Cyclohexanone (CAS 108-94-1), also known as oxocyclohexane, pimelic ketone or cyclohexyl ketone, is a six-membered cyclic ketone with the molecular formula C₆H₁₀O and a molecular weight of 98.15 g/mol. It is a clear, oily liquid with a colourless to pale yellow tinge, a characteristic pungent odour, a boiling point of 155 °C, a flash point of approximately 44 °C and a density of 0.95 g/cm³ at 20 °C. Its commercial identity is defined by a structural feature that organic chemistry rarely produces so cleanly: cyclohexanone is the single intermediate from which both major polyamide chains diverge. It is converted to caprolactam for nylon 6 and oxidised to adipic acid for nylon 66, which means that more than 95% of all cyclohexanone produced globally is consumed by the nylon value chain. That near-total dependence on a single polymer family is unusual even among commodity intermediates, and it makes cyclohexanone demand a direct derivative of automotive production, textile consumption, engineering plastics and electronics. At the same time, cyclohexanone is a solvent of exceptional solvency power, dissolving nitrocellulose, PVC, vinyl copolymers, acrylics and epoxy resins, and it serves coatings, printing inks, adhesives, pesticides and pharmaceutical processing where its ketone functionality and medium evaporation rate are difficult to replicate.
The global market reflects this dual identity and, in 2025–2026, a structural asymmetry between Chinese capacity and demand elsewhere. One estimate values the market at USD 9.25 billion in 2025, rising to USD 9.66 billion in 2026 and USD 13.64 billion by 2034 at a 4.41% CAGR, with Asia-Pacific accounting for 62.35% of 2025 revenue. Alternative scopes place the 2025 market between USD 6.8 and 7.2 billion, growing at 4.5–5.5% to 2030, or at USD 8.12 billion reaching USD 12.32 billion by 2032 at 6.14%. The divergence is methodological, but the strategic point is consistent: cyclohexanone is a mature, nylon-anchored intermediate where the qualifying question for buyers is not “what does a tonne cost” but “which grade, water content and colour specification does my application actually require”—and, increasingly, “which supplier can hold that specification against a backdrop of Chinese overcapacity and price deflation.”
Core Application Fields and Demand Architecture
Cyclohexanone demand splits along a fault line that separates polymer-chain conversion from solvent performance, and each side imposes a different specification logic.
On the polymer-chain side, caprolactam is the dominant outlet. Caprolactam accounted for 65–70% of cyclohexanone consumption in 2025, and the segment is driven by nylon 6 demand from textiles, engineering plastics, automotive components and consumer goods. The specification logic is rigorous: water, colour and trace impurities must be controlled because they carry through to cyclohexanone oxime, Beckmann rearrangement and caprolactam polymerisation, where a colour body or a catalyst poison can shift fibre spinability and resin performance. Adipic acid is the second polymer outlet, accounting for 20–25% of consumption, and feeds nylon 66 for automotive airbags, under-hood components, carpets, industrial yarns and cable coating. Adipic acid demand is forecast to grow at 3.8–4.2%, providing a steady pull-through for cyclohexanone even where caprolactam growth is more modest.
On the solvent side, cyclohexanone functions as a high-solvency active solvent for nitrocellulose, PVC, vinyl chloride copolymers, acrylics and epoxy resins. It is used in lacquers, anti-corrosive coatings, PVC printing inks, screen inks, adhesives and paint strippers, and it is valued for its ability to reduce viscosity and promote adhesion without the rapid evaporation that causes blushing or the slow evaporation that traps solvent in the film. The coatings and inks segment represents 8–10% of cyclohexanone demand and is projected to grow at 4.0–4.5%, supported by construction and packaging demand. The specification logic here differs from the polymer-chain side: colour and water still matter, but the governing criteria are solvency power, evaporation profile and compatibility with the resin system. Cyclohexanone is also used as a solvent in pesticides, herbicides, dyes and pharmaceutical processing, and as an extraction medium and reaction solvent in specialty chemical synthesis.
A third stream—reagent and high-purity grade—serves analytical laboratories, electronics and pharmaceutical applications, where water, evaporation residue and APHA colour are controlled to the tightest limits. Commercial high-purity cyclohexanone is specified at ≥99.8% purity, ≤0.01% water and ≤0.005% total organic impurities, and reagent grade is used as a substrate and solvent for laboratory organic synthesis. This is the smallest but most specification-intensive segment, and it is where a supplier’s analytical and documentation depth determines whether the lot can enter a validated QC or electronic process.
