CAS 141-78-6 · IECSC · People's Republic of China

Ethyl acetate under IECSC

C4H8O2 · 乙酸乙酯

Status: Listed. Ethyl acetate is on the IECSC public portion as a foundational acetate ester solvent. New-substance notification under MEE Decree No. 7 (2010) is NOT required. **Ethyl acetate IS on China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals** (Flam. Liq. 2 classification only). Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required for production / storage / distribution. NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog (lighter than acetone batch 15 which IS Cat 3). 13% China VAT export rebate. China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~3 Mt/yr) but capacity is fragmented across many small + medium producers (no single Chinese producer dominates as in PVC batch 10 or PTA batch 9).

Ethyl acetate is comfortably IECSC-listed but IS on Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals (Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain required). NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog. NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog (lighter than acetone batch 15 + methanol batch 3 + sulfuric acid batch 2). 13% China VAT export rebate is structural margin support. China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~3 Mt/yr) but capacity is **fragmented across many small + medium producers** (no single dominant producer) concentrated in coastal Jiangsu + Shandong + Zhejiang + Guangdong + Sichuan inland. Production routes: esterification of ethanol + acetic acid Tishchenko / direct (~60%), acetaldehyde dimerisation Tishchenko (~30%), Wacker process direct ethylene oxidation (~10%). **Acetic acid (batch 19) feedstock cost flow-through is dominant**: esterification with ethanol drives ethyl acetate cost structurally to acetic acid economics. Brazilian + Indian ethanol-route producers compete on sugarcane / molasses ethanol cost advantage in third-market lanes.

Listing and threshold

Substance Ethyl acetate (CAS 141-78-6), C4H8O2
Regime China Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances (IECSC), administered by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE)
Jurisdiction People's Republic of China
Status Listed
Tonnage threshold No new-substance threshold applies. Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit required regardless of volume

Classifications under this regime

  • Listed in China's Catalog of Hazardous Chemicals
  • NOT on China's Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog
  • NOT on the Easily-Made Drugs Precursor Chemicals Catalog
  • GB/T 3728-2007 specification applies for industrial-grade ethyl acetate (Chinese national standard)
  • GB/T 3728-2007 covers minimum 99.5% purity (industrial-grade), water content, acidity, color (APHA), distillation range
  • GACC export classification: HS 291531 (ethyl acetate)
  • China dominates global capacity (~50%, ~3 Mt/yr); fragmented across many small + medium producers
  • GB 6944-2012 dangerous-goods transport classification: Class 3 (flammable liquid), UN 1173
  • Two production routes: esterification of ethanol + acetic acid (Tishchenko or direct esterification, ~60% of Chinese capacity), acetaldehyde dimerisation (Tishchenko, ~30%), Wacker process via direct ethylene oxidation (~10%)

Restrictions and conditions of use

  • **Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit IS required** for any party producing, storing, or distributing ethyl acetate
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit required for road shipment of bulk ethyl acetate
  • Customs Inspection Order may apply for export consignments
  • No specific export-restriction or quota system applies
  • VAT export rebate currently 13% for ethyl acetate (HS 291531) per organic chemicals chapter rebate schedule; verify before invoicing
  • GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS required for domestic distribution

Importer obligations

For Chinese-origin ethyl acetate exported abroad, no IECSC obligation falls on the foreign importer. The export-side documentation pack focuses on the Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain (producer / forwarder / port operator each hold permits), the GB/T 17519 Chinese-language SDS, and ADG 7.7 Class 3 transport documentation. Major Chinese producers (small + medium scale concentrated in coastal Jiangsu + Shandong + Zhejiang + Guangdong + Sichuan inland) compete with EU producers (Celanese, BP / Ineos, BASF), Korean producers (LG Chem Yeosu, Lotte Chemical Yeosu), Brazilian + Indian ethanol-route producers, and US producers (Celanese Pampa, LyondellBasell Pasadena, Eastman Kingsport). The dominant economic story for Chinese-origin ethyl acetate is **acetic acid (batch 19) feedstock cost flow-through** via esterification with ethanol.

Required documents

  • GACC export declaration with HS code 291531
  • Industrial-grade certificate per GB/T 3728-2007 (minimum 99.5% purity)
  • GHS-compliant SDS in Simplified Chinese per GB/T 17519-2013 (effective 31 January 2014, references UN GHS 4th revised edition; verify against the current version of GB/T 17519 at https://www.codeofchina.com/standard/GBT17519-2013.html)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain documentation (producer / forwarder / port operator)
  • Hazardous Chemicals Road Transport Permit (where road-shipped from inland producers)
  • GB 6944-2012 Class 3 dangerous-goods transport documentation

Common compliance traps

The pitfalls that have bitten importers on this lane in the past. None of these is theoretical.

  • Hazardous Chemicals Operation Permit chain is the dominant operational complexity
  • 13% VAT rebate is structural margin; verify rebate filing on each shipment
  • NOT on Highly Toxic Chemicals Catalog (lighter than phenol batch 13 + formaldehyde batch 18 + benzene batch 22)
  • NOT on Easily-Made Drugs Catalog (lighter than acetone batch 15 + methanol batch 3 + sulfuric acid batch 2)
  • Major Chinese producers: small + medium scale concentrated in coastal Jiangsu + Shandong + Zhejiang + Guangdong + Sichuan inland; no single dominant producer
  • Production routes: esterification of ethanol + acetic acid (Tishchenko or direct esterification, ~60%), acetaldehyde dimerisation Tishchenko (~30%), Wacker process via direct ethylene oxidation (~10%)
  • **Acetic acid (batch 19) feedstock cost flow-through is dominant**
  • Brazilian + Indian ethanol-route producers compete on sugarcane / molasses ethanol cost advantage in third-market lanes

Where to read next

For substance-level identifiers (formula, molecular weight, SMILES, InChIKey), GHS hazard profile, IMDG transport class, and full sourcing reference for ethyl acetate, see the CAS 141-78-6 sourcing reference.

For grade-by-grade buying notes, freight maths, supplier-tier pricing, and a worked landed-cost example, the ethyl acetate cornerstone hub covers the full sourcing chain.

For the structure and history of IECSC, see the IECSC glossary entry.

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Cross-jurisdiction profile and sourcing references

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