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Synthetic resin is a kind of artificially synthesized high molecular weight polymer. It is a kind of resin that has or exceeds the inherent properties of natural resin. ASTM D883-65T defines synthetic resin as a solid, semi-solid or pseudo (quasi) solid organic substance with an unrestricted molecular weight but often a high molecular weight, which has a tendency to flow when subjected to stress, often has a softening or melting range and is shell-shaped when broken. In practical applications, it is often used synonymously with polymers or even plastics, especially referring to basic materials generated by monomers through polymerization reactions without any additives or with only a very small amount of additives. In addition, it is sometimes used to represent uncured fluid thermosetting polymer materials. The world's three major synthetic materials include synthetic resins, synthetic rubbers and synthetic fibers. Synthetic resins are the synthetic materials with the highest output and consumption.
The most important application of synthetic resins is the manufacture of plastics. In order to facilitate processing and improve performance, additives are often added, and sometimes they are directly used for processing and forming, so they are often synonymous with plastics. Synthetic resins are also the basic raw materials for the manufacture of synthetic fibers, coatings, adhesives, insulating materials, etc.
In 2014, global polyethylene production capacity will reach 101.7 million tons/year, an increase of 4% over 2013. Global polyethylene production is expected to rise by 5%, and the average operating rate is expected to rise to 84.2%, 1 percentage point higher than the same period last year. Before the commissioning of new production units in 2015, the demand for polyethylene in the North American market will continue to maintain a moderate growth trend, and the operating rate of North American polyethylene units will remain at a high level of 90%. The demand growth will make North American polyethylene production exceed the historical high in 2007. In the Middle East, Iran plans to commission 5 polyethylene production plants this year and next; the UAE will also build 3 petrochemical plants this year, adding a large amount of polyethylene production capacity.
In 2014, global polypropylene production capacity will increase by more than 6.5%; global polypropylene production will also increase, but the growth rate is slightly lower than the production capacity, at 4.9%. The average operating rate of global polypropylene units will drop by 0.8 percentage points to 81.1%, mainly due to the commissioning of new units. Most of the new global polypropylene production capacity is in China. Since China's coal prices are relatively low and the supply is sufficient, China's new polypropylene capacity is mainly coal-based polypropylene. As China's polypropylene supply gradually becomes self-sufficient, polypropylene exporters will have to find alternative markets. ¡ª¡ªAnalysis of global synthetic resin market capacity in 2014
However, the global polyvinyl chloride market is full of challenges in 2014. Suspension polyvinyl chloride capacity will increase by 6% to 59 million tons/year. As polyethylene production will cut production to cope with sluggish demand, the global polyvinyl chloride plant operating rate is expected to be only 64.8% in 2014, a drop of 1.1 percentage points from 2013. At the same time, global polyvinyl chloride market demand is expected to reach 40.15 million tons, an increase of 4.15% over the previous year, which to some extent offsets the adverse effects of oversupply.
Similar to the global polyvinyl chloride industry, the polystyrene industry also has a thorny road ahead in 2014. The biggest problem is that the prices of raw materials benzene and ethylene will fluctuate widely.
There are many types of synthetic resins.
Synthetic resin industry products can be divided into general-purpose resins and special-purpose resins. General-purpose resins have large output and low cost. They are generally used in general consumer goods or durable goods. Representative varieties include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene and ABS. Special-purpose resins generally refer to resins produced for special purposes. They have small output and high production costs. For example, they can replace metals in machinery, electronics, automobiles and other departments. Engineering plastics belong to the category of special-purpose resins. Important engineering plastics include polyamide, polycarbonate, polyoxymethylene, polybutylene terephthalate, modified polyphenylene ether and polytetrafluoroethylene. Another type of special-purpose resin is thermoplastic elastomer, which has rubber-like elasticity and can be repeatedly molded when heated.
According to the chemical composition, synthetic resins can be roughly divided into two categories: one is that the main chain is composed of only aliphatic carbon atoms, and general-purpose resins basically belong to this category; the other synthetic resin contains oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur in addition to carbon atoms in the main chain. Most engineering plastics are composed of heterochain polymers.
According to engineering performance, synthetic resins can be divided into thermoplastic resins and thermosetting resins. The difference mainly comes from the chemical composition and molecular structure of the polymer. The molecular chain structure of thermoplastic resins is linear or branched. It can be plasticized (or softened, melted) and flowed after heating, and can be repeatedly plasticized and molded. Typical thermoplastic resins are polyethylene, polypropylene, poly-1-butene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, etc. Thermoplastic resins can be quickly molded and can be repeatedly molded. Thermosetting resins are high molecular polymers with three-dimensional structures. They contain multi-functional macromolecules in the molecular chain. In the presence of a curing agent and under the action of heat and pressure, they can soften (or melt) and solidify (or mature) at the same time to become insoluble and infusible polymers. Typical common thermosetting resins include phenol-formaldehyde resin (commonly known as phenolic resin), urea-formaldehyde resin (commonly known as urea-formaldehyde resin), melamine formaldehyde resin (commonly known as melamine formaldehyde resin), epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, polyurethane, etc.
