Polyurethane: Emerging industries are gradually entering the fast lane

Since the founding of New China 70 years ago, my country’s polyurethane industry has grown from scratch. Through the introduction of technical equipment, absorption and improvement, and independent innovation, it has achieved a series of brilliance in raw material production and downstream markets. Achievements, becoming the world’s largest producer and seller of polyurethane.

my country’s polyurethane industry began in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting with the production of polyurethane raw materials. In 1958, Dalian Dyestuff Factory took the lead in successfully developing isocyanate (TDI) and built a production facility with an annual output of 500 tons in 1968, creating development conditions for my country’s polyurethane industry.

Due to the weak economic foundation, the development of my country’s polyurethane industry is slow. By 1978, the national production capacity of polyurethane products had reached 11,000 tons, with an output of only 5,000 tons. In 1982, the national polyurethane raw material production capacity was less than 20,000 tons, and the product output was 7,000 tons. Polyurethane machinery was mainly in a manual or semi-manual state at that time. Domestic low-pressure foaming machines were in the process of development and had not yet become commercial products for industrial production. This period was the initial stage of my country’s polyurethane industry.

According to Lu Guoguo, Secretary-General of the China Polyurethane Industry Association, after the reform and opening up, my country began to introduce advanced foreign production TDI technology and equipment, a project with an annual output of 10,000 tons of MDI and TDI established by the Ministry of Light Industry in Yantai, Shandong Province was put into operation in 1983. From 1984 to 1994, Tianjin San Petrochemical, Jinxi Chemical, Gaoqiao Petrochemical, and Shandong Dongda Chemical introduced polyether polyol production equipment and product production technology from abroad, and passed the national “Seventh Five-Year Plan” and “Eighth Five-Year Plan” and other scientific and technological projects With the support of the company, it has gradually developed high-pressure reaction injection molding machine (RIM) and high-resilience cold-cured foam production technology.

<span style="font-size: 16px" In 1986, the polyurethane reaction injection molding technology of Liming Chemical Research Institute was listed as a key scientific and technological project in the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" by the state. It developed self-skinned steering wheels, filled instrument panels, microporous elastomer fenders, and cold-cured plastics for automobiles. Five products, including high-resilience foam and energy-absorbing and impact-resistant bumper simulation parts, have filled the gaps in the country.

my country’s economy has continued to develop at a rapid pace since the 1990s. As a new multifunctional polymer material, polyurethane is increasingly used in transportation, home appliances, furniture, metallurgy and other fields. The rapid growth in demand has further stimulated the development of the polyurethane industry. Flexible foam box-type foaming small businesses are booming. The refrigerator production base has hundreds of automatic pouring hard foam insulation production lines, sandwich panel hard foam pouring production lines, continuous method large-block soft foam production lines, and molded soft foam production lines. , there are also more than a dozen production plants for polyurethane coatings and adhesives ranging from several thousand tons to 10,000 tons. At this time, there were thousands of units engaged in the production, operation, and scientific research of polyurethane products and machinery and equipment across the country. By 2000, the annual output of polyurethane products had reached 1.02 million tons, with the average annual growth rate of output exceeding 25% from 1991 to 1998. But at the same time, the development of polyurethane raw materials in my country is still relatively lagging behind. Gansu Yinguang, Cangzhou Fertilizer Factory, and Taiyuan Fertilizer Factory have introduced small-scale TDI production equipment. Most polyurethane raw materials such as TDI and MDI still rely heavily on imports. The annual import volume increase rapidly.

In the 21st century, after more than ten years of research and experience accumulation, polyurethane has gradually entered development as an emerging industry. Fast lane. Represented by Yantai Wanhua, my country’s polyurethane production companies have begun to make comprehensive breakthroughs in areas such as production scale, product types, and technical levels, and leading companies have entered the international stage. As of 2018, there are five local isocyanate companies in China, including Wanhua Chemical, Gansu Yinguang, Southeast Electrochemical, Cangzhou Dahua and Yantai Juli. Among them, Wanhua Chemical’s MDI, TDI and polyether polyol production capacities are all ranked first in the country. one. The main manufacturers of polyether polyols include Blue Star Dongda, Jiahua Chemical, etc. In addition, polyurethane companies such as Hongbaoli, Yinuowei, Jiangsu Xiangyuan, and Huafeng Group are also developing rapidly. The industry has formed a tripartite situation of multinational enterprises, large state-owned enterprises and private enterprises.

At present, my country has become the world’s largest polyurethane raw material production base and the largest production and consumption market for polyurethane products. According to statistics, the total output of isocyanate chains (TDI, MDI and HDI) reached 3.57 million tons in 2018. Among them, TDI production accounts for more than 20% of the total production, and MDIThe production volume accounts for more than 70% of the total, and the output of polyether polyols is 2.72 million tons. The annual output of polyurethane products reached 11.3 million tons. Polyurethane foam has become the most important variety of polyurethane materials, accounting for more than 50% of the total polyurethane products. Products such as synthetic leather slurry, sole solution, spandex and coatings also account for a large proportion. , its product output, consumption, and foreign trade export volume rank first in the world.

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