Spain's Acetaldehyde market moved decisively higher into early May, driven by elevated freight costs and tighter import economics that strengthened sellers' positions. Early April import-side tension and panic buying drained prompt volumes, reinforcing bullish sentiment in the Acetaldehyde market. Late-April demand cooled slightly as buyers adopted just-in-time purchasing, but the arrival of higher-priced import cargoes and continued freight charges during the first weeks of May lifted import-parity costs and supported spot activity, according to weekly assessments. End-user demand remained broadly steady across paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemical formulations, while food-grade flavouring demand stayed subdued. Feedstock dynamics and ethanol-olefin trends remained mixed, with geopolitical exposure surrounding naphtha and LPG transit flows continuing to pose an upside risk to cracker-linked production. Analysts expect the market to strengthen further through May, supported by seasonal spring construction activity and continued elevated logistics costs.
Selenis has effectively manufactured recycled PET chips using terephthalic acid sourced from Circ®, a textile-to-textile recycler based in Virginia. The chip production took place through a series of batches at Selenis' pilot plant in San-Giorgio, Italy. By utilizing inputs recovered from polycotton textile waste, Selenis has created high-quality PET chip, which has been further processed into DTY yarn. This yarn will play a crucial role in product development as Circ prepares for additional capsule launches. Selenis is leveraging the success of this initial collaboration phase and is committed to advancing towards an offtake partnership to support Circ's inaugural industrial facility.
Eduardo Santos, Head of Corporate Strategy at Selenis, remarked that the monomer synthesis showed a performance comparable to virgin terephthalic acid. He expressed optimism about the consistent quality of Circ's monomer output and anticipated future commercial success. Santos pointed out that the Circ partnership complements Selenis's existing mission and goals for a more sustainable textile industry. He further stated their anticipation of expanding upon this collaboration and providing support for Circ's forthcoming commercial production trials.
