OREANDA-NEWS. Industrial and chemical manufacturing companies largely depend on solvents for facilitating chemical reactions, manufacturing products, and also for cleaning and de-greasing machine surfaces. Moreover, solvents are essential for the construction, marine, and automotive industries and are also used for producing adhesives, varnishes, printing inks, paints, and waxes. However, as nearly each of the common-used solvents emit a considerable amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during their manufacture and application, they have an adverse effect on the environment. As such, there is a need for a greener alternative in the form of bio-based solvents.

Developed countries in Europe and North America have taken strong initiatives to reduce VOC emissions and exposure levels, thus leading to a growth in the green and bio-based solvents market.

According to a report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global green and bio-based solvents market is expected to expand at a 7.2% CAGR between 2015 and 2023. The market, which was valued at US$4.32 bn in 2014, is expected to rise to US$8.05 bn by 2023.

TMR analysts address three important questions that companies operating in the green and bio-based solvents market have:

Q. What are the major factors contributing to the growth of the global green and bio-based solvents market?

Crude oil is typically used as a primary raw material in solvents. Instability in the prices of crude oil and the rising awareness about the impact of petroleum-based solvents among end-user industries has led to a shift towards bio-based products. Manufacturers of paints and coatings, printing inks, agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and commercial cleaning products are increasingly developing innovative bio-based products to avoid environmental problems associated with petroleum-based products.

Q. What is the level of threat for new entrants in the market?

The threat of new entrants in the global green and bio-based solvents market is currently high and is expected to remain so. This is due to the rising commercialization of green and bio-based solvents and the broad scope of applications in various end-user industries, which they offer, thus attracting several new players. Additionally, since the global market for many of the bio-based solvents is still in the nascent stage, it provides lucrative opportunities for new players. As such, new players are entering the market with low-cost products and innovative technologies, thereby intensifying the competition with existing players.