Polyphenylene Sulphide (PPS) is a crystalline new high-performance thermoplastic resin with excellent high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, radiation resistance, flame resistance, mechanical properties, dimensional stability, and electrical properties. , Can be processed by a variety of processing methods (injection, extrusion and molding), and can be precision-molded.
Polyphenylene sulfide is widely used in the fields of electronics and electronics, automotive, machinery, aerospace and chemical industry. It has become the largest variety of specialty engineering plastics and the sixth largest variety of engineering plastics. Three-year Competitiveness Action Plan (2018-2020) "One of the key chemical industrial new material key technology industrialization projects.
Development process
The discovery of polyphenylene sulfide resin originated in the 19th century, but its industrial production synthetic route was formally established and developed in the 1960s, up to today's scale:
Pre-industrial stage (1888-1967)
In 1888, polyphenylene sulfide was first discovered as a by-product of the reaction;
In 1948, Macallum used the melting reaction of p-dichlorotoluene, sodium carbonate, and sulfur to successfully synthesize it for the first time in the laboratory. It obtained a product with unstable performance and was the first to obtain a patent.
In 1959, R. Dow Chemical Co. W. Lenz et al. Used p-halothiophenol self-condensation to synthesize polyphenylene sulfide, but were frustrated in the industrialization process because there were too many difficulties in the process.
Monopoly Phase and Blowout Phase (1968-2000)
In 1968, the Phillips Petroleum Company of the United States obtained a patent for the synthesis of polyphenylene sulfide by the sodium sulfide method. From 1972 to 1973, a resin production plant with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons was established in Texas, USA, and for the first time, polyphenylene sulfide was realized. Industrial production under the brand name "RytonPPS", RytonPPS has monopolized the global polyphenylene sulfide market for nearly 20 years.
In 1985, the patent protection of Phillips Petroleum Company expired, and then the global polyphenylene sulfide industry ushered in a blowout period, including industrial production by Wu Yu, Toray, DIC, Tosoh, and Bayer of Germany. Among them, Japan's Wu Yu developed the linear polyphenylene sulfide resin synthesis technology in 1986, launched the product "FortronPPS" in 1987, and established a joint venture Fortron with Ticona of Celanese in 1992. Industries, which rapidly expanded production capacity and captured the market, made FortronPPS the second major polyphenylene sulfide brand after RytonPPS.
The growth stage of the Chinese market (2000-2010)
With the rapid development of Japan's polyphenylene sulfide industry, its production capacity has surpassed that of the United States as the world's main source of supply for polyphenylene sulfide. At the same time, after more than ten years of gestation in China's polyphenylene sulfide industry, the industrialized production of polyphenylene sulfide was realized in 2001, and it has grown rapidly in the following ten years. From 2007 to 2008, the peak period of the industry, production capacity Once close to Japan (annual production capacity of about 30,000 tons, accounting for one-third of the global total production capacity at that time), many companies raised funds to go public.
Reshuffle phase (after 2010)
After 2010, the development of China's polyphenylene sulfide industry was decoupled from the plan, and production capacity was unstable. The world's chemical industry has frequent business integration, reorganization, mergers and acquisitions, etc., the situation of major polyphenylene sulfide suppliers has been reshuffled, and more companies have entered the polyphenylene sulfide market.
In 2013, Teijin Japan and South Korea's SK Chemicals established a joint venture INITZ, which is engaged in the production and sales of polyphenylene sulfide and its modified materials (composite materials);
In 2014, the Solvay Group of Belgium acquired the Ryton PPS business;
In 2015, DSM Group of the Netherlands and Xinhecheng, Zhejiang, China established a joint venture company focusing on polyphenylene sulfide modified materials.
Mainstream synthesis methods
The existing industrial synthesis methods of polyphenylene sulfide are mainly the sodium sulfide method and the sulfur solution method. Among them, most of them are produced by using the sodium sulfide method in the world. The sodium sulfide method, also known as the Phillips method, was successfully developed by the American Phillips Petroleum Company (now Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., Ltd.) in 1967, and realized industrial production in 1972. It is the earliest industrialized production method of polyphenylene sulfide.
Main application areas
Polyphenylene sulfide products come in different forms and grades, such as resins, fibers, filaments, films, and coatings, which are widely used. The main application areas of polyphenylene sulfide include the automotive industry, electronics and electrical, chemical industry, military defense, textile industry, environmental protection industry, etc.
Global market structure
According to a US market research agency GVR report, the global polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) market size in 2018 was estimated at USD 1.19 billion. It is expected that the compound annual growth rate of PPS in 2019-2025 will reach 8.8%, especially in the automotive lightweight and stability market. At present, the price of domestic raw materials is about US $ 6,692 / ton.
Major global production companies include Solvay, Fortron, Toray, DIC, Wu Yu Chemical, Xinhecheng, etc., with annual production capacity of more than 150,000 tons. At present, the only domestic companies with stable production capacity are Zhejiang Xinhecheng, Chongqing Jushi, and two newly-produced enterprises: Inner Mongolia Panxun and Zhuhai Changxian. The others are basically in suspension. Xinhecheng and Chongqing Jushi are the future It is possible for domestic PPS companies to enter the top five global PPS production capacity.
Future trends
After more than half a century of development, polyphenylene sulfide has been applied in the fields of electronics, precision machinery, automotive industry, petrochemical industry, environmental protection and other industries. With the rapid development of electronics, electrical and automotive industries, polyphenylene sulfide The market will maintain a high industry growth rate. It is worth noting that the demand for polyphenylene sulfide fibers in the environmental protection field in the Asia-Pacific market, mainly in China, has become a new growth point for the polyphenylene sulfide market.
At present, China has accumulated some synthetic production technology for polyphenylene sulfide, but there are still problems such as fewer product categories and gaps between high-end products and the world. At present, China's technological research on polyphenylene sulfide is mainly focused on fiber preparation to meet the growing needs of the environmental protection industry in China. There are still high bottlenecks in the modification and application of polyphenylene sulfide resins.