Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is a crucial fine chemical intermediate of aromatic series with the molecular formula C9H12. It appears as a colorless and transparent liquid with a characteristic aromatic odor, insoluble in water but readily soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and diethyl ether. The benzene ring of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is symmetrically substituted by three methyl groups, endowing it with excellent chemical stability and derivative reaction activity. It serves as an irreplaceable foundational support in the fields of pharmaceutical synthesis, advanced material R&D, organic synthesis and special solvents. Its industrial production mainly relies on core processes including the separation and purification of reformed C9 fraction and the toluene alkylation method. The market demand for Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is deeply correlated with the innovation of the pharmaceutical industry, the iteration of advanced material industry and the upgrading of fine chemical sector.
1. Core Application Fields, Properties and Synthetic Processes
The market demand for Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is highly concentrated in four fields: pharmaceutical synthesis, advanced material R&D, organic synthesis and special solvents. Its superior structural symmetry, strong derivatization capability and stable physicochemical properties constitute the core advantages driving demand growth, making it suitable for the R&D and large-scale production of high-end fine chemical products.
In terms of core properties, first, it exhibits prominent derivative reaction activity. The methyl groups on the benzene ring can undergo a series of reactions such as oxidation, halogenation and nitration, enabling the precise construction of complex aromatic organic molecules, and thus acting as a key link connecting basic chemicals with high-end materials and pharmaceutical products. Second, it features excellent structural symmetry. The symmetric trimethyl-substituted structure endows its derivatives with more stable physicochemical properties, which is particularly suitable for the synthesis of high-performance materials and can improve the structural regularity and functional stability of materials. Third, it is adaptable to diverse high-end scenarios. It can be used as a pharmaceutical intermediate for synthesizing anti-tumor and antibacterial drugs, as a raw material for preparing high-performance resins, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and other advanced materials, and also as a special solvent for high-end chemical production. Fourth, it has controllable physicochemical properties. With high stability at room temperature and a moderate boiling point (164.7℃), it is suitable for industrial separation and purification, large-scale production and long-distance transportation, and easy to achieve high-purity refinement.
The mainstream synthetic processes of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) are the separation and purification of reformed C9 fraction and the toluene alkylation method. The separation and purification of reformed C9 fraction relies on the C9 fraction by-produced from the reforming unit of oil refineries. Taking advantage of the boiling point difference between Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) and other components, separation is realized through combined processes such as precision distillation and extractive distillation. This process has the advantages of wide raw material sources and controllable costs, making it the mainstream choice for current industrial production. Advanced technologies can increase the product purity to over 99.5% and the yield to a stable level of over 80%, while realizing the comprehensive utilization of C9 resources, which is in line with the concept of circular economy. The toluene alkylation method uses toluene and methanol as raw materials to generate Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) through alkylation reaction under the action of molecular sieve catalysts, with the reaction temperature controlled at 350-450℃. This process yields high-purity products with few by-products, making it suitable for the customized production of high-end pharmaceutical-grade and electronic-grade products. In addition, Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) can also be prepared by the pseudocumene isomerization method, which is applicable to the demand for niche high-purity products. Compared with other processes, the separation and purification of reformed C9 fraction accounts for more than 75% of the global industrial production due to its advantages of easily available raw materials, mature technology and good environmental performance; the toluene alkylation method, by virtue of its product purity advantage, has gradually become a mainstream supplementary process for the production of high-end products.
2. Product Market Pattern and Regional Characteristics
The global market demand for Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) presents a regional differentiation characteristic of “Asia-Pacific leading production and basic consumption, Europe and America leading high-end application, and emerging markets accelerating expansion”. Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe together account for more than 95% of the global market scale. The regional industrial division of labor is significantly influenced by the foundation of the pharmaceutical industry, the R&D capability of advanced materials and the perfection of the fine chemical industrial chain, and the high-end product market presents an oligopolistic pattern.
The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s largest production hub and consumer market for Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), with China, Japan and South Korea forming the core areas. As the world’s largest producer (accounting for more than 80% of the global annual output), China, relying on its complete refining and chemical industrial chain and advantages in C9 resources, not only meets the domestic demand in the pharmaceutical and advanced material fields, but also exports a large quantity to emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Latin America. In China’s domestic demand, the advanced material R&D field accounts for more than 45%, and the pharmaceutical synthesis field accounts for 30%. With the rapid development of domestic industries such as MOFs materials and high-end resins, the market scale of high-end Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) in China increased by 15% year-on-year in 2024. Japan focuses on the production of high-purity products, and relying on sophisticated separation and purification technologies, it mainly produces pharmaceutical-grade and electronic-grade Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) to meet the domestic demand for high-end pharmaceutical synthesis and electronic material production, with product purity reaching over 99.9%. South Korea, relying on its petrochemical industry advantages, balances the production of basic products and the export of mid-end products, and focuses on the large-scale supply of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) for advanced materials.
