Ethylene vinyl acetate Overview Transcript
Ethylene vinyl acetate, also known as EVA, is a plastic product derived from the copolymerisation of ethylene with vinyl acetate.
EVA’s main advantages include its properties of clarity and toughness, along with strong flexibility and ability to withstand low temperatures. It also has good tear resistance.
The main uses for EVA are in the manufature of stretch film for shrink wrapping, protective strips, sports shoe soles, sandals, slippers and disposable medical equipment. It is also used as a coating for heat-sealing on polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate and aluminium films. Other uses include insulating tubing and wire-coating.
In recent years supply of the lower EVA grades has been dwindling as producers focus production on grades with vinyl acetate content of above 30% in response to growing demand for this grade from the solar panel industry.
Supply and demand fundamentals drive Asia’s EVA prices. Demand has outstripped supply in recent years with strong interest from the downstream footwear sector and increasingly, the photovoltaic industry. Other key influences on the market include price trends of polyethylene because most EVA factories in Asia are EVA and PE swing plants