Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)

Technical, USP, sanitiser and electronic-grade IPA by the parcel, ISO tank, IBC and drum

Isopropyl alcohol (2-propanol, IPA) is sold by grade, and the grade decides who can use it. Technical grade at 99.8% or better is the solvent for paints, inks, coatings, cleaning products and chemical synthesis. Pharmacopoeia grade (USP, BP or Ph. Eur.) goes to pharmaceutical and personal-care manufacturers and hand-sanitiser plants: the WHO guide to local production of handrub Formulation II calls for isopropyl alcohol of 99.8% purity, diluted to 75% v/v with glycerol and hydrogen peroxide. Electronic grade is bought to SEMI C41, the SEMI specification and guide for 2-propanol, for rinsing and drying semiconductor wafers and circuit boards. IPA is UN 1219, Class 3 flammable liquid, packing group II, with a flash point of 12 °C. It is not among the chemicals in Tables I and II of the 1988 UN Convention, but national chemical-control rules differ, so the import position of the destination is checked on each enquiry. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2905.12, a subheading that also includes n-propyl alcohol, total about USD 1.65 billion across 89 reporters: the USA USD 342 million and 0.31 million MT, China USD 216 million and 0.21 million MT, Germany USD 151 million, the Netherlands USD 140 million, Korea USD 138 million, Taiwan USD 137 million, South Africa USD 107 million and Canada USD 94 million.

The buyer is a paint, ink or coatings producer, a pharmaceutical or sanitiser manufacturer, an electronics plant or a distributor. Bulk buyers with tank storage take chemical-tanker parcels carried under the IBC Code; most buyers take 20-24 MT ISO tanks, 1,000-litre IBCs or 200-litre drums in containers under dangerous goods documentation. Pricing is per MT on contract or spot basis against ICIS, Platts and Argus assessments. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers technical, pharmacopoeia and electronic-grade IPA from US, Chinese, German, Dutch, Korean, Taiwanese, South African and Canadian producers' offtake and trader parcels, against the producer's certificate of analysis to the stated grade, SGS or Intertek inspection at load for bulk, the safety data sheet, a certificate of origin and REACH registration confirmation for EU imports, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms. Send the grade and standard, volume, pack and discharge port.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.