Industry calls for national authorities to increase plasticizer R&D investment
According to data released by the China Plasticizers Industry Association, the global plasticizer production capacity is about 8 million tons, China is more than 4.5 million tons, accounting for 56% of global production capacity; China's annual consumption of plasticizer is about 2.2 million tons. (Without chlorinated paraffin), it accounts for about 37% of global consumption, and annual import volume is nearly 110,000 tons. China has become the world's largest plasticizer producer, consumer, and importer. Moreover, the plasticizer market in China has been dominated by o-benzene plasticizers for many years. In the production of more than 2 million tons last year, o-benzene species accounted for about 80%, while non-o-benzene plasticizers accounted for only 20%. From January to April this year, the total output of China's plasticizers was approximately 290,000 tons, an increase of 12.3% over the same period of the previous year. Among them, the production of the phthalate plasticizer DOP (dioctyl phthalate) was 223,000 tons, an increase of 7.87 years over the same period of last year. %. It is understood that in some countries in northern Europe, there are many negative reports on the use of o-benzene plasticizers, leading consumers to lose confidence in such products. Some researchers have also begun to question the production of o-benzene plasticizers. In China, after the Taiwanese plasticizer incident last year, the public generally believed that o-phenyl plasticizers were harmful to the human body. In this regard, industry experts pointed out that this one-sided view is wrong, not because of improper use of demonizing ophthalmic plasticizers, thus that o-phenyl plasticizers should be fully replaced by new environmentally friendly plasticizers . Yao Junying, secretary-general of the China Plasticizers Industry Association, told reporters that the Japan Plasticizer Industry Association had conducted toxicity studies on o-benzene plasticizers and used primates that are closer to humans to do experiments. The conclusion is that ophthalmics are o-benzenes. Plasticizers are not toxic. Argus Haljono, head of scientific services at the Indonesian Academy of Science, also stated that traditional ophthalmic plasticizers are not considered to be hazardous, and that it is important to use them in different fields of application. Orthophthalic plasticizers are also important. Certainly not completely replaced. Yao Ning, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Qing'an Chemical Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters: “Plasticizers are used in industrial fields. If you suspect that DOP will harm the human body, then we can limit its application areas. Treated in groups, the plasticizer industry should flourish, and traditional ophthalmic plasticizers cannot and will not be killed." The practical performance gap between the application performance of new environmentally friendly plasticizers and the phthalate plasticizers has also hindered the market. “In terms of properties such as aging resistance, flexibility, and insulation properties, some of the new environmentally-friendly plasticizers are still not able to keep up with the phthalic-based plasticizers, so it is impossible for o-benzene plasticizers to be completely replaced.†Say. In recent years, Wuxi Jiangnan Cable Co., Ltd. has tried to use environmentally-friendly plasticizers in their products and achieved certain gains. However, Hua Zhanhong, a cable material engineer of the company, also admitted that the compatibility of environmental-friendly epoxy ester plasticizers with PVC is relatively poor, and it easily migrates from the inside to the cable surface, causing the phenomenon of “oilingâ€; its cold resistance is relatively Poor, far less than DOP; stability and electrical insulation also need to be improved. In Henan, a company engaged in the production of plasticizers for more than 10 years also made a small amount of new environmentally-friendly plasticizers each year. However, due to poor downstream users, the company did not plan to expand the production of new environmentally-friendly plasticizers. “According to the current progress of research and development, it is difficult to measure the time by using new environmentally friendly plasticizers that completely replace traditional plasticizers.†Yao Junying said. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of new environmentally-friendly plasticizers will not allow them to become mainstream in the market for the time being. Fan Jinjing, Technical Minister of Tianjin Jinyuantai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., told reporters: “We also wanted to do environmental plasticizers, but it needs to cooperate with scientific research institutes. It needs too much money and too much investment, but the actual downstream market demand is not Large, low cost performance.†BASF in the forefront of the environmental plasticizer industry and the French Roquette Group also believe that their new environment-friendly plasticizer applications are relatively narrow, due to the characteristics of the characteristics and price, can not replace Orthophthalic plasticizers. Although the plasticizer industry has to be dominated by o-benzene products for a long period of time, Professor Jiang Pingping of the School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Jiangnan University pointed out that from 2008 to 2010, the growth rate of phthalic plasticizers in Western European countries was only 2.1%, while the epoxy ester plasticizer growth rate reached 89.6%, the growth rate of citric acid esters reached 87.2%; in the United States, the consumption of epoxy ester plasticizers has also accounted for its total consumption third. This shows that the new environment-friendly plasticizer is a global development trend in the future, and the o-benzene plasticizers may withdraw from some applications that have direct contact with people. Moreover, with the introduction of restrictions on plasticizers for o-benzenes in recent years in European Union, Japan, the United States, Argentina, Canada, and other countries and regions, China’s relevant requirements in this regard will also be more stringent. From the current planning issued by the relevant state departments, we can also see support for new environmentally friendly plasticizers. Therefore, the national competent authority should increase investment in R&D and accelerate the development of environmental plasticizers and the development of new varieties. At the same time, companies in the industry should adjust the product structure and reduce the proportion of industrial production of o-benzene plasticizers in the structure of plasticizer products. Grouting Steel Pipe,Astm Grouting Steel Pipe,Photovoltaic Ground Pile Pipe,Helical Ground Screw Piles Shandong Fengmai Metal Materials Co., Ltd. , https://www.gghlw.com