Maleic anhydride: The maleic anhydride industry ushered in a wave of concentrated investment and construction of production capacity

Maleic anhydride: The maleic anhydride industry ushered in a wave of concentrated investment and construction of production capacity

As of mid-October 2022, the domestic production capacity of maleic anhydride in my country has reached 1.48 million tons. With the launch of the integrated maleic anhydride plant, my country's maleic anhydride industry has ushered in a rapid development cycle since last year, and several large-scale plants have been successfully put into construction and production. , the domestic production capacity has risen to a new level, and the domestic production capacity has increased steadily. In the first three quarters, my country's maleic anhydride output was about 800,000 tons according to Zhongyu data, and the annual output is expected to reach around 1.06 million tons, a growth rate of 4.95% over last year. Limited by the low operating rate of the benzene process plant, the growth rate of domestic production is not as fast as the expansion of production.

It can be seen from the latest production capacity commissioning process that the latest large-scale installations are basically equipped with upstream and downstream integrated industries, and the subsequent 90,000-ton projects will expand the total capacity to 240,000 tons/year. 280,000 tons/year maleic anhydride inter-hydrogenation unit (BDO), and 60,000 tons/year PBAT and PBS unit, and the upstream uses the light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization project. It is understood that more domestic new production capacity is mainly based on butane-maleic anhydride-BDO integration projects.

From 2023 to 2025, the maleic anhydride-BDO-degradable new material industry chain is still a new development direction in the industry. In recent years, the emerging fully degradable plastics industry chain has affected the industrial pattern of maleic anhydride. Due to the stricter and stricter national plastic restrictions and standards, the market demand for degradable plastics is strong, and the rapid development of related industrial chains is expected. As one of the upstream raw materials of degradable plastics, maleic anhydride was also brought into the peak period of production expansion. Qixiang Tengda, Shenghong Petrochemical, Zhongjing Petrochemical, Puyang Shengyuan Energy Technology, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) New Materials Technology, Hebei Bohang New Materials, Wanhua Chemical and many other petrochemical companies are all planning maleic anhydride-1 ,4-Butanediol (BDO)-degradable new material industry chain, the production wave of maleic anhydride integration project is coming quietly. Judging from the project companies that have been put into production, some large refining and chemical companies have also joined them.

The "plastic ban" has ushered in a development opportunity for the degradable material industry. Its end products can be used in many fields such as food packaging, agricultural films, disposable plastic products and biomedical polymer materials, which belong to the green environmental protection industry. The potential demand space for its upstream product maleic anhydride has increased. Both PBAT and PBS are made of BDO, the downstream product of maleic anhydride. Under the promotion of the ban on plastics, as the production capacity of degradable plastics is released, traditional plastics will be gradually replaced in the future.

It is estimated that in 2023~2024, with the release of new production capacity of PBAT and PBS, the new production capacity of degradable plastics is expected to reach 15 million tons. On the one hand, the demand for BDO will increase, and the demand for upstream maleic anhydride will increase in the same period. The acetylenic aldehyde process using BDO calcium carbide as raw material is limited by the impact of the two-carbon policy, and the development of high-energy-consuming industries is limited, while maleic anhydride-BDO is more environmentally friendly. Development of the saturated maleic anhydride market.

Judging from the price trend this year, maleic anhydride has been declining from a high level to a two-year low. In mid-August, it once fell to around 6950, and corporate profits began to lose a lot. The maleic anhydride industry has entered an era of low prices and low profits. Most of the legal installations were shut down, and the operating rate of enterprises dropped. The new maleic anhydride-BDO-degradable plastic industry may resolve the current predicament of maleic anhydride. The integrated supply of maleic anhydride plants from upstream to downstream can reduce cost pressure on the one hand, and improve the industrial chain on the other hand, and products can be successfully converted into end products, reducing the sales pressure of enterprises, and ensuring corporate profits. Therefore, the upstream and downstream are integrated. The advantages of chemical enterprises are prominent. However, excessive expansion will increase the production capacity of maleic anhydride in the short term. After a large number of new maleic anhydride plants are put into operation, it is estimated that the domestic production capacity of maleic anhydride may be as high as 5 million tons in 2025-2026, and the market supply will increase significantly. BDO-degradable plastics The smooth development of maleic anhydride has become a key force in the resolution of maleic anhydride production capacity.