【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】From laboratory samples to large-scale, stable supply: ASA high-rubber powder technology at the China National Research Institute of Chemical Engineering, 2969–2026

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This post was last edited by HaiChuanLaoYu on 2026-1-14 07:16. Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Equipment】A continuously updated summary thread – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** ASA rubber powder is a core-shell copolymer with polyacrylate rubber as the core and styrene and acrylonitrile as the shell. It serves as a key material for replacing metals and traditional plastics in industries such as automotive, construction, and electronics. However, its industrial production has long faced challenges such as complex manufacturing processes, high requirements for stability, and difficulties in large-scale production. The China National Research Institute of Chemical Engineering has provided a solution to the question of how to transform laboratory technologies into stable, reliable products that meet market demands. It has successfully enabled the development of ASA high-polymer powder technology, moving it from laboratory samples to large-scale, stable production; these products have now entered the supply chains of leading domestic companies, marking a crucial step forward in their industrialization. Faced with the practical challenges of mismatched existing equipment, high investment costs for building new production lines, and long development cycles, the High-End Polyolefins Research Institute of the Science and Research Headquarters, together with the project team, decisively changed their approach and developed an innovative model of \"commissioning external entities for demonstration production.\" This model makes full use of the partner’s mature production lines and management expertise, significantly reducing the capital investment and time costs associated with the process engineering phase. It also relies on the partner’s existing environmental protection facilities to treat wastewater containing styrene and acrylonitrile, thereby avoiding redundant investments. It is estimated that this approach has saved millions of yuan in costs in total, providing an efficient and controllable practical pathway for the rapid industrialization of technology. II. Expanding the market: Integrity and professionalism to earn customer trust. In the early stages of industrialization, when product stability is still under improvement, it is crucial to gain the trust of the market. The project management and production teams work closely together, adhering to \"transparent communication\" and \"rapid response\" as the keys to overcoming challenges. They proactively inform customers of progress and plans, and actively seek feedback with an open mindset. In response to the customer’s requests for product improvements, the team quickly collaborated with the technical department to conduct analyses and optimizations, and it was able to win the opportunity to test its solutions on the production lines of leading domestic companies through professional service and a pragmatic approach. This not only secures a valuable \"window period\" for product validation, but also lays a solid foundation of trust for subsequent large-scale rollout. III. Proceed steadily to overcome technical barriers through research and development efforts. The project has made steady progress since its launch in March 2025, but in September it faced continuous production disruptions and quality issues due to fluctuations in raw material specifications. The technical team quickly identified the root cause of the problem, established \"safety and controllability along with continuous production\" as the guiding principles for the manufacturing process, and adopted an \"embedded R&D\" approach by assigning key technical personnel to work on the production site on a long-term basis. Researchers, process developers, and production staff formed a joint task force to work together with the partners on troubleshooting. Six key technical improvement suggestions were put forward, such as changes to the design of the coils in the emulsification tanks and the shape of the stirrer blades in the reaction vessels, which effectively addressed engineering challenges related to mixing, heat transfer, and mass transfer during the scale-up from pilot scale to industrial scale. By November, stable delivery of the product was achieved, and the technical readiness level rose from 4 in the laboratory stage to 9, indicating a true breakthrough in overcoming the core technical barriers to industrialization. IV. Collaborative operations and integrated development of R&D, production, and operations. The success in the industrialization of this technology represents not only a breakthrough in technical research but also an example of organizational collaboration and systematic approach to operations. The Research Institute is committed to breaking down internal barriers and has established a market-oriented mechanism for deep collaboration among research and development, production, and operations. The R&D team goes straight to the front lines and makes rapid iterations based on operational data ； The production team gets involved in the research and development phase early on to improve the product’s manufacturability and reduce costs ； The management team gets involved early on to accurately capture market demands and define the products. By sharing responsibilities among the three parties and exchanging information, a closed loop is created that spans from demand identification, agile development to market validation, which significantly reduces the time required for conversion and results in an industrialization approach that can be replicated and scaled up. The successful development of ASA’s high-cement powder technology represents not only a breakthrough in terms of a single technology, but also an important example of the Research Institute’s adoption of a new paradigm for translating research results into practical applications, one that emphasizes low-capital operation, cross-team collaboration, and creating shared value with customers. Next, the Research and Development Headquarters will continue to deepen this model in order to facilitate the efficient transformation of more scientific and technological achievements, thereby contributing more to the group company’s goal of becoming a world-class innovative engineering firm.