Europe and America dominate the demand for high-end products, accounting for more than 85% of the global consumption of pharmaceutical-grade and electronic-grade Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8). Driven by environmental regulations and pharmaceutical innovation in Europe, the demand for high-purity Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) in countries such as Germany and Switzerland is growing significantly faster than the industry average, with stringent requirements for product impurity content, purity stability and environmental performance in the production process, mainly for the synthesis of high-end innovative drugs and the R&D of MOFs materials. The United States has a prominent demand in the fields of biomedicine and high-end advanced materials, being the core consumer market for high-purity Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8). It is also a leading R&D region for advanced synthetic technologies such as toluene alkylation, dominating the technical standards and pricing power of global high-end products.
In emerging markets, Latin America and the Middle East have become the growth engine of basic demand by virtue of the improvement of medical and healthcare levels and the initial development of advanced material industry. The demand for industrial-grade and mid-end Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) in countries such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia is growing steadily, and the market in this region is highly price-sensitive. Chinese enterprises occupy a dominant position by virtue of cost advantages and a complete supply chain system, with an annual demand growth rate maintained at 12%-15%, mainly for the synthesis of general resins and basic organic chemical production.
3. Regulatory and Environmental Considerations
As a core intermediate widely used in sensitive fields such as pharmaceuticals and high-end advanced materials, the production, trade and use of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) are subject to strict supervision by major global economies. Compliance certification is a core threshold for entering the mainstream market. There are significant differences in regulatory standards across different application fields, and environmental control is becoming increasingly stringent.
In the EU market, when used as a pharmaceutical intermediate, Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) must comply with the relevant requirements of the EU Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) for pharmaceuticals, be incorporated into the traceability system of pharmaceutical excipients, and have clear limits for impurity residues, with extremely stringent control over heavy metals and harmful aromatic hydrocarbon impurities in particular.
In the US market, pharmaceutical-grade products must comply with the relevant requirements of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Code of Federal Regulations (21 CFR), providing detailed purity test data, stability study reports and production process validation documents to ensure the safety and reliability of products for drug synthesis; electronic-grade products must pass the relevant certification of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) to control the impact of trace impurities in products on the performance of electronic components. At the same time, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formulated strict limits for waste gas emissions in the production process of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), promoting enterprises to adopt high-efficiency waste gas treatment technologies.
In the Asian market, China has incorporated Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) into the production management system of fine chemical products, implementing a safety production license and environmental compliance system for production enterprises. Among them, pharmaceutical-grade products must comply with the relevant quality standards for pharmaceutical intermediates with clear requirements for impurity residues, and the production process must meet the Emission Standard of Pollutants for Petroleum Chemical Industry (GB 31571-2015). Japan regulates products for different application scenarios through the Good Manufacturing Practice for Pharmaceuticals and the Chemical Substances Control Law respectively, requiring the provision of full-chain raw material traceability and environmental records of the production process, with environmental control standards for waste gas and wastewater discharge in line with the EU. In addition, Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is a flammable liquid, and its international trade must comply with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code for compliant packaging and marking, with corresponding fire and leak-proof facilities equipped.
In terms of the environment, the global trend of green chemical industry is driving the upgrading of production processes, and the environmental optimization of the reformed C9 fraction separation and purification process in particular has become the focus of the industry. Some leading enterprises have realized the resource utilization of by-products through process optimization, in line with the development concept of circular economy.
4. Future Outlook
The market prospect of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) is deeply bound to the development of three fields: pharmaceutical innovation, high-end advanced material R&D and comprehensive utilization of C9 resources. The global trends of “accelerated pharmaceutical innovation”, “high-end upgrading of advanced materials”, “resource circular utilization” and the expansion of demand in emerging markets will become the core growth drivers. It is expected that the compound annual growth rate of the global market scale will remain at 10%-13% in the next 5 years.
On the demand side, there are three clear growth drivers: first, the continuous heating up of innovative drug R&D. The global pipeline of anti-tumor and anti-infective innovative drugs is abundant, driving the steady growth of demand for high-purity Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), especially the gradual expansion of the application of chiral derivatives in the field of precision pharmaceutical manufacturing. Second, the high-end upgrading of the advanced material industry. The rapid development of fields such as MOFs materials, high-performance resins and special coatings has promoted the continuous expansion of application scenarios of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) in the synthesis of high-end materials, making it an important support for the iteration of the advanced material industry. Third, the improvement of the comprehensive utilization level of C9 resources. The volume of reformed C9 resources by-produced from the global oil refining industry is continuously increasing, promoting the large-scale production and cost optimization of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), and further releasing the basic demand.
The industry is facing major challenges including: raw material price fluctuations (the price fluctuation range of toluene and reformed C9 fraction reaches 25%-35%), increased compliance costs caused by differences in regulatory standards across different regions, and high technical barriers in the synthesis and separation purification of high-purity products. To address the above challenges, enterprises need to focus on three directions: at the technical level, optimize the separation and purification processes and catalytic systems, improve product purity and yield, expand the product line of high-end pharmaceutical-grade and electronic-grade products, and break through the core technical bottlenecks such as extractive distillation; at the supply chain level, establish a long-term strategic cooperation mechanism for raw materials, and rely on C9 resource comprehensive utilization projects to hedge against the risk of price fluctuations; at the compliance level, build a global compliance service system, respond quickly to the environmental and product quality regulatory requirements of different regions, and improve the access capability to high-end markets.
