Huayi MMA’s annual production capacity to reach 200,000 tons in 5 years

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Huayi’s annual MMA production capacity is set to rise to 200,000 tons within 5 years. Author/Source: China Chemical Industry News. Date: December 22, 2017. Clicks: 58. Chu Xiaodong, chairman of Shanghai Huayi New Materials Co., Ltd., which is part of the Huayi Group, revealed that the company is currently looking for locations in various regions in East and South China, with the aim of establishing a concentrated production base for methyl methacrylate (MMA) within 5 years. The goal is to create an annual MMA production capacity of 200,000 tons across the country, in order to meet the growing demand for this material in the market. The current annual demand in the domestic market is around 1 million tons, with steady and rapid growth, yet the domestic production volume is only 400,000 tons. The expansion of Hua Yi Company’s MMA production capacity is of great significance for alleviating the shortage of MMA in the domestic market and promoting the healthy development of the MMA industry chain. Chu Xiaodong said that Huayi MMA’s technology is quite mature. Huayi’s first 50,000-ton/year MMA production facility was recently put into operation at Huayi Yuhuang New Materials Co., Ltd. in Dongming, Shandong, and the first batch of products has been produced and made available on the market. This production facility utilizes the MMA manufacturing process technology based on the carbon tetra-oxidation method, which was independently developed by Shanghai Huayi New Materials Company. It is the first MMA production project in China to rely entirely on domestically developed intellectual property, filling a gap in China’s MMA technology sector. The company has applied for 30 patents, of which 17 have been granted as Chinese patents and 1 as a U.S. patent. Chu Xiaodong pointed out that the use of new technologies will greatly alleviate environmental protection pressures. At present, most MMA manufacturers in China use the propylene cyanohydrin process to produce MMA, which poses significant environmental risks; meanwhile, the advanced and environmentally friendly isobutylene oxidation process is currently monopolized by foreign companies. Huayi New Materials Company successfully developed and put into operation China’s first modern MMA production facility, thereby breaking the foreign technological monopoly over the tetra-carbon oxidation process. This achievement laid a solid foundation for the domestic production of MMA on a green, large-scale, industrial basis. He also said, “The successful commissioning of Dongming Huayi Yuhuang Company’s 50,000 tons per year MMA production facility marks a historic step forward for Huayi Group in using the isobutylene process to produce MMA; it is a milestone in the history of China’s chemical industry. This project will also serve as a forward base for the development of Huayi Group’s MMA business.” ” It is understood that since Huayi’s first batch of MMA products was launched, although their price was slightly higher than the market average, thanks to Huayi’s brand reputation and the excellent quality and performance of these products, there is now a high demand for them, with orders extending back to early 2018. Huayi New Materials is increasing production efforts to get the first set of facilities up and running as soon as possible. Chu Xiaodong also revealed that the company is exploring the use of alternative raw materials to petroleum for the production of MMA, in order to upgrade existing technical solutions through more advanced and environmentally friendly processes.