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In 2020, 14 polypropylene production units were put into operation in China, adding a new production capacity of 4.35 million tons per year. By the end of 2020, China’s polypropylene production capacity had reached 32.98 million tons per year, exceeding 30 million tons per year for the first time. In 2020, China’s polypropylene production reached 28.36 million tons, with imports amounting to 6.5541 million tons and exports at 424,500 tons; the self-sufficiency rate was 82%. So, which polypropylene plants were put into operation in 2021? Process Master will help you sort it out. In 2021, 5 polypropylene production units were put into operation, resulting in an additional capacity of 1.4 million tons per year. The details are as follows: 1. Dongming Petrochemical produced qualified polypropylene products on March 18, 2021; it is currently capable of producing HP550J for wire drawing and HP500N for injection molding, with plans to produce HP552R for fibers and HP648T for thin-wall injection molding in the future. Dongming Petrochemical has a polypropylene production capacity of 200,000 tons per year, using LyondellBasell’s Spheripol process; its polypropylene products have been successfully exported overseas. 2. Longyou Chemical: On March 4, 2021, the 350,000-ton/year polypropylene plant of Heilongjiang Haiguo Longyou Petrochemical Co., Ltd. produced qualified T30S product. This plant uses ST technology for its operations; due to a shortage of raw materials upstream, the two plants operate in turn at present – the 200,000-ton plant is operational while the 350,000-ton plant is shut down waiting for supplies. 3. Tianjin Petrochemical: On April 18, 2021, the supporting project for the adjustment of Tianjin Petrochemical’s product portfolio and the improvement of oil product quality – a polypropylene plant with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons – was successfully commissioned and began producing qualified products. The plant utilizes process technologies based on China’s third-generation loop-type polypropylene technology. 4. Sino-Korea Petrochemical: On March 26, 2021, the 300,000-ton/year polypropylene plant in the Polyolefins Department 2 of Sino-Korea Petrochemical began operations. At 8 p.m., polypropylene in the PPH-T03 grade was successfully produced, marking the successful commissioning of this 300,000-ton/year polypropylene plant, which utilizes ST process technology. 5. Gulei Petrochemical: On March 21, 2021, the 350,000 tons per year polypropylene production unit of the Gulei refining and petrochemical integration project, constructed by the Fifth Construction Company of Sinopec Refining & Chemical Engineering Group, began full-scale operation and produced qualified granular products. In 2021, 29 polyolefin plants were scheduled to come online in China. Follow-up on the polypropylene plants that are about to go into operation: Donghua Energy Ningbo Phase II: The Phase II project of Donghua Energy (Ningbo) New Materials Co., Ltd. includes PP plants with a capacity of 400,000+400,000 tons per year. The upstream PDH process has been established and propylene is being produced; the trial operation was originally planned for March, but it has been postponed to the end of April 2021 for Line 1, and to the end of May 2021 for Line 2. New plant at Sino-Korean Petrochemical: The new 300,000-ton STPP line began producing granulated powder; however, since the granulation equipment has not yet been installed, the conditions for polymerization do not exist. Powder production continued after the line started operating, and it was shut down for maintenance on April 2, with plans to restart it by the end of April 2021. Zhejiang Petrochemical’s Phase II polypropylene plant: Feed to the pyrolysis unit was initiated at the end of March 2021; the upstream ethylene unit underwent trial operations, while the downstream polypropylene unit is scheduled to begin production in July 2021, with a total polypropylene production capacity of 450,000+450,000 tons. Jinneng Technology’s polypropylene plant: Shandong has imposed stricter requirements for the commencement of new projects; the necessary procedures are currently being applied for. The downstream polypropylene plant is scheduled to start operating in June 2021. According to market information, Jinneng’s 900,000-ton PDH plant has already undergone trial operations, while the associated polypropylene production capacity amounts to 450,000 tons, of which 450,000 tons of propylene will be exported. Fujian Gulei Refining and Chemical Integration Project: On March 21, 2021, the 350,000 tons per year polypropylene production unit of the Gulei Refining and Chemical Integration Project began full-scale operation and produced qualified granular products; approximately 3,000 tons of material was used for testing purposes, with those products being sold under Petrochemical South China’s unified distribution system. At present, operations have been halted pending the arrival of materials after the testing phase; the full-scale operation is scheduled to begin in June 2021. New Tianjin Petrochemical facility: With a downstream capacity of 200,000 tons; wire drawing began at the end of April 2021, and the products are sold by Petrochemical North China. Gansu Huating Coal Industry: The installation of the main units for the polypropylene production facility has been completed, and preparations for commissioning such as system purging and airtightness testing are underway. The new utility systems are in the final stages of construction. The 200,000-ton capacity facility is located within the Huating Zhongxu Coal Chemical Plant; it will utilize the existing coal-to-methanol production facility to further process polypropylene. Once operational, this facility will consume 600,000 tons of methanol per year, enabling the production of over 160,000 tons of polypropylene annually. The products produced will be sold by the Huating Coal Industry Group. On February 24, 2018, CNPC began the construction of the high-performance polypropylene facility at Liaoyang Petrochemical. On March 15, 2021, the substation for Liaoyang Petrochemical’s 300,000 tons per year high-performance polypropylene plant was completed; the other units are being developed in accordance with the planned schedule. The plant is scheduled to begin trial operations by the end of August 2021. Zibo Haiyi Chemical: A new plant has been put into operation to produce powder materials, with the propylene coming from its own gas separation unit. Additionally, the 250,000 tons per year PDH plant is scheduled to come online in the second half of the year, while the associated polypropylene granule production plant with a capacity of 150,000 tons per year is planned to start operations in 2022; the products produced by these plants will be sold by Sinopec North China within one year of their commissioning. Luqing Petrochemical Polypropylene: The current production capacity for polypropylene is 450,000 tons, with production carried out in alternating batches of powder and granules. A new copolymerization unit with a capacity of 300,000 tons is planned to be put into operation in September 2021. Zhenhai Refining & Chemical’s new capacity expansion: The expansion project at Zhenhai Refining & Chemical began in 2020; as a result, its refining capacity was increased to 38 million tons per year. The plant will be able to produce 2.4 million tons of ethylene and 2 million tons of aromatics per year. A polypropylene production facility with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons is scheduled to start operating in January 2022. Tianjin Bohua Group: The facilities included in the second phase of Bohua Company’s project are 2×1.8 million tons per year methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants and 2×300,000 tons per year polypropylene (PP) plants. Commissioning of the first phase of these facilities, which includes 600,000 tons per year of olefins and 300,000 tons per year of PP, is scheduled for the end of the third quarter in 2021. Ningxia Runfeng New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.: Phase 1 of the Ningxia Runfeng New Materials Technology project involves the construction of a 300,000 tons per year propane dehydrogenation (PDH) facility ； The second phase involves the construction of a polypropylene plant with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons; the plant will primarily produce polypropylene powder, and it is scheduled to come online in June 2021. The 600,000 tons per year high-performance polypropylene resin production project and related facilities at Shandong Jingbo Petrochemical Co., Ltd. are under accelerated construction; the project covers an area of 736 mu, with a total investment of 3.45 billion yuan. LyondellBasell’s technology is adopted; one polypropylene plant with a capacity of 400,000 tons per year uses the Spheripol technology, while another polypropylene plant with a capacity of 200,000 tons per year utilizes the Spherizone technology. The project plans to produce high-end polypropylene products with properties such as high impact resistance, high transparency, and high melt strength, which can replace plastics like PS and PET in various application areas. It is expected to be completed and put into operation in April 2022. Source: Process Industry