Output of Fluorine-Containing Polymers Grows Rapidly

Through developments over more than 40 years and especially
during the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), remarkable
achievements have been made in the production of
fluorine-containing polymers in China. Production capacity for
fluorine-containing polymers increased from 11.17 thousand t/a
in 2000 to more than 46.9 thousand t/a at the end of 2005 and
the output increased from 9 142 tons to 30 417 tons - an average
annual rate of 27.2%. The output, variety and quality can
basically meet the needs of the machine-building, petrochemical,
aviation/space flight, automotive and electronics sectors.
China has become one of the top four producers and consumers of
fluorine-containing polymers together with the United States,
Japan and the EU.

  1  Present development trends of fluorine-containing
polymers

Fluorine-containing polymers include fluorine resins and
fluorine rubbers. Fluorine resins are again classified into
non-fused polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fused
polyperfluo-roethylene-propylene (FEP), polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF), ethylene-tetrafluoroe-thylene copolymer (ETFE)
and polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE). Fluorine-containing
polymers produced in China include PTFE, FEP, PVDF and fluorine
rubber copolymerized by vinylidene fluoride and
hexafluoropropylene.

1.1 PTFE

Research and production of PTFE in China started rather early,
but due to restrictions by various factors the overall level of
production scale and process technology was relatively low for
many years. The PTFE sector started to make rapid progress in
the 21st century. The capacity to make PTFE increased sharply
from only 10.13 thousand t/a in 2000 to more than 40 thousand
t/a at the end of 2005. The output increased from 8 377 tons in
2000 to 27 thousand tons in 2005 with an average annual growth
of 47%. China has become a major PTFE producer and supplier in
the world. In the entire industrial chain, however, domestic
companies hold a considerable advantage only in low-end products.
The market of products with high added value, in-depth
processing and high technical requirements is still basically
held in the hands of foreign companies. With the constant output
increases, the export of PTFE has also grown. The exported amount
of PTFE increased from 2 601 tons in 2000 to 9 264 tons in 2005.
At the same time, as some varieties and brands of domestic
products can not meet the needs in the domestic market,
considerable amounts have to be imported from abroad. The
imported amount of PTFE increased from 2 399 tons in 2000 to 6
351 tons in 2005.
   As a major variety of fluorine-containing polymers, PTFE has
very bright application prospects. In recent years, domestic
companies have improved technologies and upgraded the technical
level mainly through technical progress, commercialization of
research results and cooperation or joint venture with foreign
fluorine chemical companies. During this period, some 10
thousand t/a tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) production units have
been constructed and 4-8 m3 polymerization kettles have been
developed. The production scale is already close to the
international level, production equipment and control methods
have been improved constantly and waste has been reduced. The
stability of product quality has increased; new suspension
granulated varieties, refined varieties and modified varieties
have been developed; and the needs of domestic downstream
processing companies are basically satisfied.

1.2 PVDF

PVDF is a fluorine-containing resin holding the second place in
output. It is mainly used in petrochemical, electronic/electric
and fluorocarbon coating sectors. The world's capacity of PVDF
is around 43 thousand t/a and the output is around 33 thousand
tons. Major producers include Atochem of France, Solvay of
Belgium and Atofina of the United States, Kureha and Daikin of
Japan. The development of PVDF production in China is very slow.
Lab tests were completed in the 1980s and pilot tests started
in the 1990s. The production capacity of PVDF in China today is
nearly 1 thousand t/a and the output is around 300 tons a year.
Major producers include Shanghai 3F New Materials Co., Ltd.,
Zhejiang Research Institute of Chemical Industry and Chenguang
Research Institute of Chemical Industry. The market demand of
PVDF in China was around 2.5 thousand tons in 2005 and domestic
products could only meet around 10% of the demand.

1.3 FEP

FEP is a polymer produced from tetrafluoroethylene and
hexafluoropropylene at a certain ratio through copolymerization.
It is mainly used as insulation material for electric wires and
cables. It is also used in the petrochemical sector to make
anticorrosive linings for pipes, valves, pumps, vessels and
towers, heat exchangers and anticorrosive filtration nets. FEP
also has important applications in the pharmaceutical and
machine-building sectors. The world’s manufacturing capacity
for FEP is 26.9 thousand t/a today. Major producers include
DuPont of the United States and Daikin of Japan. With the ongoing
development of the communication sector, the demand for FEP in
electric wires and cables will continue the trend of brisk growth.
It was expected that the worldwide consumption of FEP would reach
more than 20 thousand tons in 2006 and further increase to 24
thousand tons in 2010. The capacity to make FEP in China is
relatively small - around 1.5 thousand t/a in 2005 with an actual
output of only about 800 tons. Major producers include Shanghai
3F New Materials Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Juhua Group and Jinan 3F
Fluorochemical Co., Ltd. Stimulated by the demand for electric
wires and cables, the consumption of FEP in China has increased
rapidly in recent years. Owing to the bright market prospect,
quite a few companies in China are constructing or planning to
construct FEP production units.

1.4 Fluorine rubber

Fluorine rubbers have excellent resistance to heat, oxidation,
oil and chemicals and have therefore become an indispensable
basic material in modern industry and especially in high-tech
sectors. They are extensively used in aviation/space flight,
automobile and petrochemical sectors. The world's capacity to
produce fluorine rubbers is around 40 thousand t/a today and the
output is around 32 thousand tons. More than 60% of fluorine
rubber is used in the automobile industry. Major producing
countries include the United States, Germany, Italy, Belgium,
the Netherlands, Japan and Russia. China started the research
in fluorine rubbers in the 1960s. Major producers include
Shanghai 3F New Materials Co., Ltd., Chenguang Research
Institute of Chemical Industry and Jiangsu Meilan Group. The
manufacturing capacity of fluorine rubbers was 3 thousand t/a
in 2005 and the output was 2 411 tons. With the rapid development
of automobile, aviation/space flight and refining precision
equipment sectors, the demand for fluorine rubbers in China has
presented a trend of rapid growth.


  2   Gap in the development of fluorine-containing polymers

Despite a rapid development of fluorine-containing polymers
made during the Tenth Five-year Plan period (2001-2005), there
is still a big gap between domestic companies and the world's
more advanced fluorine chemical companies.
    First, the rapid development of fluorine-containing
polymers in China mainly depends on capacity expansio