Regulatory Profile: A Non-SVHC Ketone Defined by Acute Toxicity, Occupational Exposure and Transport Classification
Cyclohexanone is not a SVHC, not on the REACH Candidate List and not classified as a carcinogen, mutagen or reproductive toxicant. Its regulatory identity is defined instead by its acute toxicity, its occupational exposure limits and its transport classification.
The CLP classification is the central fact for handling. Cyclohexanone is Flam. Liq. 3 (H226), Acute Tox. 4 by oral, dermal and inhalation routes (H302, H312, H332), Skin Irrit. 2 (H315), Eye Dam. 1 (H318) and STOT SE 3 with respiratory irritation (H335). The signal word is Danger or Warning depending on the mixture, and the required precautions include eliminating ignition sources, avoiding inhalation and using eye/face protection. This profile means cyclohexanone requires engineering controls and PPE in any industrial setting, and the supplier’s SDS and exposure-scenario documentation are part of the product’s fitness for use.
Occupational exposure limits are jurisdiction-specific and operationally decisive. In the United Kingdom, the EH40 8-hour TWA is 10 ppm (40.8 mg/m³) with a 15-minute STEL of 20 ppm (81.6 mg/m³). In the European Union, cyclohexanone is registered under REACH with DNELs for workers of 40 mg/m³ (chronic systemic) and 80 mg/m³ (acute) for inhalation exposure. In Russia and the EAEU, cyclohexanone is regulated through sanitary-hygienic norms for workplace air, with a working-area maximum permissible concentration (ПДК р.з.) of 10 mg/m³, hazard class 3. Imported material must be accompanied by a Russian-language SDS that states the applicable limits and required ventilation and PPE measures.
Transport classification completes the regulatory picture. Cyclohexanone is UN 1915, Class 3, Packing Group III, a flammable liquid with a flash point near 44 °C. This classification governs packaging, labelling, segregation and transport documentation, and cyclohexanone cannot move through standard channels without dangerous-goods paperwork. For Russian and EAEU buyers, the shipment must carry UN 1915 documentation, and the packaging must be verifiable as compliant before release. On the environmental side, cyclohexanone is readily biodegradable, and the operative environmental constraint is spill prevention and aquatic discharge control rather than persistence or bioaccumulation.
Global Supply Structure and Manufacturer Differentiation
Cyclohexanone supply is a feedstock- and scale-driven business, structured around producers with cyclohexane, phenol or benzene feedstock integration. The production routes include cyclohexane oxidation, phenol hydrogenation and benzene hydrogenation, and each route carries a different by-product and impurity profile. Phenol hydrogenation dominates with a 60–65% share, followed by cyclohexane oxidation at 30–35%. The producer landscape includes BASF, Fibrant, Toray, Ube Industries, Sinopec, CNPC, Formosa Chemicals & Fibre and Domo Chemicals, alongside a cohort of Chinese producers concentrated in Shandong and Fujian provinces.
Differentiation operates on three axes that matter more to a caprolactam or coatings formulator than the headline assay. The first is water and colour control. Cyclohexanone is hygroscopic to a degree, and residual water affects oxime formation, Beckmann rearrangement and the colour of the resulting caprolactam; colour bodies carried into the polymer can shift fibre appearance and resin quality. A supplier that controls water and APHA colour within narrow limits and documents them lot by lot reduces the downstream burden of re-assay and re-validation. The second axis is grade breadth and documentation depth. A supplier that can offer technical, synthesis, solvent and high-purity grades from a consistent production and analytical platform allows a customer to scale across applications without re-qualifying a new source. The third axis is supply reliability and regional logistics. Cyclohexanone moves in bulk, ISO tanks, drums and IBCs, and the UN 1915 Class 3, PG III classification means packaging and transport documentation are part of the product. A supplier with dangerous-goods capability into Russia and the EAEU, including Russian-language SDS and UN 1915 documentation, reduces the buyer’s clearance and qualification burden.
The Chinese supply base deserves specific attention because it now sets the global marginal cost. China is the largest producer and consumer, with total capacity reaching approximately 2.8 million tonnes per year in 2025 and output around 2.3 million tonnes, but an average operating rate of only 61%. Capacity has grown faster than demand: new capacity added in the 2023–2025 period totalled 3.87 million tonnes, a cumulative increase of 55.6% at an 11.69% annualised rate, and a further expansion in Fujian is scheduled to bring total national capacity past the ten-million-tonne threshold. The consequence is price deflation: the Chinese domestic average price was RMB 7,644 per tonne in 2025, down 22.66% year-on-year, and the industry has been running at a loss. Shandong prices fell from RMB 8,800 per tonne at the start of 2025 to RMB 7,250 per tonne by the end of June, an 11.72% decline. For buyers outside China, this overcapacity is a double-edged sword: it supports competitive import pricing, but it also means that marginal suppliers may prioritise volume over specification consistency, making lot-level analytical documentation more important, not less. XINCHEM positions its cyclohexanone supply around this reality, combining Chinese and non-Chinese production with lot-specific water and colour data and Russian-language documentation so that the buyer can separate a genuinely specification-compliant lot from a price-led offer.