XinChem
As one of the important domestic suppliers of aromatic and fine chemical intermediates, XinChem has always focused on the innovative demands of the pharmaceutical, advanced material and fine chemical fields. Relying on core technological advantages in the separation, purification and derivative synthesis of aromatic compounds, XinChem provides high-quality Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) for global customers. The product covers three series including industrial grade, pharmaceutical grade and electronic grade, with the dual advantages of high purity and economy, fully complying with the stringent standards of the pharmaceutical, advanced material and other industries, and is an ideal choice for the high-end development of the fine chemical field.
1. Technological Advantages
Green production process: Relying on the technical system for the comprehensive utilization of C9 resources, we have developed an efficient combined process of precision distillation and extractive distillation. Combined with independently developed special catalysts, we realize the efficient separation and purification of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), with the by-product content lower than 0.3% and the raw material conversion rate increased to over 98%. The VOCs emission is far lower than the industry standard, and the resource utilization of by-products is realized at the same time, in line with the development trend of green chemical industry.
Full-chain compliance control: The production process strictly follows the national standards of China and the relevant compliance requirements of Europe and America. In view of the characteristics of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8), a full-chain quality control system covering raw material traceability, in-process testing and finished product release has been established, equipped with precision testing equipment to ensure that the purity and impurity content of each batch of products meet the customized needs of customers.
2. Product Advantages
High purity and multi-specification adaptability: The product covers multiple specifications with purities of 99.0% (industrial grade), 99.5% (pharmaceutical grade) and 99.9% (electronic grade), which can be accurately matched to application scenarios according to customer needs.
Diversified packaging, storage and transportation: Flexible packaging solutions are provided, including 200KG corrosion-resistant steel drum packaging for industrial grade (for large-scale application), 25KG sealed plastic drum packaging (for pilot and batch production), and 1KG/5KG fluorinated bottle packaging (for laboratory R&D and small-batch blending).
Reliable supply chain guarantee: Relying on its own modern fine chemical production base, the annual production capacity of Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) reaches 500 tons, which can meet the demand of global customers for large-scale and stable supply. A strategic reserve mechanism for core raw materials such as toluene and reformed C9 fraction has been established, and a stable raw material supply chain has been built in conjunction with major domestic oil refineries, effectively hedging against the risk of raw material price fluctuations and ensuring the on-time delivery of orders.
3. Application Fields
With its unique chemical activity, structural symmetry and derivatization capability, Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) exhibits extensive application value in multiple high-end fields. XinChem’s products mainly cover the following scenarios:
Pharmaceutical synthesis field: As a core intermediate, it is used for synthesizing a variety of drugs such as anti-tumor drugs, antibacterial drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs. Its derivatives can accurately construct the aromatic ring structure of drug molecules, improve drug efficacy and bioavailability, and adapt to the customized synthesis demand of chiral drugs, helping to accelerate the R&D of innovative drugs.
Advanced material R&D field: As a functional monomer, it participates in the synthesis of high-performance resins, special coatings, dyes and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and other materials. Its symmetric structure can improve the mechanical properties, heat resistance and stability of materials, and it is widely used in high-end material fields such as new energy, electronic information and environmental protection, especially playing a core role in the gas adsorption and separation, drug delivery and other scenarios of MOFs materials.
Organic synthesis field: As a general organic synthesis intermediate, it is used for preparing fine chemical products such as trimesic acid and acyl chloride derivatives. Trimesic acid can be further used for producing plasticizers, curing agents and other products, which are widely applied in the R&D and production of fine chemical products, and can also be used as an organic ligand for the separation and purification of rare earth ions.
Special solvent field: Relying on excellent solubility and chemical stability, it is used as a special solvent in the production of high-end coatings, inks and electronic chemicals, which can improve the solubility and construction performance of products and meet the stringent requirements of the high-end manufacturing field.
4. Service Support
Customized Technical Solutions
Our professional team composed of senior organic synthesis and application engineers provides full-process technical support. Based on the reaction characteristics of acetaldehyde Mesitylene (CAS: 108-67-8) such as oxidation, condensation, and addition, we offer professional suggestions including reaction process parameter optimization, impurity control solutions, and product application formula adjustment, solving technical problems in product application and formulating customized solutions.
Global Compliance Services
We have established a compliance service system covering major markets such as Europe, America, Asia-Pacific, and South America, providing customers with one-stop services including product registration, certification application, and regulatory interpretation. We assist customers in quickly meeting regulatory requirements of different regions and smoothly entering target markets.
5. Reasons to Choose XinChem
• Professionalism: Years of experience in organosulfur compound production, and 3-Methylthiopropanal products serve customers in many parts of the world;
• Stability: High product qualification rate and strong customer cooperation stability;
• Cost-effectiveness: Relying on process advantages, the product price is competitive while ensuring consistent quality;
• Sustainability: Promote the R&D of green production technologies to help customers reduce carbon footprint.
Contact us now to get customized solutions!
Official website: www.xinchem.com
Email: sales1@xinchem.com
WhatsApp: +86 18049800532
Post time: Feb-03-2026