Globally rising demand for paper is expected to drive the SB Latex market growth during the forecast period

The global Styrene Butadiene (SB) Latex market exports accounted to $954 million in 2016 and is expected to witness a robust growth considering the large demand for high quality paper and its excellent adhesive qualities. Styrene butadiene latex is a cross-linked emulsion polymer made up of 2 major compounds: Styrene and Butadiene. The applications of the SB latex range from paper processing, fiber processing, paints, glass fabric processing, adhesives, pressure sensitive adhesives, civil engineering and constructions of roads.

The key players in the manufacturing of styrene butadiene latex are BASF SE, LG Chemicals, Mallard Creek Polymers, Asahi Kasei Corporation and DowDupont Chemicals. When the properties of the SB latex such as solids content, pH value, particle diameter and viscosity are varied and chemically controlled, a wide range of products are produced whose features can be exploited by end users accordingly.

BASF SE, one of the leading chemicals manufacturers headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany is known for its trademarked Butonal brand of styrene butadiene latex. Butanol products are particularly used in high performance grade pavement surface treatments, latex for washable rugs and automobile carpets as well as in asphalt mix temporary overlays. For instance, the Butonal NS 175 is an adhesive grade SB latex that helps in modifying asphalt cements which benefits in long term retention of aggregate and reduction of asphalt oxidation, while maintaining excellent binder performance at low and high extreme of temperature. Overall, the Butanol products are designed for the construction, adhesive and automobile industry applications.

LG Chem, a major chemicals manufacturer based in South Korea, markets styrene butadiene latex under the SB Latex Lutex brand that serves 2 major end uses. The SB Latex products are used in paper coatings and coated board, which serve to enhance adhesiveness or glossiness and also improve ink absorption and coater workability. The Lutex product range consists of different mixed ratios of styrene and butadiene which result in multiple properties useful for the end use case. For example, the Lutex 5310 is designed to provide high TSC (Thermal spray coating) & high picking strength for single and top coating of papers. The Lutex 7710 has a high resistance to fold cracking and excellent picking strength when applied as a top or single coating on papers.

Another major SB latex manufacturer is Mallard Creek Polymers, headquartered in North Carolina, USA which also provides a range of SB latex formulations under the brand name of Rovene. The Rovene 4119 is offered as a carboxylated styrene butadiene copolymer emulsion that is used extensively in paperboard and paper coatings, as it imparts high tensile strength in dry and wet applications. As it is commonly used in food packaging, the product complies with the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) standards implying that it is non-toxic. Another product marketed by MCP is the Tykote 1004 Styrene-Butadiene copolymer latex that serves an excellent base resin in functional coatings that need to exhibit high repellency to water, grease and oils. As this product also caters to the food packaging industry, US FDA compliance is applied.

Asahi Kasei Corporation, a Japanese based chemicals manufacturer offers a comprehensive product range for SB latex, based on the amount of butadiene present. The variations of low, medium and high butadiene content result in typical features, such as high elasticity and adhesive strength, superior chemical stability, excellent resistance to water, alkalis and acid and excellent low temperature properties. All these features are exploited to serve a wide range of end user applications such as food packaging, paper coatings and furniture fabrics. The L-4700 grade SB latex is made with low butadiene content and so exhibits high resilience to thermal yellowing. Thus, it is an excellent choice for non-woven fabric, bonding adhesive and impregnation coatings and emulsions.

The major feature that would dictate the market growth for SB latex is the cost of raw materials namely, crude oil. Both the major components, styrene and butadiene are commercially manufactured from crude oil which is the most volatile product in the world. The price of crude oil would dictate the selling price of styrene butadiene latex, which is entirely fluctuating. This could motivate key players such as major manufacturing companies and researches to find other sustainable and cost effective alternatives to crude oil. Regardless, the styrene butadiene latex market exhibits a robust growth globally as its features of good adhesive strength, high resistance to water, grease and oil, etc. are largely in demand by the paper and food packaging industries.

Styrene Market: By Types (Acrylonitrile Butadiene styrene, Expanded Polystyrene, Polystyrene), By Application (Automotive, Construction, Packaging) & By Region (Europe, North America, Others) - Forecast(2018 - 2023)