What is the ethyl methyl carbonate

Ethyl methyl carbonate is an organic compound with the chemical formula C5H8O3, also known as EMC. It is a colorless, transparent, and volatile liquid with low toxicity and volatility. EMC is commonly used as a raw material in fields such as solvents, coatings, plastics, resins, spices, and pharmaceuticals. It can also be used to prepare other organic compounds, such as polycarbonate. In industrial production, the production of EMC usually adopts ester exchange reaction or carbonation esterification reaction.

Product name：Ethyl methyl carbonate
CAS：623-53-0
Molecular formula：C4H8O3
EINECS：433-480-9
Application: Widely used in mobile phones, portable audio-visual equipment, notebook computers and other high-end electrical appliances, is currently the most promising small secondary battery electrolyte solvent.

The downstream application field of EMC is mainly lithium-ion battery electrolyte, which is one of the four major materials of lithium-ion batteries and is vividly referred to as the “blood” of batteries.

EMC is divided into two categories based on purity: industrial grade methyl ethyl carbonate (99.9%) and battery grade EMC (99.99% or higher). Industrial grade EMC is mainly used in industrial organic synthesis and solvents; The battery grade EMC process requires higher requirements and is mainly used as a solvent for lithium-ion battery electrolytes. Due to its small steric hindrance and asymmetry in structure, it can assist in increasing the solubility of lithium ions, improving the capacitance density and charge of the battery, and has become one of the five main solvents for lithium-ion battery electrolytes.

The downstream application field of EMC is mainly lithium-ion battery electrolyte, which is one of the four major materials of lithium-ion batteries and is vividly referred to as the “blood” of batteries. In recent years, with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry, China’s lithium-ion battery electrolyte industry has entered a period of rapid development. The localization rate of electrolytes has significantly increased, and import substitution has been basically achieved, driving the rapid growth of demand for EMC in China’s market. According to the “2023-2027 China EMC Industry Market Deep Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report” released by the Xinsijie Industry Research Center, in 2021, the demand for EMC in China was 139500 tons, a year-on-year increase of 94.7%.

The market for EMC has shown a steady growth trend in the past few years. This is mainly due to the widespread use of EMC in various industrial applications, such as solvents, coatings, plastics, resins, spices, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, with the development of the global economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, the demand for EMC is also gradually increasing.

At present, the main consumer regions of the EMC market include the Asia Pacific region, Europe, and North America. The Asia Pacific region is the main consumer region of methyl ethyl carbonate market, with China, Japan, and South Korea being the main producers and consumers of EMC. The market for EMC in Europe and North America is also gradually growing, with Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada being the main consumers of EMC.

In the future, the growth of the EMC market will be influenced by global economic and industrial development. With the rise of emerging markets and continuous technological progress, the demand for EMC in the market will continue to grow. In addition, environmental protection and sustainable development will also become important trends in the EMC market, promoting the production and use of EMC to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable.