On August 16, 2021, China’s largest meta-aramid and para-aramid technology company: YTTH Aramid Technology Group issued an announcement stating that the company’s newly-built protective high-performance meta-aramid high-efficiency integrated industrialization project (hereinafter referred to as The first phase of the "High-Performance Meta-aramid Project" (with a production capacity of 4000 tons/year) has officially started commercial production recently, and the product performance indicators have reached the predetermined target.
1. Project introduction
On December 22, 2018, YTTH issued an announcement that in order to meet the increasing needs of customers and improve the supply capacity and competitiveness of the meta-aramid market, YTTH invested in the construction of 8,000 tons/year of high-performance meta-aramid for protection and efficient integrated industrialization project
Project content: On the basis of the existing meta-aramid production technology, carry out technological process innovation, production efficiency improvement and equipment upgrade, invest 1.2 billion yuan to build new polymerization, spinning, solvent recovery equipment and supporting public works, forming a year Production capacity of 8,000 tons of high-performance meta-aramid.
2. Necessity of project construction
China's "Personal Protective Equipment Provisioning Regulations" has made mandatory regulations for personal protection in the petroleum, chemical, natural gas and other fields. The regulations will be implemented on January 1, 2022. Meta-aramid has excellent thermal stability, flame retardancy, and electrical insulation. It can be made into industrial flame-retardant clothing, fire-fighting clothing, military and police clothing, welding clothing, etc., and can be used in metallurgy, chemical, fire, military and other fields.
With the improvement of China's economic level and the realization of the localization of meta-aramid fiber, the excellent properties of meta-aramid fiber and its products have been recognized and accepted by people, and its application fields have been expanding. Protective clothing, industrial composite materials and other fields have been widely used. Especially in recent years, they have shown a rapid growth momentum, but there is still a big gap between them and foreign countries in terms of popularization and promotion. The survey shows that the demand and consumption of meta-aramid in various fields in China will increase at an annual rate of nearly 20%. The current market is in short supply. Therefore, there is an urgent need to expand the production scale of aramid and provide high-end products to meet the needs of various fields.
3. Significance of project commissioning
After the project was put into production, the production capacity of YTTH meta-aramid has achieved a leap from 1,000-ton level to 10,000-ton level. The influence of participating in global competition has increased significantly, the product structure has been further optimized, and the product quality has been further improved, which is conducive to ensuring customer demand and Market supply is conducive to improving profitability and sustainable development capabilities, and is conducive to enhancing the industry position and competitive advantage of Taihe New Materials, which is in line with YTTH's development plan and the interests of all shareholders.
2. Production of meta-aramid
From a global perspective, the production capacity of meta-aramid is concentrated in the hands of six companies including DuPont in the United States, Teijin in Japan, YTTH in China, SZCM in China, Toray ELSON in South Korea, and Huvis in South Korea. As of the end of 2020, the total production capacity of meta-aramid of the above companies is approximately 44,000 tons per year.
DuPont is the world’s largest producer of meta-aramid with a production capacity of 22,000 tons/year and a market share of approximately 50%; YTTH is the world’s second largest producer of meta-aramid with a production capacity of 7,000 tons/year and market share. About 16%.
From a domestic perspective, the production capacity of meta-aramid is concentrated in the hands of two companies, YTTH and SZCM, which are the largest and second-largest domestic meta-aramid producers. As of the end of 2020, the production capacities of meta-aramid are respectively It is 7 thousand tons/year and 3 thousand tons/year, the total market share of the two exceeds 90%.
YTTH is a leading enterprise in China's aramid industry. In 1999, YTTH officially started to construct China's first meta-aramid project, and introduced Russian technology and equipment in May 2001, and successfully realized the industrial production of meta-aramid in May 2004; invested in October 2009 250 million yuan to start the construction of a para-aramid industrialization project with a production capacity of 1,000 tons per year. In June 2011, the industrialized production of para-aramid (aramid 1414 fiber) was realized, breaking the foreign monopoly. As of the end of 2020, YTTH has a production capacity of 4,500 tons/year of para-aramid and 7,000 tons/year of meta-aramid. The commissioning of the first phase of the high-performance meta-aramid project will increase the production capacity of YTTH meta-aramid. Reached 11,000 tons.
SZCM is also a well-known meta-aramid manufacturer in China. In 2007, China's first independent intellectual property rights meta-aramid production line developed by SZCM and Donghua University was completed and put into production. As of the end of 2020, SZCM has a meta-aramid production capacity of 3000 tons per year.
3. Application fields of meta-aramid
The full name of meta-aramid fiber is poly(metaphenylene isophthalamide) fiber. It is commonly known as aramid 1313 in China. It has the reputation of "fire-resistant fiber". It is a kind of high thermal stability, outstanding flame retardancy and good electrical insulation. Performance fiber materials are widely used in fields such as safety protection, environmental protection and modern industry.
In the field of safety protection, protective clothing, protective gloves and other safety protection equipment made of meta-aramid can effectively resist high temperature, flames, arcs and other operating injuries, and maximize the safety of workers. They are widely used in the military, fire fighting, petroleum, Electricity, forestry and other fields.
In the field of environmental protection, meta-aramid can be processed into needle-punched non-woven fabrics and woven filter fabrics, which are widely used in high-temperature flue gas filtration in cement, steel, road construction and other industries. The dust removal efficiency is 99.99%, which can greatly reduce air Discharge of pollutants to realize environmental protection and sustainable development.
In the field of modern industry, meta-aramid is widely used in various high-temperature transmission equipment, power transmission equipment, electrical insulation equipment and other industrial production fields due to its temperature resistance, flame retardancy, insulation and other characteristics. It is a Basic and key materials in modern manufacturing industry.