Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market – Industry Trends and Forecast to 2030

Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market, By Product (Water Soluble, Oil Soluble), Distribution Channel (Online, Offline), Application (Emulsifiers, Foaming Agents, Defoaming Agents, Wetting Agents, Dispersants, And Others), End User (Personal Care, Textile, Construction, Agriculture, Paints & Coatings, Automotive, and Others) - Industry Trends and Forecast to 2030.

Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market Analysis and Size

Silicone surfactants play an important role in personal care products such as cosmetics, shampoos, shower gel, hair conditioners, and toothpastes. The property of providing cleaning, wetting, dispersing, emulsifying, foaming, and anti-foaming effects are used in many practical applications and products. Silicone surfactants with different hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) values are used in detergents, fabric softeners, soaps, paints, adhesives, inks, emulsions, anti-fogs, ski waxes, snowboard wax, deinking of recycled papers, in flotation, washing, and enzymatic processes. Agrochemical formulations such as some herbicides, insecticides, biocides (sanitizers), and spermicides also contain silicone surfactants. Silicone surfactants are utilized in firefighting and pipelines as liquid drag reducing agents. Alkali surfactant polymers are used to mobilize oil in oil wells for exploration.

Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the silicone surfactants market is expected to reach a value of USD 176,545.33 thousand by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period. Water-soluble silicone surfactants exhibit a wide range of functionalities and can be used in various applications. The silicone surfactants market report also covers pricing analysis, patent analysis, and technological advancements in depth.      

Market Definition

Silicone surfactants are copolymers formed by a silicone base (apolar part) and polyethers (polar part), usually by polyethylene oxide (OE) chains and polypropylene oxide (OP) chains. OE, OP, and silicone content significantly affect the function of surfactants. Silicone surfactants are primarily produced by hydrosilylation of allyl groups on poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) with either silicone polymers or short chain oligomers. The various benefits of silicone surfactants include reduction of surface tension, fast spreading, self-leveling additive in all formulations, emulsifying properties – both O/W and W/O, profoaming (for cosmetics), defoaming (most often for industrial release and coatings), and antistatic properties.

Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market Dynamics

This section deals with understanding the market drivers, opportunities, restraints, and challenges. All of this is discussed in detail as below:

Drivers

• Growing Demand for Silicone Surfactant in Personal Care

The personal care industry is the segment that encompasses products used for personal hygiene, beauty, and grooming purposes. It includes a wide range of products such as skincare, haircare, oral care, cosmetics, fragrances, and personal hygiene products. Several factors that is expected to be boosting the silicone surfactant industry are consumers who are increasingly becoming conscious of their health and well-being. There is a growing interest in maintaining good personal hygiene, enhancing physical appearance, and addressing specific skincare and haircare needs. This awareness and focus on self-care are driving the demand for personal care products. Furthermore, the Asia-Pacific population is aging, leading to a growing demand for anti-aging and skincare products. As people seek to maintain youthful and healthy skin, the demand for anti-aging creams, serums, and other skincare solutions is increasing.

• Advantages of Silicone Surfactant Over Conventional Surfactants

Silicone surfactants and conventional surfactants have distinct technological differences, and silicone surfactants offer several advantages over conventional surfactants. These differences and advantages is expected to contribute to the growth and demand for silicone surfactants across the globe. A few of the technological differences between silicone surfactants over conventional surfactants are provided below:

Chemical Structure: Silicone surfactants contain a combination of organic and silicone moieties in their chemical structure, whereas conventional surfactants are typically organic compounds. The presence of silicone in silicone surfactants provides unique properties and performance characteristics.

Surface Activity: Silicone surfactants exhibit excellent surface tension reduction, resulting in enhanced wetting, spreading, and emulsification capabilities. They can reduce the interfacial tension between different phases, leading to improved performance in various applications.

Opportunities

• Increasing Usage of Silicone Surfactants in Agriculture

Silicone surfactants are majorly used in different agricultural sectors. The various properties retain by silicone surfactants that it helps to reduce drift, and wetting of pest, enhance penetration and translocation of pesticide, and even ensures the safety of the crop is expected to create opportunity to the market.

Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for the growth of the country and this sector contributes directly to the GDP of the country. The agriculture sector keeps on growing with new products, fertilizers, and herbicides to contribute to crop growth. The surfactants are used in fertilizers to increase the properties of the fertilizer.

The benefit of using silicone adjuvants with herbicides includes better wetting, spreading, and penetration of hard to wet surfaces. Silicone surfactants activate pesticides by enhancing their biological activity on pests.

Restraints/Challenges

• High Cost Associated With Silicone Surfactants

The demand for silicon surfactants is increasing due to its characteristic and specification but the high cost associated with silicone surfactants is expected to act as a restraint factor for the market growth in several ways:

Price Sensitivity: Silicone surfactants are generally more expensive compared to conventional surfactants. This higher cost can make them less accessible and affordable for certain industries or end-users, particularly those operating on tight budgets. Price sensitivity among buyers can limit the widespread adoption of silicone surfactants, especially in price-sensitive markets or applications where cost competitiveness is crucial

• Health Hazards from Silicon Surfactants Emulsions

Silicone surfactant emulsions are generally considered safe for use in various applications. However, there are potential health hazards associated with any chemical substance is expected to create challenge to the market.

