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Market research and feasibility analysis for the DOTP project: Since the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, energy issues, environmental problems, and safety concerns have become issues that need to be addressed urgently in current social development. To implement the **strategic plans for promoting energy conservation, emission reduction, and the development of new energy sources, the use of renewable energy sources as well as environmentally friendly and safe products in the chemical industry will increase steadily. The application technologies related to these products will become more mature, and the competitiveness of this industry will continue to rise. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is the largest general-purpose synthetic resin material in China and around the world. Due to its ease of processing, as well as its excellent flame-retardant properties, wear resistance, chemical resistance, overall mechanical strength, product transparency, and electrical insulation properties after processing, PVC has become one of the most widely used plastic materials. In recent years, against the backdrop of China’s push to replace steel and wood with plastics, the entire PVC industry has experienced rapid development. The production volume of PVC resin increased from 6.49 million tons in 2005 to 16.35 million tons in 2015, with an average annual growth rate of 10%. Additionally, the production of plastic products in China has also shown a fast growth trend, with output rising from 21.98 million tons in 2005 to 75.61 million tons in 2015, representing an average annual growth rate of 13%. The widespread use and rapid development of PVC products have also driven the swift growth of the plastics industry as well as the industry of plastic additives such as plasticizers. To meet market demands, the focus of international research and development in the plasticizer industry is gradually shifting toward safety, sustainability, and environmental protection. Due to its unique properties and green, safe, and environmentally friendly characteristics, DOTP has gradually gained recognition in the industry as a substitute for several plasticizers commonly used in the market, and it is widely applied in fields such as plastics, artificial leather, and synthetic resin products. DOTP is a non-toxic, environmentally friendly plasticizer that was developed by the American company Eastman in the 1980s and has since seen further development. In recent years, it has shown a growth trend on the international stage as society places greater emphasis on environmental protection and safety, but development varies unevenly across different regions worldwide. The industry is primarily concentrated in developed countries such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, while it develops more slowly in developing countries, resulting in an uneven pattern of growth within the industry. China’s efforts in developing DOTP began in the 1980s. Initially, Beijing Dongfang Chemical Factory introduced foreign technology in 1983 to start experimental production; self-developed technology achieved a technological breakthrough in 1990, leading to gradual industrial-scale production. However, due to various factors such as technology, raw materials, and policies, large-scale development was not possible. With the impact of EU registration requirements under the Reach regulation, global efforts to identify hazards and implement safety and environmental protection systems on the international chemical market, as well as society’s increasing demands for various products, developed countries such as those in Europe and the United States have accordingly adjusted the regulatory requirements for plasticizers in industrial applications. Strictly control the use of traditional phthalate-based plasticizers, and gradually replace DOP with DOTP to meet the market’s requirements for product safety. During the decades of rapid development, our country has also come to recognize the importance of product safety and environmental protection, and has gradually strengthened strict controls over the environmental performance criteria of products. **Since June 2011, the Ministry of Health has listed 17 substances including phthalates as **products under strict supervision ； In January 2016, the safety and environmental sustainability of plasticizers used in children’s toys and similar products were redefined, requiring domestic products to gradually align with international standards in order to meet the demands of the market economy. At the same time, China’s cable industry has fully adopted international electrical standards, and the traditional primary plasticizer, dioctyl phthalate DOP, can no longer meet the requirements of the International Electrotechnical Commission as well as those for plastic products in China. Instead, dioctyl terephthalate DOTP is used to meet the higher electrical and thermal performance requirements of the products. However, due to the high market share of DOP, the production capacity of the safe and environmentally friendly plasticizer DOTP is too low to meet market demand. This has led to an annual increase in the quantity and price of imported DOTP, driving up domestic DOTP prices as well. Driven by both policy and