw material in the chemical industry chain. According to GHS hazard classification, it is a flammable liquid and skin/eye irritant, with the UN transport number UN1090 and Class II packaging group.

2. Industrial Parameters of Acetone

Premium industrial acetone fully complies with national premium product standards for impurities. Calcium chloride and phosphorus pentoxide are strictly prohibited as desiccants during refining, as they will cause condensation side reactions. Industrial preferred desiccants include anhydrous calcium sulfate, potassium carbonate, and 4A molecular sieves. Finished products are obtained after further rectification to remove impurities.

3. Industrial Characteristics and Applications of Acetone in China

Industrial Characteristics: Dominant Cumene Process and High Industrial Chain Integration
More than 90% of domestic acetone production capacity adopts the cumene process with phenol co-production, producing approximately 0.6 tons of acetone per ton of phenol. The supply of acetone is deeply bound to phenol. The proportion of integrated phenol-acetone and bisphenol A facilities in China continues to rise, with production capacities concentrated in East China petrochemical clusters and leading petrochemical enterprises occupying most market shares. Production is highly dependent on propylene and pure benzene, and fluctuations in raw material prices directly affect acetone costs. Traditional starch and molasses fermentation processes account for a small proportion, with only a few reserved devices due to high raw material consumption and costs, applied only in specific fields.

Core Synthetic Material Applications: BPA and MMA as the Largest Consumption Directions
The largest downstream application of domestic acetone is bisphenol A (BPA) production, which is used to manufacture polycarbonate and epoxy resins for electronic appliances and automotive materials. The second major application is the production of methyl methacrylate (MMA) via the acetone cyanohydrin route, applied in photovoltaic packaging materials and acrylic sheets. These two fields consume more than 60% of domestic acetone output and serve as the core driving force for domestic acetone demand growth.

Solvent, Fine Chemical and Pharmaceutical Applications
Acetone acts as a high-performance solvent for coatings and adhesives; high-purity acetone is used for wafer cleaning in the electronics industry. In the pharmaceutical industry, it serves as an extraction solvent and reaction medium for APIs, vitamins and hormones. It is also used to produce fine ketone intermediates such as methyl isobutyl ketone and isophorone, supporting the development of China's fine chemical industry.

4. Global Industrial Characteristics and Applications of Acetone

Global Industrial Pattern: Dominant Cumene Process with Capacity Concentrated in Multinational Petrochemical Enterprises
Over 90% of global acetone is produced via the co-production cumene process. Major production enterprises are concentrated in North America, Europe and East Asia, equipped with complete petrochemical plants. As a by-product of phenol production, acetone market supply and demand follow the phenol industry cycle. A small number of "green acetone" bio-fermentation projects have been launched in Europe and America for high-end pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets, but their market share is low due to high biomass raw material costs and cannot be widely popularized.

Focus on High-end Fine Chemicals and Special Material Production in Developed Regions
In European and American markets, acetone is mostly used for the synthesis of high-end pharmaceutical intermediates, special silicon chemicals and special acrylate monomers. In North America, a large amount of acetone is converted into isopropanol for disinfectants and cleaning agents. Europe focuses on the preparation of high-end coatings and special resin monomers, with a higher proportion of high-value-added fine chemical applications than developing regions.

Global Trade and Regional Differentiated Applications
Asia-Pacific is the world's largest acetone production and consumption region. North America and Europe export part of their acetone products to resource-scarce regions. Some developing countries without large-scale phenol-acetone plants rely on imported acetone to meet solvent and basic synthetic raw material demands. Affected by environmental regulations, overseas markets have gradually restricted the use of ordinary solvents, shifting towards high-value-added deep processing, and the proportion of pure solvent consumption is gradually declining.

5. Global Production Methods of Acetone

Cumene (Hock Process) Co-production Process (Global Mainstream, Widely Adopted in China, Europe, America and Japan)
Using benzene and propylene as raw materials, cumene is synthesized via alkylation, then oxidized by air to generate cumene hydroperoxide. Finally, it is decomposed by acid or resin catalysts to co-produce phenol and acetone at a mass ratio of approximately 1:0.6 (phenol: acetone). This process features large scale and high economic efficiency, adopted by most global factories. Its disadvantage is that acetone output is restricted by phenol production and cannot be adjusted independently.

ABE (Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol) Microbial Fermentation Process (Traditional Historic Process, Small-scale Application in Some Countries)
Using starch, waste molasses and agricultural and forestry biomass as raw materials, microbial fermentation produces acetone, n-butanol and ethanol simultaneously. Early wood distillation and calcium acetate decomposition belong to early versions of this process. With a long application history, it was used in early production in Russia and China. However, it consumes massive amounts of starch with high production costs. At present, only a few plants produce bio-based acetone for the green chemical track, not for large-scale petrochemical production.

Isopropanol Dehydrogenation / Propylene Direct Oxidation Process (Supplementary Process for Some Overseas Plants)
This independent acetone production process does not rely on phenol co-production, including catalytic dehydrogenation of isopropanol and propylene direct oxidation (Wacker process). It can produce acetone independently without being restricted by the phenol market. However, it has disadvantages such as expensive catalysts, severe equipment corrosion and high energy consumption, occupying a very low global market share and only serving as a supplementary process of the cumene method.

6. Upstream Products of Acetone

Major Process: Cumene Co-production Process (Over 90% of Global Capacity)

ABE Fermentation Process Upstream Materials

Starch, corn, cassava, waste molasses, agricultural and forestry biomass; fermentation strains, nutrient salts

Isopropanol Dehydrogenation Process Upstream Materials

Isopropanol; dehydrogenation catalysts (copper-zinc series, etc.)

7. 100 Downstream Products of Acetone (Complete List with CAS Numbers)