Why is everyone getting started with BDO units?

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Why is everyone getting started with BDO units? Author/Source: BDO Research Institute Date: 2023-04-21 Clicks: 31 ▲ From April 26 to 28, 2023, BDO Research Institute and the Biodegradable Materials Research Institute will hold the “BDO and Lithium Battery Materials NMP, PVDF Industry Forum” in Chongqing, and will also visit Zhongrun New Materials, BASF, Chuanwei Chemical, Enjie, Shuangxiang, and Xinzhoubang. We sincerely invite experts, scholars, and enterprises from upstream and downstream sectors to discuss the development trends in the promising fields of lithium battery materials such as BDO, NMP, and PVDF. According to Pingtouge, as of mid-April 2023, the capacity of BDO production facilities in China was 2.85 million tons per year; in 2022, production volume was close to 2 million tons. The industry exhibits a high degree of integration, with overall operational rates being good. However, according to statistics, the planned construction capacity over the next 5 years will exceed 1.85 million tons; in other words, China’s BDO industry is set to see a doubling of its production capacity in the future. According to statistics on the planned BDO projects, approximately 71% of the projects use raw materials that are sourced internally, while about 29% rely on purchased raw materials. The calcium carbide method accounts for around 83%, while the natural gas method accounts for around 17%. Among them, projects with supporting facilities account for about 71%, while those without such facilities account for about 29%. Why is everyone getting started with the BDO unit? Firstly, BDO is an important basic chemical raw material with numerous possible industrial application chains. It is a key raw material for the development of China’s chemical industry. Given the current obstacles to the expansion of China’s crude oil-based chemical industry chain and the restrictions on the development of coal-based chemicals, BDO represents an important area worth researching and developing; it is currently a focus of attention within the industry. According to Pingtouge’s research, the BDO production processes currently used in the Chinese market mainly include the following four methods: First, the Reppe method, which uses formaldehyde and acetylene (calcium carbide gas) as raw materials ； II. Butadiene acetyloxylation method using butadiene and acetic acid as raw materials ； III. Propylene oxide method using propylene oxide/acetanol as raw materials ； IV. The n-butane/cyclohexanone method using n-butane/cyclohexanone as raw materials. Among them, the third and fourth process routes are further referred to as the propylene oxide method, the acrolein method, the n-butane method, and the maleic anhydride method, respectively, depending on the different initial raw materials. Figure 1: BDO industry chain (Image source: Petrochemical Industry Overseas Expansion Alliance) http://img.yf116.cn/image/img/20230421/142959521999.jpg As an important basic chemical raw material, BDO has a wide range of downstream applications. According to Pingtouge’s research, BDO is currently focusing on developing its business in the THF-PTMEG industry chain. PTMEG can be used to produce various chemicals such as spandex, PU resins, TPEE, and water-based polyurethanes. BDO serves as a raw material in the production of chemicals used in fields such as TPU, synthetic leather, and textile manufacturing. Another direction for development is PBAT and PBS, which are important representatives of biodegradable plastics. Among them, PBAT is a key type in the field of biodegradable plastics in China, and it is also the one produced on the largest scale; it can be used to manufacture disposable plastic products and similar items. Furthermore, it can also be extended to engineering plastics such as PBT, including PBT modifications and short fibers, for wide use in fields such as automotive parts and clothing manufacturing. BDO can be used as a raw material for GBL production, and it can further be utilized in the production of NMP and NVP. NMP is employed as an auxiliary material in lithium batteries, while NVP can be used to produce PVP, which finds wide application as a dispersant for lithium battery precursors and as an additive in environmentally friendly materials. It is precisely because of BDO’s wide range of applications downstream that it offers chemical companies numerous viable options, which is why it attracts so much attention from these enterprises. Think Xin believes that that, with the advancement of chemical engineering technology, the potential applications of BDO in downstream industries will continue to expand. Secondly, it is driven by the policy aspects related to biodegradable plastics. Pingtouge believes that BDO attracts so much attention due to the properties of biodegradable plastics in downstream applications. As can be seen from the above, the biodegradable plastics that can be produced using BDO as a raw material include PBAT and PBS. Among these, PBAT is the variety for which the largest production capacities are planned in the biodegradable plastics industry; such production capacities are expected to exceed 10 million tons per year in the future. For other plastic varieties as well, the industry growth rate is expected to exceed 30% in the future. On January 19, 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the \"Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution\": \"By the end of 2020, China will take the lead in banning or restricting the production, sales, and use of certain plastic products in specific regions and sectors; by that time, consumption of single-use plastic products will have decreased significantly, with alternatives being promoted.