Skin and Eye Irritation: Silicone surfactant emulsions, if not properly formulated or if used in high concentrations, can cause skin and eye irritation. Direct contact with concentrated or undiluted emulsions may lead to redness, itching, or burning sensation on the skin or in the eyes. It is important to follow proper safety precautions and use protective measures, such as gloves and goggles when handling concentrated emulsions.

Environmental Concerns: Although silicone surfactant emulsions are generally considered environmentally friendly, it is important to follow proper disposal practices to minimize any potential adverse effects on the environment. Emulsions should not be released directly into water bodies or wastewater systems without proper treatment or approval.

Respiratory Sensitization: In rare cases, some individuals may develop respiratory sensitization when exposed to silicone surfactant emulsions in high concentrations or through prolonged inhalation. This can result in respiratory discomfort, coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath. Adequate ventilation should be maintained in areas where emulsion spraying or misting occurs, and personal protective equipment should be used.

COVID-19 Impact on Silicone Surfactants Market

Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market has experienced significant disruptions and challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline in demand from key industries such as automotive, construction, personal care, and textiles has adversely affected the market. Lockdown measures, disrupted supply chains, and reduced consumer spending have contributed to a decrease in production and consumption of silicone surfactants. Additionally, the pandemic has caused disruptions in the Middle East and Africa supply chain, impacting the availability of raw materials and manufacturing operations. However, certain sectors, such as construction and automotive, are expected to gradually recover as restrictions ease and consumer confidence improves. Companies in the silicone surfactants market have been focused on innovation and diversification to adapt to changing market needs and position themselves for long-term growth once the situation stabilizes. It is crucial for businesses to closely monitor market dynamics and consumer behaviour to effectively navigate the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent Developments

• In March, Dow announced that the company has launched a new product extension of VORASURF silicone surfactants to support the growing demand for enhanced energy efficiency and sustainable solutions in the rigid polyurethane foam market, with a specific focus on spray and construction applications. This step is expected to boost the company's dominance in the Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market as well.
• In September, Elkem ASA announced the grand opening of a new manufacturing center for producing high purity medical silicones. This will help the company to increase its production of silicones in New York. This will help the company to expand its business and fulfill the increasing demand for silicones in different industries.

Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market Scope

Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is segmented on the basis of product, distribution channel, application, and end user. The growth amongst these segments will help you analyze meagre growth segments in the industries and provide the users with a valuable market overview and market insights to help them make strategic decisions for identifying core market applications.

Product

• Water Soluble
• Oil Soluble

On the basis of product, the Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is segmented into water soluble and oil soluble.

Distribution Channel 

• Offline
• Online

On the basis of distribution channel, Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is segmented into offline and online.

Application 

• Emulsifiers
• Foaming Agents
• Defoaming Agents
• Wetting Agents
• Dispersants
• Others

On the basis of application, the Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is segmented into emulsifiers, foaming agents, defoaming agents, wetting agents, dispersants, and others.

End User

• Personal Care
• Textile
• Construction
• Agriculture
• Paints & Coatings
• Automotive
• Others

On the basis of end user, the Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is segmented into personal care, textile, construction, agriculture, paints & coatings, automotive, and others.

Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market Regional Analysis/Insights

Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market is analysed, and market size insights and trends are provided by country, product, distribution channel, application, and end user, as referenced above.

The countries covered in the Middle East and Africa silicone surfactants market report are South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Israel, and Rest of Middle East and Africa.

Saudi Arabia is expected to dominate the market due to rapid industrialization in Region, which has led to increased demand for silicone surfactants across various sectors, including personal care, textiles, construction, automotive, and agriculture.

The country section of the report also provides individual market-impacting factors and changes in market regulation that affect the current and future trends of the market. Data points like downstream and upstream value chain analysis, technical trends porter's five forces analysis, and case studies are some of the pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. In addition, the presence and availability of Middle East and Africa brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, the impact of domestic tariffs, and trade routes are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.   

Competitive Landscape and Middle East and Africa Silicone Surfactants Market Share Analysis

The Silicone surfactants market competitive landscape provides details by the competitor. Details included are company overview, company financials, revenue generated, market potential, investment in research and development, new market initiatives, Middle East and Africa presence, production sites and facilities, production capacities, company strengths and weaknesses, product launch, product width and breadth, and application dominance. The above data points provided are only related to the companies' focus related to the Silicone surfactants market.

Some of the major players operating in the market are Elkem ASA, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., Harcros Chemicals Inc., Supreme Silicones India Pvt Ltd, Elé Corporation, JIANGSU MAYSTA CHEMICAL CO., LTD., SST Australia Pty Ltd., SILIBASE SILICONE, HANGZHOU RUIJIANG CHEMICAL CO.LTD, Wacker Chemie AG, Elkay Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Siltech Corporation, Dow, Evonik Industries AG, Innospec, and Momentive among others.