market forces, the excellent performance and environmental-friendly properties of DOTP have gradually come to light, earning widespread recognition in downstream markets; as a result, its production and demand are increasing on an annual basis. According to the analysis by the **Statistics Bureau, from 2012 to 2015 China’s total DOTP exports amounted to only one-fifth of its total imports. Meanwhile, the price of DOTP in the international market was affected by the EU’s REACH regulation, which led to increased processing costs and thus high import prices. China’s production capacity was far from sufficient to meet demand, let alone satisfy the urgent need to replace phthalate-based plasticizers such as DOP and DBP in the market. An analysis of this market environment shows that the DOTP project has tremendous potential for market development. Although China has not yet introduced any policies to explicitly ban the use of environmentally harmful phthalate-based plasticizers such as DOP, DBP, and DINP, with the introduction of a series of industrial policies aimed at promoting the development of green and environmentally friendly materials, along with strict controls on the content of such plasticizers in certain industrial products, as well as incidents like the \"Taiwan plasticizer scandal\" and cases of excessive levels of plasticizers in baijiu, there is now an irreversible trend toward the widespread use of environmentally friendly plasticizers in China’s plastic industry. These eco-friendly plasticizers will thus have even broader prospects for development in the plastic products sector. DOTP, an environmentally friendly plasticizer (diester of terephthalic acid): Due to its superior performance compared to DOP plasticizers, the absence of phthalates that are strictly regulated under the EU’s Reach regulation, as well as its mature and reliable manufacturing processes and excellent safety profile, it is widely used in industries such as PVC plastic products. It is gradually being applied in everyday products like those used in healthcare and food packaging, and has become the mainstream plasticizer used to replace DOP and DBP in the current market. In 2015, China’s DOP production was around 2.1 million tons, while DOTP production was around 980,000 tons; the total output of these two substances was nearly 3 million tons. The total domestic demand was around 3.2 million tons. The total production capacity of various plasticizers in the country is around 560 tons, but the remaining capacity pertains to traditional phthalate-based plasticizers such as DOP, DINP, DBP, and DIDP; due to market and raw material factors, most of these facilities are shut down. Environmental-friendly plasticizers such as citrate plasticizers like TBC (ATBC), trimellitate plasticizers like TOTM, tetraoctyl phthalate TOPM, and diglycidyl dibenzoate DEDB face difficulties in achieving large-scale production due to high costs, limited raw materials, substantial investment requirements, and a narrow range of applications. In the future, as there are increasing demands for safer and more environmentally friendly plasticizers, DOTP is becoming the preferred alternative to them. As a result, DOTP holds great potential in China, and it is considered a product with strong prospects within the industry. Moreover, the domestic demand for the plasticizer DOTP increased steadily from 2011 to 2015. The annual demand growth rate is 4%; by 2022, the global consumption of plasticizers will be around 9.3 million tons, with China accounting for approximately 35% of that consumption. Furthermore, as people’s awareness of environmental protection grows and **environmental regulations become stricter, the demand for environmentally friendly plasticizer DOTP products will continue to increase in the future. Compared with dioctyl phthalate, which is currently widely used, DOTP boasts advantages such as heat and cold resistance, low volatility, resistance to extraction, good flexibility, and excellent electrical insulation properties; it has a wide range of applications and promising market prospects. Figure: Performance comparison of DOTP and DOP. Comparison items: DOP, DOTP. Color (Pt—Co colorimetry): 40, 15. Ester content %: 99, 99. Boiling point (0.8 Pa) °C: 370, 400. Freezing point °C: -50, -48. Viscosity (25 °C) Cp: 56.5, 63. Flash point (open) °C: 190, 210. Refractive index (/n): 1.4850, 1.1687. Viscosity (0 °C) Cp: 207, 410. Volume resistivity (20 ohms, cm): 2.2×1011, 3.9×1012. Electrolyte constant (1 Mcgacycle): 4.8, 4.6. Dissipation factor (1 Mcgacycle): 0.64×10-2, 0.1×10-2. Acid value/(mgKOH/g): 0.05, 0.09. Phthalate detection: Present, Absent. Appearance: Colorless transparent oily liquid, Colorless transparent oily substance. DOTP is a highly performing, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly primary plasticizer; its high volume resistivity, heat resistance, low volatility, and low glass transition temperature make it one of the best primary plasticizers available. Due to its low volatility, the use of DOTP fully meets the temperature resistance requirements for wires and cables, complying with the International Electrotechnical Commission standards (IEC); it is therefore the preferred plasticizer for PVC cable sheaths ； It can also be used as a primary plasticizer in synthetic leather films, nitrile