【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】From 2061 to 2024, China’s first pilot-scale production facility for polypropylene-based elastomers (PBE) achieved full-process operation

Thread Content

Give credit and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Continuous updates and summaries are available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** The first set of its kind in China! This advanced new material production facility has completed the entire production process. On December 6, good news came from the Tianjin scientific testing base of the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology: China’s first pilot-scale production facility for polyacrylate elastomers (PBE) successfully completed the entire production process, achieving successful operation on the first attempt! The operation started with the feeding of materials at 8:18 on December 5, and qualified products were produced at 8:45 on December 6. The PBE pilot plant has been successfully commissioned! This marks the successful completion of the first phase of construction of the Tianjin Science and Testing Base at the North China Institute of Chemical Technology, a project that took 4 years to complete! All 13 sets of equipment were successfully started up on the first attempt! The pilot plant for acryloyl elastomers (PBE) utilizes the solution polymerization technology independently developed by the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Technology, along with catalysts also developed internally, to produce a range of new acryloyl elastomer products; it serves as an important platform for the research and development of new material technologies. As a high-performance polymer material, acryl elastomers possess excellent elasticity, good compatibility with polypropylene, and hold great prospects for application and market potential. The successful commissioning of this pilot plant indicates that BEIC has successfully mastered the technology for developing acryloyl elastomers using a single-center catalyst and solution polymerization platform, thereby helping to meet the needs of strategic and industrial upgrading. Regarding acryloyl elastomers (PBE), PBE is a low-crystallinity polymer prepared using propylene as the main raw material; its backbone is polypropylene, and it is obtained through solution polymerization of small amounts of ethylene or α-olefin monomers. The content of the second monomer in PBE is generally below 20% (usually between 10% and 15%). The cost of raw materials for PBE is generally lower than that of POE products, yet its performance is not inferior to that of POE; in some aspects, it even has clear advantages. PBE possesses excellent properties such as high elasticity, high transparency, and toughness at low temperatures. Notably, its compatibility with olefin polymers, especially polypropylene, is very good; it is highly compatible with a wide range of polyolefin products including PP, PE, SEBS, SIS, and EPDM. It significantly improves the transparency, impact resistance, elasticity, and processability of modified products, while also offering a notable weight-reduction effect. Many products of acrylate elastomer grades have obtained relevant certifications for food-contact materials. Currently, there are mainly three companies capable of producing these products: ExxonMobil’s VistamaxxTM series, Dow’s VersifyTM series, and Mitsui’s TafmerTM XM series.