Weifang Yaxing Chemical plans to build a project for the production of 45,000 tons per year of high-end VDC/PVDC new materials
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On September 14, Weifang Yaxing Chemical Co., Ltd. issued a announcement regarding the investment in a new plant facility for the production of 45,000 tons per year of high-end new materials. The project will construct a 20,000-ton/year vinylidene chloride (VDC) production facility and a 25,000-ton/year polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) resin production facility. In order to establish a strong foundation for the company’s activities in the field of new materials and to accelerate its transformation and development, the company acquired the polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) industrial technology from South Korea’s SK Chinasun Corporation. The PVDC technology held by SK Chinasun, which Asiana Chemical intends to acquire, is a globally leading and mature industrialized technology. After acquiring Dow Chemical’s PVDC plant in the United States, SK Chinasun continued to work on the research and development as well as production of PVDC, thereby maintaining its leadership in this field worldwide. Meanwhile, the production of VDC (vinylidene chloride), the main raw material for PVDC, requires a large amount of liquid chlorine; thus, the liquid chlorine generated as a by-product from the company’s caustic soda plant can be utilized locally. Asia Star Chemical currently has a caustic soda plant that produces 120,000 tons of caustic soda per year, with chlorine being generated as a by-product.
PVDC is a thermoplastic polymer whose main component is vinylidene chloride, and whose softening temperature ranges from 160 to 200°C. Under any temperature or humidity conditions, it boasts excellent capabilities in blocking water vapor, oxygen, as well as odors and flavors, making it the plastic packaging material currently recognized as having the best overall performance in terms of barrier properties. The most common material used for sausage casings and food packaging films is PVDC. Currently, the largest producer of PVDC resin in the world is Dow Chemical in the United States; other major manufacturers include Wu Yu in Japan, ICI in the UK, Asahi Kasei in Japan, and Solvay in Belgium. Before China succeeded in developing PVDC production technology at Zhejiang Juhua Group Co., Ltd., this product had to be imported entirely.
I would like to ask: Has the monomer recovery compressor for the PVDC project been localized in China?