DOP & DOTP Plasticisers (Dioctyl Phthalate / DEHP and Dioctyl Terephthalate)

General-purpose PVC plasticisers: DOP (DEHP) and its non-phthalate substitute DOTP, in drums, IBCs, flexitanks and ISO tanks

DOP and DOTP are the two general-purpose plasticisers that turn PVC resin into flexible compound, and the buyer chooses between them on regulation first and price second. DOP, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or DEHP, is an ortho-phthalate declared under HS 2917.32. In the EU it sits on REACH Annex XIV, so its use there needs an authorisation (the medical-device sunset was extended to 1 July 2030 by Regulation (EU) 2023/2482), and REACH Annex XVII entry 51, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2018/2005, bars articles in which DEHP, DBP, BBP and DIBP together reach 0.1% or more by weight of the plasticised material. DOTP, di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate, is the ester of terephthalic acid and 2-ethylhexanol, declared under HS 2917.39; it is not an ortho-phthalate, it is the common substitute where DEHP is restricted, and it is used in flooring, cable, wall coverings and medical devices. A typical DOP sheet reads ester content 99.5% minimum, colour 30 APHA (Pt-Co) maximum, acidity 0.01% maximum as phthalic acid and moisture 0.10% maximum; DOTP sheets carry the same tests, and the producer's own limits go on the offer. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 2917.32 total USD 348 million and about 251,000 MT across 48 reporters: China USD 149 million and 116,200 MT, Malaysia USD 59 million and 46,600 MT, Korea USD 48 million and 33,000 MT, Türkiye USD 24 million and 14,100 MT, then Colombia, Chile and Taiwan. HS 2917.39 is a wide heading that carries DOTP with other aromatic esters and acids; its 2024 declarations total USD 2.20 billion, with Taiwan USD 269 million and 160,200 MT, Korea USD 242 million, the USA USD 184 million, India USD 122 million and Türkiye USD 96 million. Those are declared export values, not offers.

The buyer is a cable compounder, a flooring or calendered-film plant, a coated-fabric or hose maker, or a chemical distributor, and it buys the plasticiser its formulation and its customer's market allow: DOTP where the finished article goes to the EU or to a brand with a phthalate-free policy, DOP where the destination permits it. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers DOP and DOTP from producers and their offtake traders in Korea, Taiwan, China, India, Malaysia and Türkiye, against the producer named on the certificate of analysis, SGS or Intertek inspection at loading where the buyer wants it, the safety data sheet, a certificate of origin and, for EU imports, the importer's REACH registration position. Offers built on tank-storage receipts, dip tests, ICPO or SCO procedures or advance fees are not worked. Material moves in 200 kg steel drums, 1,000 L IBCs and flexitanks in 20-ft containers, ISO tanks, and chemical-tanker parcels for plants with tank storage, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, with pricing referenced to ICIS or Argus assessments. Minimum orders are confirmed per product and pack. Send the plasticiser, the limits you test, the pack, the monthly volume and the 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.