【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】1646–2010: China’s First Industrial Demonstration Unit for Environmentally Friendly Aromatic Rubber-Filled Oils

Breaking foreign monopolies and advancing independent technologies: Environment-friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers (environment-friendly aromatic rubber oils) are one of the key raw materials for producing green tire rubber; their use can significantly improve the flexibility and plasticity of tire rubber. The properties of environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers play a decisive role in the quality of automobile tires. Our country is the world’s largest producer and exporter of tires, with an annual consumption of about 230,000 tons of environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers for tires. The EU has imposed limits on the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rubber tires; rubber products that do not comply with EU regulations are prohibited from being placed on the market, which is equivalent to imposing an environmental constraint on China’s tire and rubber industry. The production technology and sales market for environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers have long been monopolized by foreign companies, resulting in exorbitant prices that significantly increase the production costs of environmentally friendly rubber and green tires in China. This, in turn, affects China’s exports of tires and vehicles to markets such as the EU, the United States, and Japan. As one of the earliest research institutions in China to focus on the development of environmentally friendly plasticizers, the Shihezi Institute of Science has relied on independent innovation to overcome challenges. In close collaboration with Jinan Refining & Chemical Co., it has conducted in-depth analyses of the molecular structure and structure-activity relationships of both raw materials and desired products. It has successfully overcome various technical difficulties, including the recrystallization of additives, the reduction of viscosity in extracted oils, and recycling processes. As a result, it has developed a comprehensive set of technologies for reducing the viscosity of extracted oils using solvent methods, as well as for producing environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers (REP-ARE) through ARE extraction. These technologies enable the production of high-value, eco-friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers from low-cost furfural-derived extracted oils. A total of 38 invention patents have been applied for in relation to this technology, of which 27 have been granted; 6 proprietary technologies exist as well. Over ten papers have been published, and one standard was developed with the participation of this technology. The technology is independently controllable. Three awards at the provincial or ministerial level or above have also been received. As evaluated by industry experts, the complete set of technologies possesses independent intellectual property rights and has reached an internationally advanced level.

By achieving domestic substitution and gaining market favor, through their cooperation, Jinan Refining & Chemical Co. utilized the REP-ARE technology developed by the China Institute of Petroleum to build industrial facilities with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year for REP (solvent-based solidification reduction) and 70,000 tons per year for ARE extraction; this made it the only company in China capable of producing environmentally friendly aromatic plasticizers with a high content of aromatic carbon on a continuous and stable basis. The environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizer of grade A1820, produced using proprietary technology, boasts significant advantages such as a low content of polycyclic aromatics and a high aromatic carbon ratio, with its quality reaching international advanced levels. As tested by international authoritative agencies such as BIU in Germany and SGS in Switzerland, the aromatic carbon content of this product exceeds 20%, meeting the requirements of the EU’s REACH regulations as well as China’s relevant standard quality criteria; it is currently the only product in China that matches the performance of imported products. This product has broken the monopoly held by foreign products, significantly reducing the market price of rubber plasticizers, and effectively meeting the demand of downstream tire manufacturers for domestic alternatives. As soon as it was launched, the product was well received by customers and quickly spread in regions such as North China and East China. The environmental-friendly styrene-butadiene rubber tires produced using this product meet the highest performance standards, and their quality has been highly recognized by manufacturers of such environmentally friendly styrene-butadiene rubber and green tires, including Qilu Petrochemical, Hankook Tire, Zhongce Tire, and Zhejiang Petrochemical. In 2023, sales of environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers reached another record high, with total sales exceeding 24,000 tons – a 20.5% increase compared to the previous year. These products have become representative of domestically produced rubber plasticizers with a high aromatic carbon content, as well as key products of Jinan Refining & Chemical Co., representing a successful example of refineries’ transition from producing conventional oils to specialty products.

Through technological advancements to fill market gaps, and after achieving certain milestones, the Shih Chien Institute of Science did not cease its efforts in innovation. It subsequently developed various innovative and environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizer technologies, such as the ARE Generation 2 extraction technology, a combined process of ARE extraction and hydrogenation treatment, and synthetic rubber plasticizer technologies based on molecular structure design. In terms of process condition design, meticulous optimization is carried out to maximize the content of the ideal components of the plasticizer, ensure that the plant can meet the raw material requirements under high load conditions, maintain the polyaromatic hydrocarbon content within an optimal range, and thus achieve an increase in both the yield and production volume of the plasticizer. Due to limitations in the amount of raw materials available and the production capacity of the facilities, Jinan Refining & Chemical’s current annual output of environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers is around 20,000 tons, which is far from sufficient to meet the strong demand from downstream tire manufacturers for domestically produced, eco-friendly aromatic plasticizers. To implement the group company’s strategy of shifting from oil-based products to specialty products, Jinan Refining & Chemical Co. has decided to carry out a project aimed at upgrading environmentally friendly aromatic rubber plasticizers. The Shih Chien Institute provided the technical expertise and developed the necessary process specifications for this project. Upon completion, the processing capacity of the solvent refining unit and the ARE extraction unit will be 700,000 tons per year and 150,000 tons per year respectively, making them the largest of their kind in China. At present, the project has completed the preparation and review of the preliminary design, and with the approval from the group company, construction of the industrial facilities is about to begin. Once completed, Jinan Refining & Chemical will supply high-quality, environmentally friendly plasticizer products to more rubber and tire manufacturing enterprises.

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