Surfactants are employed toreduce surface tension between two liquids or a liquid and a solid in the formof detergents, emulsifiers, dispersants, wetting agents or foaming agents. Theyfind application in various end-use industries such as pharmaceuticals,petroleum cosmetics, and agro chemicals. Continuous growth in these sectors isexpected to benefit industry participants. The global surfactants market isexpected to reach USD 46.20 billion by 2022.
Disinfectants market hasgrown in value terms to an estimated Rs. 6 bn a year, if multi-purposedetergents are excluded. In volume terms, the market is of the order of around9600 tpa of which more than 60% is represented by phenyls. The brandedMNC-oriented market is placed at over Rs. 2750 mn and is growing at about 20%.
The personal care ingredientsmarket in India is currently valued at about $520million. Products ranging fromhair care, skin care & bath products, cosmetics and fragrances form thepersonal care product market. In India, this industry has grown steadily withthe increasing usage of specialty ingredients for formulations used in personalcare products.
Floor cleaning market isthe second largest product category of the toiletries and household cleansingmarket of India. The floor cleaning market has been further segmented into dishwash bars, liquid and powder in which dish wash bars commanded a predominantshare. Growing awareness, easier access to range of products through organisedretail formats and changing lifestyles have been the key growth drivers for thesector with even rural households starting to display preference for toiletcleaner products instead of phenyl and acids which facilitated the furtherexpansion of the industry in India.