Regional Demand Dynamics
Cyclohexanone demand is regionally asymmetric in a way that follows nylon capacity, coatings production and semiconductor manufacturing rather than the geography of benzene or phenol feedstock.
Asia-Pacific is the centre of gravity for both capacity and demand. The region accounted for 62.35% of global cyclohexanone revenue in 2025, valued at USD 4,794.7 million, driven by China’s dominant caprolactam, nylon fibre, engineering plastics, textile, automotive and electronics industries. China is the largest single demand centre, and its cyclohexanone capacity is integrated with caprolactam and nylon 6 production in Shandong and Fujian clusters. The region’s demand is volume-led and increasingly quality-differentiated, with commodity-grade material serving domestic nylon and higher-specification grades serving export-oriented coatings and electronic applications.
North America and Europe are mature, specification-intensive markets. North American demand is anchored in nylon 66 for automotive airbags and under-hood components, nylon 6 for carpets and industrial yarns, and coatings and inks, with steady growth supported by engineered polymer production. Europe’s demand is shaped by automotive lightweighting, engineering plastics and a strong coatings and adhesives sector, and it is more exposed than other regions to substitution by bio-based solvents in coating applications. Both regions are growing at low-to-mid single digits in volume, with value growth driven by high-purity and specialty grades rather than by commodity nylon-chain volume.
Russia and the EAEU form an import-dependent contour with a distinctive trade structure and a strategically important high-purity niche. In 2024, Turkey constituted 94% of Russia’s cyclohexanone and methylcyclohexanone imports by value, with India holding 5.6%, and the average import price was USD 1,743 per tonne. Russia’s exports are oriented almost entirely toward Uzbekistan (90%), with Germany at 8.6%, at an average export price of USD 2,043 per tonne. The Russian market is segmented into technical, synthesis, solvent, purified and high-purity grades, and the high-purity segment—particularly semiconductor-grade cyclohexanone—is structurally import-dependent. For Russian buyers, the practical constraints are UN 1915 Class 3 dangerous-goods logistics, Russian-language SDS, and a certificate of analysis that reports water, colour and assay against the grade specification. XINCHEM supports this contour with lot-specific analytical data and Russian-language documentation, so that the buyer’s incoming QC can qualify the material against the polymer or coating process rather than against a catalogue claim.
Future Outlook and Strategic Imperatives
The cyclohexanone market will grow at a moderate rate in volume—roughly 4–6% depending on scope—but the composition of that growth is shifting toward high-purity and specialty grades, and the supply-side reality of Chinese overcapacity will continue to pressure commodity margins.
Three structural forces will shape competition. First, grade mix will determine revenue growth. Caprolactam and adipic acid will remain the volume anchors, but the higher-value segments—solvent-grade for coatings and inks, and high-purity grade for electronics and pharmaceutical processing—will grow faster and command a premium. Suppliers that can hold grade-specific specifications across lots, and document water, colour and residue on the certificate of analysis, will be better positioned than those offering only a commodity nylon-chain cut. Second, Chinese overcapacity and price deflation will persist as a structural feature. With operating rates near 61% and the industry running at a loss, the marginal cost of Chinese cyclohexanone will continue to set the floor for import pricing, but the risk of specification variability from distressed producers increases. Buyers should treat lot-level analytical data as a non-negotiable qualification requirement, not a premium feature. Third, the high-purity and electronic-grade niche will remain import-dependent in Russia and the EAEU. Domestic production does not cover semiconductor-grade or reagent-grade demand, and the 12–18-month requalification cycle for electronic materials means that early qualification of a reliable import source carries a durable competitive advantage.
For Russian and EAEU buyers, the strategic implication is that cyclohexanone procurement should be treated as a grade-and-documentation partnership rather than a price comparison. A lot that carries water or colour above the caprolactam specification does not simply cost the price of the tonne; it can shift oxime conversion, caprolactam colour and fibre spinability. A shipment that arrives without a Russian-language SDS or UN 1915 documentation can be held at customs and disrupt a continuous polymer or coatings process. The lowest-risk supplier is the one that can match the grade to the application, document water and colour lot by lot against the backdrop of Chinese price volatility, and support the buyer with Russian-language documentation and compliant dangerous-goods logistics—the position XINCHEM occupies for cyclohexanone in the Russian and EAEU market.
