Acrylics (PMMA)
Acrylic glass, the clear MMA polymer used in signs, lamps, screens and glazing; China holds 44% of MMA capacity and Western plants are closing.
Pseudo-commodities · Engineering plastics · No. 55
- Single chemical
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 2.4 Mt a year of MMA consumed in PMMA (2024, derived: 62% x 3.8 Mt MMA demand)
- 4.5 t CO₂e per t
- HS 390610
Acrylic glass is clearer than real glass at half the weight, and heating the waste turns it back into fresh monomer.
Chart: Illustration: Acrylics (PMMA)
Where it comes from
Chart: Map of where it comes from
MMA is made from acetone and hydrogen cyanide, from isobutylene, or from ethylene, carbon monoxide and methanol. It is then polymerised into pellets or cast into sheet.
Three things to know
- World MMA capacity of 6.4 Mt a year ran against only 3.8 Mt of demand in 2024.
- European MMA fell to EUR 1,410 a tonne on 21 July 2025, its lowest since Platts began assessing it in April 2024.
- PMMA lets through about 92% of light at about half the weight of glass.
The journey
- 1 FeedstocksAcetone and HCN, isobutylene, or ethylene
- 2 MMA monomer6.4 Mt capacity worldwide in 2024
- 3 PolymerisationBulk or suspension; cast into sheet
- 4 Sheet, mouldingCut, thermoformed or injection moulded
- 5 RecyclingHeated back to MMA monomer