TOFA is useful for many applications including paints and coatings, adhesives, fuel additives, rubber, performance polymers, metalworking fluids, and bio-lubricants. It is fairly cheap because it is produced as a byproduct. It is also biodegradable and has low toxicity, making it more environmentally friendly alternative to many petrochemical-based products. For metalworking fluids, high rosin TOFA can even be used as the rosin acids to help with foam suppression.
Demand for TOFA is steadily increasing due to its bio-based and renewable feedstock, which is especially desirable as it does not come from a food crop source, making it sustainability profile especially attractive. This demand is out spacing the demand for paper products, which have remained fairly flat since the switch to electronic documents for many people. Due to this, the market for TOFA is expected to remain tight for the foreseeable future.
This tightness in the market has led to many users of TOFA to search for an alternative. Soybean oil has a similar fatty acid profile to TOFA, and so some soya oils or methyl ester products might be suitable bio-based alternatives to TOFA, however, they are disadvantaged because they do come from a food corp. The same is true for Canola and Palm Oil, which also contains a fair amount of Oleic Acid.