Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical will increase the production capacity of bioengineering plastic "DURABIO", and plans to increase the production capacity of the Fukuoka plant from 5,000 tons a year to 8,000 tons.
"DURABIO" is made from plant-derived isosorbide. Although it is not biodegradable, it has excellent optical and mechanical properties, high heat resistance, scratch resistance and abrasion resistance. Good light transmission and UV resistance.
In the application as a transparent resin, "DURABIO" has overcome the problems of impact resistance and heat resistance of acrylic resin, and weather resistance and surface scratch of polycarbonate (PC) resin. In addition, "DURABIO" has a total light transmittance (thickness of 3mm) of 92%, which not only exceeds 89% of polycarbonate, but also has transparency close to 93% of acrylic resin.
In addition to automotive interior and exterior components, "DURABIO" is gradually expanding to applications such as smartphones and lighting appliances. Mitsubishi Chemical stated that it will also promote the use of "DURABIO" in next-generation applications. For example, with the excellent optical characteristics of "DURABIO", it will expand its use in large-scale displays with complex shapes for automobiles.
In addition, Mitsubishi Chemical also stated that it will make use of the low dielectric constant (3.5) of "DURABIO" to actively launch applications for 5G-related sensor peripheral materials.
Regarding the 5G layout, Mitsubishi Chemical also previously revealed that in response to the growing demand for electronic components of the next-generation communication standard "5G" base stations and smartphones, it will improve the supply system of related materials and invest 14 billion yen (about 924 million (RMB) The introduction of new production facilities at its base in Indonesia is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.
It is reported that this investment is mainly used to increase production of PET film for MLCC. The current production capacity has not been disclosed, but the investment capacity will reach about 25,000 tons per year.