Methanol Market Size

Methanol Market size was valued at USD 33.74 billion in 2023 and is expected to exceed USD 59.05 billion by 2036, registering over 4.4% CAGR during the forecast period i.e., between 2024-2036. In the year 2024, the industry size of methanol is assessed at USD 34.93 billion.

The growth of the methanol market can be attributed to the growing demand for methanol from end user industries, followed by the surge in demand for methanol-based fuel. Methanol is known to have varied industrial applications, ranging from dyes to biodiesel, and explosives to medicines. Moreover, for the presence of numerous favorable properties of methanol, it can be converted into various kinds of chemicals, one of them being formaldehyde dimethyl ether. In the paint industry, methanol is used to manufacture inks, resins, adhesives, and dyes. It is also used to manufacture plastics, and various press textiles. In the pharmaceutical industry, methanol is used widely as ingredients for manufacturing vitamins, hormones, cholesterol, and streptomycin. Besides this, the production of biodiesel requires methanol through a trans-esterification reaction. A derivative of methanol, known as dimethyl ether, is an alternative to diesel and is blended with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for home heating and cooking. According to the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) of the U.S. Dept. of Energy, in the 1990s, methanol was marketed as an alternative fuel for compatible vehicles. Moreover, in the U.S., nearly 6 Million gasoline gallon equivalents of 100% methanol and blends of 85% methanol and 15% gasoline were used as an alternative fuel in vehicles annually.

The one other area where methanol is used widely is in the petrochemicals industry. The production of petrochemicals over the past few years has grown massively, backed by the increasing demand for petrochemical products amongst the end users. Essential polymers, such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and polypropylene (PP), are produced from ethylene, propylene, and butene. These three chemicals are produced from methanol by a conversion process known as methanol to olefins (MTO). Apart from this, the market is anticipated to grow on account of the increasing production of methanol around the globe. According to the statistics by the Methanol Institute, there are over 90 methanol plants around the globe and the total combined production capacity of these plants was about 110 Million metric tons.