\" In July 2020, the **Notice on Solidly Promoting the Control of Plastic Pollution**, jointly issued by nine departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, stipulated that as of January 1, 2021, the use of non-degradable plastic shopping bags would be prohibited in stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, bookstores and other establishments located in the built-up areas of municipalities directly under the Central Government, provincial capitals and cities designated as separate planning units, as well as in food delivery services and various exhibition events. However, roll-up bags, plastic wrap for preserving food, and garbage bags are not prohibited for now. This is also referred to in the industry as the implementation of the strictest plastic restriction policy in history. Subsequently, various provinces such as Shandong, Henan, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Hainan, and Hubei introduced implementation plans for addressing plastic pollution, in order to accelerate efforts to tackle this issue. Subsequently, various regions across the country introduced corresponding \"plastic restriction orders.\" As a result, biodegradable plastics became very popular in 2020; many companies turned their attention to the PBAT industry, leading to a sharp increase in new and planned production capacities. According to incomplete estimates, the new PBAT production capacity in China over the next 5 years will exceed 10 million tons, which will also increase interest in the raw material BDO. Thirdly, there is a trend toward the expansion of the industrial chains related to calcium carbide and natural gas chemistry. Pingtouge believes that the reason why the industry pays so much attention to BDO lies not only in its wide range of downstream applications and the properties of biodegradable plastics, but also in its connection to calcium carbide and natural gas chemistry. Calcium carbide is an important inorganic chemical raw material and a crucial source of carbon in chemical manufacturing. It is currently primarily used in the production of PVC, as well as in the production of vinyl acetate and other chemicals; BDO is just one of the products manufactured using calcium carbide as a raw material. Based on the current trends in the market, the PVC industry is essentially in a state of oversupply; vinyl acetate is also facing severe oversupply, while the markets for other chemical products are performing moderately. This highlights the high level of activity within the BDO industry chain. Therefore, for chemical production using calcium carbide as a raw material, the BDO industry chain is an important consideration. Figure 2: Calcium carbide industry chain (Image source: Guotai Junan) http://img.yf116.cn/image/img/20230421/1432105233053.jpg In the field of natural gas chemistry, natural gas is currently primarily used as a fuel, playing an irreplaceable role in providing heat for domestic and industrial applications. As the supply of natural gas continued to increase, its use, which was initially limited to meeting civilian needs, was gradually extended to certain industrial applications, thereby fostering the development of the natural gas chemical industry. The production in the field of natural gas chemistry can be used for the manufacture of ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, acetylene, hydrocyanic acid, and carbon black. Among them, synthetic ammonia is already in a state of severe overcapacity. Although hydrogen aligns with the trends in hydrogen energy development, its inability to be transported poses significant constraints on its development. The highly toxic nature of hydrocyanic acid makes it impossible to use natural gas as a raw material in its production. Therefore, if natural gas chemical processing is chosen, the method of producing BDO from acetylene becomes an important, valuable, and viable option, thereby driving the development of BDO production using natural gas. Figure 3: Natural gas chemical industry chain (Image source: Xingxingcha) http://img.yf116.cn/image/img/20230421/1432405236079.jpg Finally, Pingtouge would like to say that the reason why BDO has attracted so much attention is due to the stage-specific characteristics of the development of the chemical industry, as well as being an important indicator of changes in chemical industry policies. In the future, chemical production will increasingly focus on methods that feature low carbon emissions, low energy consumption, and high added value. BDO is just one of the main products in this context; the development of chemical industry chains based on methane, ethane, propane, and butane, as well as the production of high-value amines using synthetic ammonia as a raw material, may well become important directions for the future