Product Overview
What is Maleic Anhydride?
Maleic Anhydride (C₄H₂O₃), commonly abbreviated MAN, is a cyclic anhydride produced industrially via the catalytic oxidation of n-butane (or, less commonly, benzene) over a vanadium phosphorus oxide catalyst. It is supplied commercially either as solid white briquettes/flakes or as a molten liquid maintained above its melting point for direct bulk transfer to downstream processing lines.
Maleic anhydride's reactive five-membered ring, combined with its internal carbon-carbon double bond, makes it an exceptionally versatile chemical building block. Its single largest application is in unsaturated polyester resins (UPR), where it reacts with glycols such as propylene glycol to form the backbone polymer used in fibreglass-reinforced composites, gel coats, marine and automotive panels, and construction materials.
Beyond UPR, maleic anhydride is a key feedstock for 1,4-butanediol and tetrahydrofuran production, lubricant and fuel additive manufacturing (via reaction with polyisobutylene), copolymer resins, and agricultural chemical intermediates. Chelora Chemicals UAE supplies briquette and molten maleic anhydride to meet the exacting requirements of resin, lubricant and specialty chemical manufacturers across the UAE and wider GCC.
- Primary feedstock for unsaturated polyester resins (UPR)
- Key reactant in 1,4-butanediol and THF production
- Used in lubricant and fuel additive manufacturing (succinic anhydride derivatives)
- Reactive comonomer in styrene-maleic anhydride (SMA) copolymers
- Feedstock for agricultural chemical and pharmaceutical intermediates
- Available in solid briquette/flake and molten liquid forms
- Used as a food acidulant precursor (fumaric and malic acid production)
- Supplied in bags, drums and heated bulk transport
