Regarding acetic acid technology

I have already seen this message. Celanese and BP are both major global manufacturers of acetic acid and its derivatives, boasting significant advantages in terms of technology and market presence. Competition between the two companies is fierce, especially given the strong demand in the domestic market; both firms aim to further increase their market share. Sialanes’ decision to partner with the Southwest Chemical Research Institute and sign an exclusive agreement regarding acetic acid technology was clearly a well-thought-out move: 1. Through this exclusive agreement, it is highly likely that the transfer of acetic acid technology by the Southwest Chemical Research Institute will be restricted, thereby indirectly limiting the speed at which new acetic acid production facilities are established in the country as well as the expansion of their production capacity ； 2. Legally utilize domestic research achievements for one’s own benefit, integrate advantageous resources to achieve complementarity ； 3. By taking the lead in BP matters, it has, to a certain extent, hindered BP’s market expansion in China ； 4. Since Celanese has filed a 337 lawsuit in the United States targeting Sopex’s acetic acid products exported to that country, this partnership will **weaken the relationship between Sopex and Southwest Research Institute, or even completely destroy it; in the long run, Celanese should be in the advantageous position**. Insight 1: Domestic manufacturing companies place too much emphasis on production, while paying insufficient attention to intellectual property protection and subsequent research and development. The mindset of engaging in one-time deals still exists in the minds of many corporate decision-makers, which results in a weak awareness of intellectual property protection, a lack of commitment to independent innovation, and poor capabilities in independent R&D. There is also a severe shortage in investment in R&D; these companies should learn from foreign giants. 2. Domestic companies place too much emphasis on profits and taxes; they are overly cautious when it comes to investment in research and development. As a result, relevant policies cannot be utilized effectively, research and development receive insufficient attention, and no one is willing to take on such tasks. The achievements of professional research institutions are not respected by the organizations that use their results, forcing them to sell them at low prices; as a result, these research institutions are no longer interested in simple transfers of technology, and instead seek long-term, stable partnerships with powerful companies in order to achieve more sustainable development. Domestic enterprises should reflect on their own behavior. 3. Enterprises in the acetic acid industry should strengthen internal cooperation, work together on technology development and exchange, and achieve full autonomy in acetic acid technology as soon as possible, so as to avoid situations similar to those faced by Supor and Yankuang Guotai in the future, and be truly confident enough to confront the challenges posed by international giants. Go ahead! This post was last edited by ft2489244 on 2008-3-4 10:29.]

"To avoid similar situations to those of Sopra and Yankuang Guotai in the future. What were the situations with Yankuang Guotai? Could you introduce it?

Status of Guotai’s acetic acid project: Due to its high-profile development, it attracted significant attention from foreign acetic acid giants such as BP, who managed to obtain some of the company’s technical information. Using this information, BP filed lawsuits in the United States, seizing the acetic acid reactors manufactured by Guotai at one of its plants there, as well as several other key pieces of equipment. As a result, the first phase of Guotai’s acetic acid project was delayed by 9 months. Although Guotai hired lawyers to win the lawsuits and retrieve the equipment back to China, the costs involved were substantial. The biggest loss was the delay in project completion; other costs included legal fees, shipping expenses, and fees related to resolving various issues. Domestic competitors should take this as a lesson； Sopco has recently been accused by Celanese, which continues to file 337 investigations in the United States against Sopco’s acetic acid products exported to that country, on the grounds of intellectual property infringement. So far, there have been no responses from Sopco nor any updates regarding the progress of this matter; however, it sends a clear signal that international acetic acid giants are trying every means possible to suppress the domestic acetic acid industry. Under such circumstances, the Southwest Chemical Research Institute should have taken the lead in facilitating the transfer of acetic acid technology in order to promote the development of China’s acetic acid industry. Yet it suddenly turned to Solutia and sold itself out (probably for a high price). The further development of China’s acetic acid industry is bound to be constrained by intellectual property issues for some time; it is therefore urgent that domestic players in this industry work together to strengthen and expand it, and to achieve another breakthrough in terms of intellectual property rights. Looking forward to it! Those with interest are welcome to discuss and exchange ideas

