The material can be completely degraded into carbon dioxide and water without any residues, has high strength and good barrier properties, and can be used in shale oil and gas mining, packaging materials, membrane materials, etc.
technical background
Under the global development trend of restricting and prohibiting plastics, finding green and environmentally friendly high-performance degradable materials has become the best solution for replacing plastic products. According to a research report released by American consulting firm Frost Sullivan, the market demand for biodegradable plastic materials will grow rapidly in the next few years. It is expected that by 2020, the total global demand for biodegradable plastics will reach 3 million tons, with an average annual demand growth rate of more than 16%. Currently, degradable plastics that have been commercialized around the world include polylactic acid (PLA), regenerated cellulose, starch plastics, polybutylene succinate (PBS), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), etc. BASF and Nature Works are leading companies in the production and research and development of degradable plastics abroad. They have built multiple PLA production lines in North America and Asia, and their products are in short supply in the global market. In recent years, the domestic biodegradable plastics industry has developed rapidly, with a compound annual growth rate of production capacity exceeding 21%. Jinfa Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Anqing Hexing Chemical Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and other companies have completed the industrial production of PBS, PBAT, PLA and other products. The products have been used in the fields of degradable agricultural films and fibers, and have achieved good economic benefits. Despite this, compared with traditional petroleum-based plastics, degradable plastics have higher costs, and their mechanical, barrier and other properties are difficult to meet market requirements. Some degradation products have an impact on the environment, and product competitiveness and application fields are greatly limited.
Application and impact
At present, the total production capacity of domestic and foreign manufacturers does not exceed 10,000 tons/year. They are only used in the high-end market, and the supply exceeds demand. If the scale can be expanded and production costs can be reduced, the application scope will be extensive.
technical advantages
Syngas is used as raw material to produce monomers such as glycolic acid to achieve large-scale production and development of PGA products and significantly reduce the production cost of products.
applicable objects
The industrial production technology developed by this project and the high-performance degradable products developed. At present, the prices of degradable plastic products such as PLA and PBS that are common on the market are generally 30,000 - 50,000 yuan/ton. A rough estimate is that a 10,000-ton PGA industrial device can achieve an annual sales profit of about 500 million yuan, and at the same time, it will form a downstream supporting processing industry with an output value of about 5 billion yuan. In addition, due to the special mechanical strength, barrier properties and degradable properties of PGA products, we can further produce high value-added products such as shale gas fracturing materials and degradable medical materials with partners. The general price of such products is between 1.5 million and 2 million yuan./ton. At the same time, according to statistics from international authoritative organizations, the global market demand for functional packaging films such as industry, food, beverages, and electronic products is about 2 million tons/year. The annual consumption of mulch films, tableware, and packaging bags is at the scale of 10 million tons. With the increasingly strict policies to restrict and ban plastics, degradable products with costs roughly equivalent to general plastics have huge market space and economic benefits.
Future investment and benefits
The downstream market for degradable materials is a market worth hundreds of billions.