The raw materials for producing synthetic resins are abundant. In the early days, they were mainly coal tar products and calcium carbide, and now they are mainly petroleum and natural gas products, such as ethylene, propylene, benzene, formaldehyde and urea. The production methods of synthetic resins adopt bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, solution polymerization, melt polymerization and interfacial polycondensation.
Synthetic resin
Synthetic resin is a high molecular compound, which is produced by combining low molecular raw materials-monomers (such as ethylene, propylene, vinyl chloride, etc.) into macromolecules through polymerization reactions. There are four commonly used polymerization methods in industry: bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization and solution polymerization.
Bulk polymerization
Bulk polymerization is a polymerization process in which monomers are polymerized without other media under the action of initiators or heat, light, and radiation. The characteristics are that the product is pure, no complicated separation and purification is required, the operation is relatively simple, and the utilization rate of production equipment is high. It can directly produce high-quality products such as pipes and plates, so it is also called block polymerization. The disadvantage is that the viscosity of the material increases continuously with the progress of the polymerization reaction, mixing and heat transfer are difficult, and the temperature of the reactor is not easy to control. Bulk polymerization is often used in the production of resins such as polymethyl acrylate (commonly known as organic glass), polystyrene, low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and polyamide.
Suspension polymerization
Suspension polymerization refers to the polymerization process in which the monomers are dispersed into droplets under the action of mechanical stirring or oscillation and dispersants, and are usually suspended in water, so it is also called bead polymerization. The characteristics are: there is a lot of water in the reactor, the material viscosity is low, and it is easy to transfer heat and control; after polymerization, only simple separation, washing, drying and other processes are required to obtain resin products, which can be directly used for molding processing; the products are relatively pure and uniform. The disadvantage is that the reactor production capacity and product purity are not as good as the bulk polymerization method, and the continuous method cannot be used for production. Suspension polymerization is widely used in industry. 75% of polyvinyl chloride resins are produced by suspension polymerization, and polystyrene is also mainly produced by suspension polymerization. The reactor is also gradually large-scale.
Emulsion polymerization
Emulsion polymerization refers to the polymerization of monomers in water to form an emulsion under mechanical stirring or oscillation with the help of emulsifiers. The product of emulsion polymerization is latex, which can be used directly, or the latex can be destroyed and washed, dried and other post-treatment processes to obtain powder or needle-shaped polymers. Emulsion polymerization can obtain polymers with higher molecular weight at a higher reaction rate. The material has low viscosity, is easy to transfer heat and mix, is easy to control production, and residual monomers are easy to remove. The disadvantage of emulsion polymerization is that the emulsifier added during the polymerization process affects the performance of the product. In order to obtain a solid polymer, it consumes processes such as condensation, separation, and washing. The production capacity of the reactor is lower than that of bulk polymerization.
Solution polymerization
Solution polymerization is a polymerization reaction in which monomers are dissolved in appropriate solvents. The formed polymer is sometimes soluble in the solvent, which is a typical solution polymerization, and the product can be used as a coating or adhesive. If the polymer is insoluble in the solvent, it is called precipitation polymerization or slurry polymerization. For example, the production of solid polymers requires precipitation, filtration, washing, and drying to become a finished product. In solution polymerization, the production operation and reaction temperature are easy to control, but both require solvent recovery. Industrial solution polymerization can be carried out by continuous method and intermittent method, and large-scale production often adopts continuous method, such as polypropylene.
The curing of thermoplastic resins is generally achieved by cooling the product to below the glass transition temperature or melting point, while thermosetting resins are cured by heating to produce a chemical reaction that forms a network structure. The main processing methods include extrusion, compression molding, injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, reaction injection molding, thermoforming, foaming, etc.
In 2013, there were nearly 830 synthetic resin manufacturers in China, with an output of 58.37 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 9.5%.
In recent years, the development momentum of the engineering synthetic resin industry has been strong, and the output growth rate has been significantly faster than that of general synthetic resins, resulting in a downward trend in the proportion of the output of the five major general synthetic resins in the total output of synthetic resins, from 84.1% in 2010 to 79.5% in 2013.
Despite this, the five major synthetic resins still maintained a relatively fast expansion rate in 2013. With the commissioning of Wuhan's large-scale ethylene plant and Ningbo Fude's outsourced methanol to propylene project, China's five major synthetic resin production capacity increased significantly. By the end of 2013, the production capacity of the five major synthetic resins reached more than 64 million tons/year. Affected by the market recovery and the release of the capacity of new plants, China's five major synthetic resins output in 2013 was about 46.62 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.1%. Among them, the output of polyethylene was 11.243 million tons, an increase of 7.3% year-on-year; the output of polypropylene was 12.62 million tons, an increase of 9.6% year-on-year; the output of polyvinyl chloride was 15.3 million tons, an increase of 16.1% year-on-year.