Seralis has entered into an exclusive agreement on acetic acid technology with the Southwest Chemical Research Institute; in my opinion, the purpose of this is to seize the Chinese market and restrict the development of domestic acetic acid manufacturers. The claim about the 4th floor might be a bit exaggerated; it’s not necessarily the case that the Southwest Campus is being brought under Seranis’ control. Sinochem Group is the parent company of the Southwest Chemical Research and Design Institute; strictly speaking, it is the ultimate parent company of that institute (with Haohua Chemical Group acting as an intermediate layer). In my opinion, the Southwest Institute may not be willing to be under the control of Solutia, but Solutia could use other methods to put pressure on Sinochem Group, forcing it to comply, thereby achieving its goal of making the Southwest Institute submit as well. Serenis has studied Chinese culture in great depth; this tactic of striking at a target from afar is executed with perfection. The moment a large domestic chemical enterprise group steps forward to do something similar in the United States, it will mean that Chinese companies have truly strengthened their capabilities! (Using a line from a famous actor; if this violates copyright rules, please have the original poster remove it.) Haha^_^）

In the previous phase, both SOP and Guotai were promoting their own intellectual property; I wonder what they are doing now? Can the technology be transferred? I’m afraid it’s mostly just bragging

It’s a shame that the Third Laboratory of the Southwest Institute has been working on acetic acid production techniques for two or three decades; just when results were starting to emerge, foreign parties intervened and hindered their progress. Nevertheless, the Southwest Branch still made a fortune with this technique!

The person on the 7th floor is really knowledgeable; they have a detailed understanding of the Southwest Campus! The Carbon Three Division of the Southwest Research Institute put a lot of effort into acetic acid, only to be acquired by Cyrene – haha! Acetic acid cannot be transferred any further, and it’s uncertain when its research and development will lead to industrial application; although quite some money has been made, there is nothing left for people to do! On the other hand, it is now making heavy efforts to promote its dimethyl ether technology; a special conference on dimethyl ether is scheduled to be held in Chengdu in May. In this regard, it seems unconcerned about market oversaturation, nor does it speak of maintaining orderly competition in the market!

I agree, but it’s not yet a catastrophe. Sial Nice and BP will definitely compete with each other in China, and domestic companies will also get involved, making it a fierce competition. Technically, BP and Celanese may have a certain advantage, but in terms of overall cost, domestic companies are superior; overall, they are more or less on par. The competition in the market in the future will depend on whether domestic acetic acid manufacturers can achieve substantial breakthroughs in acetic acid technology. If a breakthrough can be achieved to break the monopoly of foreign acetic acid catalyst technology, there is still significant room for reducing the production costs of acetic acid in China, and its competitive advantages will be fully realized. There’s no need to fear BP or Celanese.

When discussing domestic acetic acid production technologies, in addition to the Southwest Research Institute, we must not forget the leading companies in China such as Zhenjiang Sopco and Shanghai Wujing. These companies also possess proprietary technologies for producing acetic acid from methanol through carbonylation. In particular, Wujing’s technology is said to be at the international forefront in terms of low-iodine usage, and the capacity of its production facilities has reached 500,000 tons per year.

Indeed, dimethyl ether technology kept Tianke Engineering Company swamped with orders last year, enabling it to reap huge profits, while the research on dimethyl ether catalysts in the second research department also yielded significant results! Its technical principle is also not complicated: two molecules of methanol undergo dehydration: 2CH3OH → CH3OCH3 + H2O. Currently, the production of dimethyl ether mainly follows a two-step process, first producing methanol, and then carrying out dehydration of methanol in either gas or liquid phase. Due to the rise in methanol prices, the production cost of dimethyl ether has also increased significantly. In my opinion, in the long run, the dimethyl ether production process will likely be replaced by the increasingly mature one-step method!