Silicone oil is a high-performance organic silicon material, generally referring to linear polysiloxane products that remain in a liquid state at room temperature. Silicone oil is generally divided into two categories: methyl silicone oil and modified silicone oil. Among them, methyl silicone oil is the most commonly used silicone oil, which has good chemical stability, insulation properties, and excellent hydrophobic performance.
Silicone oil is the second largest product category in the consumption structure of organic silicon products, accounting for 28.3% of the market. In recent years, the production capacity expansion of silicone oil in China has accelerated, and the output has continued to grow. In 2023, the production capacity of silicone oil in China reached 1.068 million tons, an increase of 26.3% year-on-year, and the output reached 0.618 million tons, an increase of 5.8% year-on-year. However, the capacity utilization rate has declined, dropping from 78.3% in 2019 to 57.9% in 2023. In terms of import and export, the dependence of China's silicone oil industry on imports has decreased. After continuous high growth in 2021-2022, the export volume declined in 2023. The import volume in that year was 56,000 tons, an increase of 5.3% year-on-year, and the export volume was 112,000 tons, a decrease of 9.4% year-on-year.
In terms of applications, silicone oil has excellent characteristics such as chemical stability, high-temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and low toxicity, and is widely used in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, construction, coatings, plastics, rubber, textiles, electronics, aerospace, and other fields. In 2023, the textile, daily chemical, and chemical industries were the main consumption fields of silicone oil, accounting for 30.4%, 22.5%, and 21% respectively. However, the consumption proportion of the textile industry has decreased, while the consumption proportions of the chemical, mechanical, and electrical and electronic industries have all increased.
In the future, the development trends of China's silicone oil industry will revolve around technological innovation, expansion of application fields, and environmental sustainability. In terms of technological innovation, the requirements for the temperature resistance (above 300°C) and thermal conductivity of silicone oil in fields such as new energy vehicles and semiconductor packaging have increased, driving the development of new modified silicone oils and nano-composite silicone oils. At the same time, silicone oils whose properties can be changed through external stimuli have also developed in meeting the needs of medical and intelligent materials. In emerging application fields, the application demand for silicone oil in battery thermal management fluids, motor insulation lubricants, solar panels, and energy storage systems has increased. The application of high-end silicone oil derivatives in fillers and skin care products has expanded, and the demand for high-purity electronic-grade silicone oil is also growing. In terms of environmental protection and sustainable development, measures such as producing silicone oil using vegetable oils or bio-methanol as raw materials, developing naturally decomposable silicone oil products, and enterprises reducing carbon emissions in the production process will become the core development direction of the industry in the future.