UAE polystyrene demand to grow
Polystyrene imports by the UAE have leaped by more than 50 per cent over the past eight years due to high demand and local consumption is set to grow further for new construction standards, according to a semi official study.
Globally, the rising standards of living mean a continuous growth in demand for polystyrene products destined as construction material as well as for use in consumer packaging and crockery, said the study by the government-controlled Emirates Industrial Bank (EIB).
It noted that their growth could be constrained by environmental factors as such products are not bio degradable.
“However, this does not apply to usage in construction, where materials are embedded in civil works. It applies largely to consumer products and to the problem of disposing (1) packaging waste and (2) disposable plastic crockery. While the materials can be recycled, collection is not a problem,” it said.
“Besides, often the products get contaminated, particularly disposable crockery, raising the cost of recycling. Consequently, there may be some constraints in polystyrene consumer goods applications… however, the industry is likely to grow with obligatory energy saving regulations for buildings.”
According to EIB, the polystyrene industry comprises of products made from plastic beads that can either be expanded or extruded to produce two types of products, namely Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS). While the raw material is exactly the same, the production process leads to different products with different features and different applications, it said.
The key application of polystyrene products is in buildings insulation, packaging and disposable crockery, it added.
Among consumer goods, it is visible as the thick, soft white moulded blocks used in the packaging of consumer electronic goods and as disposable crockery, the study noted, adding that the larger application of polystyrene products is as insulation materials in construction.
Its figures showed that in the eight years since 2001, total imports of polystyrene (raw material and finished products) have increased more than 50 per cent, with an average annual growth of around 5.5 per cent.
“The construction boom in UAE has been a major cause for the rapid increase in demand for polystyrene products. The surge in demand has been met more by increased domestic manufacturing than imports,” it said.
The study noted that growing demand for polystyrene products has boosted both manufacturing and trading for its products.
The figures showed that during 2005-2009, domestic demand for polystyrene products has leaped by more than 60 per cent.
“There was particularly a strong increase in polystyrene imports in 2007 over the previous year… since then, however, demand has stabilized at higher levels. Two more factories were established in this period.”
According to the report, there are now five manufacturers of expanded polystyrene in the UAE, including one in Dubai, three in Sharjah and one in Fujairah. It said manufacturing started with the first plant established in Sharjah in 1979, which has pioneered production and marketing of polystyrene products.
The plant produces mostly insulation material for construction and controls over 50 per cent of the market for expanded polystyrene in the UAE.
A second plant was set up in Dubai in 1984 as a sole proprietorship and manufactures expanded polystyrene insulation material in forms of boards and blocks. Another plant was set up in Sharjah in 2000.
Since then, two more plants were established including one in Sharjah and one in Fujairah. Domestic production was almost 10,000 tonnes per annum in 2009.
“Domestic production of XPS products in the UAE started in 2003. As a result of domestic manufacturing, imports have come to a virtual halt, and almost the entire demand is being met by domestic manufacturing,” EIB said.
It noted that there are two specialised processing units for manufacturing extruded polystyrene in the UAE, including one each in Sharjah and Ajman.
“Polystyrene products have their origin in the petrochemical industry which produces high-density spherical beads of polystyrene. The raw material, high density beads, is itself an industrial product, produced by large-scale polymer plants. The global industry is dominated by large scale plants found in China, Taiwan, Europe and the United States, which have developed huge petrochemical capacities. In contrast to the large size of raw material producers, the polystyrene industry is dominated by small and medium sized enterprises.”
EIB said power requirement of a building in the UAE can be reduced by up to 40 per cent by installing thermal insulation systems in buildings.
“Extruded polystyrene is even a stronger insulator than expanded polystyrene. Heating and cooling account for 50-70 per cent of the energy costs in an average building, and the stable thermal performance of these insulation materials can result in significantly lower heating or cooling costs,” it said.
“The flexibility of the material and products means that they can be used in every part of a building – foundations, walls and roofs. The demand of polystyrene products in construction is being boosted by government construction regulations in many countries including the UAE.”