rubber, nitrocellulose, polybutyral, and other plastics ； Used in PVC products inside cars, it effectively solves the problem of fogging on car windows. It is also used in paints, paper, lubricants, bidirectional films, plasma bags, and handicrafts. After years of development, DOTP has become one of the fastest-growing industries after the automotive industry. In this project, DOTP is produced via the direct esterification of PTA, with the PTA raw material being obtained by drying PTA waste. Purchased PTA waste is inexpensive. Therefore, using this method to produce DOTP not only saves production costs but also helps address the environmental issue of the difficulty in decomposing certain polyester waste. The cost of raw materials purchased from outside can also be reduced by methods such as controlling moisture content. In summary, the company plans to invest XXX ten thousand yuan in the first phase to build a project with an annual production capacity of X ten thousand tons of DOTP. In the second phase, discussions were held with XXX Design Institute regarding the preparation for investment of XX ten thousand yuan in the development of XX project, aimed at improving the product lineup. The construction of this project can not only effectively alleviate the domestic demand shortage for dioctyl terephthalate, but also boost the development of industries related to DOTP, playing an important role in advancing industry technology and enterprise growth. Moreover, using PTA waste as a raw material to produce DOTP helps address the environmental issue of the difficulty in decomposing certain polyester wastes. This project will undoubtedly become a new driver of economic growth in the area, exerting a spillover effect that will promote rapid development of the local economy. Summary of Global Policies on Plasticizer Restrictions Time ** or Organization Regulations and Laws Brief Description June 11, 2007: European Parliament – New Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals. Approximately 30,000 chemicals are required to be registered in order to improve control over chemical products. January 2007: EU – Ban on the use of DSP, DEHP, and BBP in toys and children’s products; restriction on the use of DINP, DIDP, and DNOP. June 11, 2008: EU – Directive 2007/19/EC. If plasticizers in food-contact materials and products do not meet the limits set out in REACH, their production and import into the EU will be prohibited. December 14, 2005: European Parliament and Council – Directive 2005/84/EC. It requires that the content of DEHP, DBP, and BBP in all toys and childcare items not exceed 0.1%. 2009: EU – Directive 2009/48/EC. It specifically prohibits the use of CMR substances (carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reproductive toxic) in parts of toys that come into contact with children. Canada – Requires that the concentration of DEHP, DBP, and BBP in soft PVC plastics used in all children’s toys and childcare items not exceed 1000 mg/kg; for children’s toys and childcare items intended for children under 4 years old, the concentration of DINP, DIDP, and DNDP in such soft PVC plastics must not exceed 1000 mg/kg. February 2010: Malaysia – Toys intended for children under 14 years old cannot be sold unless they have passed the testing and verification carried out by Malaysian Standards and Testing Institute. August 14, 2008: The United States – The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) prohibits the sale, distribution, and import of children’s toys and products for child care that contain DEHP, DBP, and BBP in concentrations exceeding 0.1%, effective February 10, 2009. In addition, it mandates a temporary ban on the sale, distribution, and import of children’s products that can come into contact with children’s mouths and contain DINP, DIDP, and DNOP at concentrations above 0.1%. August 17, 2009: The American standard ASTMF963-08 stipulates that pacifiers, rattles, and teething rings must not contain DEHP. In California, it is prohibited to sell, distribute, or manufacture toys and child care products in which the content of these six specified phthalates exceeds 0.1%. January 1, 2009: U.S. Law AB1108. In 2008, China issued standards regarding the use of additives in food containers and packaging materials, aiming to align them more closely with international norms. September 2008: Argentina – It is forbidden to sell, produce, import, export, or distribute as free gifts toys and child care products made from plastics containing more than 0.1% of these six phthalates. 2009: Denmark – The phthalate content in toys and child care products intended for children aged 3 and under must not exceed 0.05%. June 1, 2011: China – The Ministry of Health issued a notice designating 17 types of phthalates as substances that will be subject to close supervision by health authorities in the future. Starting in 2007, China successively imposed restrictions on common plasticizers on cosmetics, children’s products, and items used in close contact with the body. January 1, 2016: China’s new standards for toys stipulate that for all toy products, including those intended for oral use, the total content of DBP, BBP, and DEHP must be less than 0.1%; for products meant for oral use, the total content of the three plasticizers DNOP, DINP, and DIDP must also be less than 0.1%