China's synthetic resin industry has made remarkable achievements in the development of domestic catalysts, processes and equipment. Compared with the advanced level of foreign countries, China's synthetic resin industry still has a certain gap. Many newly built large-scale synthetic resin plants still rely on imported technology, and some plants must purchase foreign catalysts to produce high-end products; the number of some high-end products in China cannot meet market demand. For example, China has few resin brands for greenhouse films and low output, which is far from meeting the production needs of functional greenhouse films, and imported raw materials account for about 50%; there is still a certain gap between domestic PP-R pipe materials and imported materials, and the quality needs to be improved and improved.
The world synthetic resin industry faces competition from low-cost products from the Middle East. To cope with the competition, the world's large resin production companies are allocating assets to the Middle East with low-cost raw materials; building world-class large-scale production facilities to make full use of economies of scale; adopting more advanced catalysts, process technologies and more advanced computer control, optimization and management solutions. The resin industry is highly competitive. Under this situation, China's resin industry should further strengthen its independent innovation capabilities, better digest and absorb imported technologies, produce more high-end products that cannot be produced by Middle Eastern facilities, and do everything possible to reduce production costs to cope with the competition of synthetic resin products from the Middle East, neighboring countries and major multinational companies.
With the changes in the world economic structure, the substantial adjustment of the US energy structure and the change in China's economic growth model, under the general environment of energy conservation and environmental protection, the changes in the competitive landscape of the chemical market and the upgrading of demand will bring about huge changes in the industry.
From the perspective of the raw materials of the upstream synthetic resin device, it tends to be more diversified and lightweight to improve the competitiveness of the product. From the demand side, the requirements for green, functional and differentiated synthetic resin products are put forward. From the perspective of trade, due to the low-cost advantage that shale gas in the United States brings to its chemical industry, exports to China will increase in the future. From the perspective of China's competitive landscape, coal chemical industry, propane dehydrogenation to propylene, and methanol to olefins will all bring huge challenges to the traditional petrochemical industry. In the short term, China's synthetic resin production capacity has increased significantly, while demand continues to be sluggish. Synthetic resins will still be in a period of small profits in the next 2 to 3 years.
Faced with a severe market, China's synthetic resins must take the path of technological innovation. Chinese synthetic resin companies must first improve the technical content of their products, break through high-tech barriers, and lock in users; second, they must strengthen the technical services and after-sales services of their products, so that users can get the highest cost-effectiveness under the premise of appropriate purchase costs; third, they must improve product quality. Companies can choose to visit competitive users, tailor-make products, strengthen quality management according to the other party's requirements, increase certification, etc., and bind high-end customers.
The secretions of some trees often form resins, but amber is a fossil of resin. Although shellac is also considered a resin, it is a sediment secreted by lac insects on trees. Shellac paint made of shellac was originally used only as a wood preservative, but with the invention of the motor, it became the earliest insulating paint used. However, after entering the 20th century, natural products could no longer meet the needs of electrification, prompting people to look for new cheap substitutes.
As early as 1872, German chemist A. Bayer first discovered that phenol and formaldehyde could quickly form reddish-brown lumps or viscous substances when heated under acidic conditions, but he stopped the experiment because they could not be purified by classical methods. After the 20th century, phenol could be obtained in large quantities from coal tar, and formaldehyde was also produced in large quantities as a preservative. Therefore, the reaction products of the two attracted more attention, hoping to develop useful products. Although many people have spent a lot of labor on it, they have not achieved the expected results.
In 1904, Baekeland and his assistants also carried out this research. The initial purpose was just to make an insulating varnish to replace natural resin. After three years of hard work, in the summer of 1907, they not only made an insulating varnish, but also made a real synthetic plastic material - Bakelite, which is the well-known "Bakelite", "Bakelite" or phenolic resin. Once Bakelite came out, manufacturers soon found that it could not only make a variety of electrical insulation products, but also make daily necessities. Edison (T.Edison) used it to make records, and soon announced in an advertisement that he had made thousands of products with Bakelite. For a time, Baekeland's invention was praised as the "alchemy" of the 20th century.
Before 1940, phenolic resins made from coal tar had always been the most productive of all synthetic resins, with an annual output of more than 200,000 tons. However, with the development of petrochemicals, the output of polymerized synthetic resins such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene has also continued to expand. With the establishment of many large factories with an annual output of more than 100,000 tons of such products, they have become the four most productive synthetic resins today.
Today, synthetic resins are combined with additives to produce plastic products through various molding methods. There are dozens of varieties of plastics, with an annual output of about 120 million tons worldwide and more than 5 million tons in China. They have become basic materials for production, life and national defense construction.
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