Vinyl Acetate Monomer

Vinyl acetate is an organic compound with the formula CH₃CO₂CH=CH₂. This colour less liquid is the precursor to polyvinyl acetate, ethene-vinyl acetate copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol, and other important industrial polymers.

The worldwide production capacity of vinyl acetate was estimated at 6,969,000 tonnes/year in 2007, with most capacity concentrated in the United States (1,585,000 all in Texas), China (1,261,000), Japan (725,000) and Taiwan (650,000). The average list price for 2008 was US$1600/tonne. Celanese is the largest producer (ca 25% of the worldwide capacity), while other significant producers include China Petrochemical Corporation (7%), Chang Chun Group (6%), and Lyondell Basell (5%).