Shifting from rapid development to high-quality development, the epichlorohydrin industry is accelerating its green transformation
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On August 8, 2025, the National Epichlorohydrin Industry Chain Seminar was held in Qingdao. Experts attending the meeting said that with the continuous strengthening of domestic environmental protection policies and the advancement of industrial upgrading, the level of green development in the epichlorohydrin industry is constantly improving. The green transition is gaining momentum. As an important chemical raw material, factors such as the production capacity, output, consumption, and import/export levels of epichlorohydrin directly influence the development pattern of this industry and its market trends. “In the first half of the year, the domestic chlor-alkali industry continued to show stable development. ”Zhang Peichao, vice president and secretary-general of the China Chlor-Alkali Industry Association, said that exports of caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride products in China reached new highs in the first half of the year; the supply and demand in the caustic soda market were relatively balanced, while the polyvinyl chloride market showed an overall downward trend. In the second half of the year, the industry will face pressures such as an imbalance between alkalis and chlorine, as well as the need to comply with international regulations. Factors such as foreign trade exports and the futures market will influence the trend of the domestic chlor-alkali market to a certain extent. Zhang Peichao suggests that companies in the industry should actively develop a range of chlorine-based products with high added value and characteristics specific to different regions, thereby promoting the healthy and sustainable development of the industry. “Epichlorohydrin is one of the important chlorine-consuming products derived from liquid chlorine. Driven by rising demand for epoxy resins in the wind power sector, its production capacity has been increasing steadily, with export volumes reaching new heights in 2024. ”As introduced by Indi from the Industry Research Department of the China Chlor-Alkali Industry Association. To achieve an \"alkali-chlorine balance,\" domestic chlor-alkali manufacturers are actively expanding their product portfolio, with the industrial chain extending from traditional chlor-alkali products to areas such as fine chemical applications of chlorine and new materials. Glycerol mainly comes from first-generation biodiesel and is primarily directed toward epichlorohydrin, with downstream consumption mainly in epoxy resins. Liu Jindian, manager of the Bio-Oils Division at New Hope Chemical Investment Group Co., Ltd., suggested that companies in the industry should utilize emerging technologies such as biomanufacturing to fully harness the green and carbon-reduction benefits of epoxy resins and their downstream products ； The industry establishes cooperation platforms across the upstream and downstream segments of the industrial chain, enhances its bargaining power, and reduces China’s dependence on glycerin imports from abroad. Several experts have pointed out that China’s epichlorohydrin industry is currently shifting from rapid development to high-quality development. Enterprises should take into account factors such as industrial policy, development strategies, and technological progress to compare and select the appropriate production process for epichlorohydrin, while actively exploring the domestic market.
Process innovation drives emission reduction. The main production methods for epichlorohydrin in China include the propylene chlorination method, the glycerol chlorination method, and the direct oxidation method using hydrogen peroxide. Currently, the glycerol chlorination method is the mainstream production process. At the meeting, enterprise representatives introduced several new processes in the epichlorohydrin industry chain. “The propylene-propylene method uses propylene, glycerol, and chlorine as main raw materials to produce epichlorohydrin. The high-salt, high-COD wastewater generated as a by-product of the glycerol (sodium) method can be treated and then reused in ion-exchange membrane caustic soda production facilities, thereby addressing the issue posed by the by-product acid that hinders stable operation and improving the economic and environmental efficiency of these facilities. ”Wang Sheng, deputy director of the Jerikaitai Research Institute, explained that the BCP process solves the problem of recycling and reusing the large amount of by-product hydrochloric acid generated during the production of chloropropene from propylene, thereby enabling the resource utilization of saline wastewater and waste hydrochloric acid. “A new process for the direct oxidation of chloropropene to epichlorohydrin using hydrogen peroxide in a liquid-solid circulating fluidized bed was jointly developed by Binhua Group and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. ”Zhang Hengyun, a senior engineer at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that this process utilizes a fluidized-bed technology, along with highly efficient catalysts developed independently and a direct oxidation technique using hydrogen peroxide, to achieve the one-step synthesis of epichlorohydrin. Compared to traditional processes, this new process has a higher atom utilization rate and generates less waste. Its newly developed reactor features high mass transfer efficiency and the ability to replace or regenerate catalysts online; pilot testing has already been completed. “Resource utilization and technology integration are viable approaches for the disposal of high-salt hazardous waste. In the processes of waste salt recycling and resource utilization, downstream industries need to be taken into account, and new process technologies with high added value should be developed. ”Dong Zhenhai, technical director of Sinochem Environmental Technology Engineering Co., Ltd., explained that the company focuses on resource recycling as well as the engineering and equipment development related to key technologies. It has innovatively developed new technologies for the treatment of high-salinity wastewater, such as techniques for refining and purifying by-product salts, as well as an evaluation system for the refinement of by-product salts/high-salinity water along with ion membrane electrolyzers.
Safety upgrades enhance application performance. According to the \"Key Points for Safety Risk Prevention and Control in the Reform Project of the Acid-Base Alternating Fixed-Bed Hydrogen Peroxide Production Process (Trial)\\" issued by the Ministry of Emergency Management in April this year, the upgraded fluidized-bed process must achieve full automation control throughout the entire process, thereby improving the intrinsic safety level of hydrogen peroxide production and preventing decomposition risks caused by alkaline materials. “To achieve intrinsic safety, innovation and upgrading of process technologies are essential. ”Niu Junbo, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Zhongxu Technology Co., Ltd., suggested that the production of hydrogen peroxide requires full-process automation upgrades to enhance its intrinsic safety level. Zhongxu Technology Innovation adopts a fully acidic fixed-bed process in place of the traditional alternating acid-base process, ensuring that the system operates in a weakly acidic environment throughout the process. This approach eliminates the significant safety risk of hydrogen peroxide decomposing and exploding due to the intrusion of alkaline substances. At the same time, a robust protection system is established to achieve automated upgrades across the entire process, which not only ensures production safety but also reduces waste emissions, lowers the total amount of working fluids used, and minimizes the consumption of raw materials and auxiliary materials. The downstream applications of epichlorohydrin are highly concentrated in the epoxy resin sector. According to incomplete statistics, this year, the total planned and under-construction production capacity of epoxy resins in China has reached 3.2 million tons per year. With the rise of the new energy vehicle industry, the electronic-grade epoxy resin industry has also seen innovative development. “As one of the members of the new energy vehicle family, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have attracted widespread attention due to their advantages such as ‘zero emissions, no pollution, and high efficiency’. However, to achieve larger-scale commercial use, there are still many bottlenecks that need to be overcome, which is presenting new opportunities for the epoxy resin industry. ”Zhang Xiangyu, director of the Application Technology Department at Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Materials Co., Ltd., explained that the new energy vehicle industry has higher requirements regarding the properties of epoxy resins. Moreover, with increasingly strict environmental and safety regulations, there is a yearly demand gap for high-end epoxy resins in China. In response to the need to replace imported high-end electronic-grade epoxy resins, Nantong Xingchen has developed its own high-performance epoxy resin products, providing customers with customized application solutions.
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