Shanghai XinChem Co., Ltd. (XinChem)
As a world-leading supplier of organic chemicals, Shanghai XinChem Co., Ltd. (XinChem) offers cyclohexanone (CAS 108-94-1) in technical, synthesis, solvent and high-purity specifications, serving caprolactam and adipic acid producers, nylon-chain customers, coatings and inks manufacturers, pharmaceutical and specialty chemical processors, and electronic and high-purity applications. Our cyclohexanone is supplied with controlled water, colour and assay, lot-specific certificate-of-analysis data and the documentation support—including Russian-language SDS and UN 1915 Class 3 transport documentation—that grade-specific qualification and dangerous-goods logistics require.
Technical and Quality Advantages
Grade-Specific Impurity Control: Cyclohexanone is supplied against technical, synthesis, solvent and high-purity specification windows, with water, APHA colour, evaporation residue and assay controlled to the limits relevant to the intended use. Because water and colour bodies carry through to oxime formation, Beckmann rearrangement and polymer colour, lot-level impurity data is the specification that determines whether the lot can enter a caprolactam reactor or a high-purity electronic process rather than only a general-purpose solvent line.
Lot-Specific Certificate of Analysis Against a Volatile Price Backdrop: Each lot is supported by a certificate of analysis reporting assay (GC), water, colour (APHA) and evaporation residue against the agreed specification. In a market where Chinese domestic prices fell 22.66% in 2025 and marginal suppliers may prioritise volume, lot-level data is what separates a genuinely specification-compliant lot from a price-led offer that carries hidden variability.
Russian-Language SDS and UN 1915 Documentation: Safety data sheets are available in Russian and English, with documentation covering the H226, H302/H312/H332, H315, H318 and H335 classification, the applicable occupational exposure limits (including the Russian working-area OEL of 10 mg/m³, hazard class 3, and the EH40 10 ppm TWA / 20 ppm STEL basis), and the UN 1915, Class 3, PG III transport classification. This package reduces clearance friction for a flammable liquid that cannot move without dangerous-goods documentation.
Grade Breadth and Supply Reliability: Cyclohexanone is available in bulk, ISO tanks, drums and IBCs, with scheduling structured to accommodate both qualification volumes and recurring contract quantities. Technical, synthesis, solvent and high-purity grades are supplied from a consistent production and analytical platform, allowing customers to scale across applications without re-qualifying a new source and to buffer the supply-side volatility created by Chinese overcapacity.
Packaging and Logistics Flexibility
Cyclohexanone is available in bulk and ISO tanks for large-volume caprolactam and industrial customers, in 200 L drums and IBCs for mid-scale coatings, inks and specialty operations, and in sealed containers for pilot, laboratory and high-purity qualification. For Russia and EAEU destinations, XinChem arranges Class 3 dangerous-goods logistics with UN 1915 documentation, Russian-language SDS and certificate-of-analysis support, reducing clearance friction for a product that is both flammable and specification-sensitive.
Application Support and Supply Reliability
XinChem’s technical team assists with grade selection for caprolactam and adipic acid production, nylon-chain integration, coatings and inks formulation, pharmaceutical and specialty chemical processing, and high-purity and electronic applications, and with the water, colour and documentation requirements that grade-specific qualification demands. Supply schedules accommodate both qualification orders and contract volumes, with stock and logistics planning aligned to the Chinese capacity and trade-flow dynamics that shape global cyclohexanone pricing.
Why Choose XinChem
Expertise: Deep experience in cyclic ketones and nylon-chain intermediates, with application knowledge spanning caprolactam, adipic acid, coatings and inks, and high-purity electronic applications.
Consistency: Control of water, colour and assay against grade-specific specifications—the parameters that determine whether cyclohexanone performs in a caprolactam reactor or a high-purity process, or becomes a colour and conversion problem—and lot-level documentation that holds its value when Chinese overcapacity pressures commodity pricing.
Compliance Readiness: Documentation structured around the CLP acute-toxicity and eye-damage classification, Russian and EU occupational exposure limits, and UN 1915 Class 3 transport rules, with Russian-language SDS support.
Responsiveness: Direct technical and commercial access, with order structures from qualification volumes to bulk and contract supply.
Contact us now to discuss your cyclohexanone requirements and request a specification sheet or qualification sample.
Website: www.xinchem.com
Email: sales1@xinchem.com
WhatsApp: +86 18049800532
Post time: Nov-08-2026