The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is hoisted with slings; China's first self-built polar scientific research icebreaker supporting cable; 300,000-ton super-large cruise ship, "Liaoning" aircraft carrier, 981 offshore drilling platform mooring cable... behind these major national projects There is an indispensable base material - polyolefin.
As one of the earliest units in China to start research on polyolefin catalytic technology, Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry is committed to the development of polyolefin catalytic technology and high-performance materials, breaking foreign monopoly, solving the technical bottleneck of “card neck” in the field of polyolefin catalysis, and developing independently. The “Made in Shanghai” high-performance polyolefin material guarantees the development of major national projects and defense equipment.
More than 20 years ago, China's polyolefin industry was not optimistic. "In the 1970s and 1980s, China's polyolefin catalytic technology was almost blank, and it was completely subject to foreign technology monopoly." Li Liangjun, executive director, general manager and president of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Institute recalled, "At the end of the 1980s, The United States and other Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on China and stopped supplying polyolefin catalyst products and technologies, which has caused major losses to China's chemical companies. The units of the Shanghai Chemical Industry Institute and the units have begun to take technical breakthroughs.
After more than 20 years of research, China has made great progress in the polyolefin industry, solved a series of "card neck" technical problems, and broke the foreign technology monopoly. Based on its own technology research and development advantages, Shanghuayuan has established a polyethylene catalyst production base with Sinopec Group, and its domestic market share has reached 40%. It replaces similar products of US and UK companies and forces foreign companies to gradually withdraw from the domestic polyethylene catalyst market. The state saves millions of dollars in foreign exchange and reduces production costs for petrochemical companies by more than 1 billion yuan.
At present, the chemical catalyst technology of Shanghuayuan has established its leading position in the olefin polymerization catalytic engineering technology, which is “the first in the country and internationally renowned”, and its products have become the “invisible champion” in this field in the world.
“UHMWPE fiber is taken as an example. Shanghuayuan not only overcomes UHMWPE's new catalytic technology with the support of supporting policies, but also achieves similar substitution for Western products at one-third price, breaking the monopoly and banned by Western companies. The situation of the company. Dr. Wang Xinwei, the chief expert of Shanghua Institute, introduced that UHMWPE's new polymerization process was independently developed by Shanghua Institute. The UHMWPE series of special resins including viscosity average molecular weight of more than 8 million were successfully prepared and industrialized in China for the first time. The technology and performance of fiber-specific resin products have reached the domestic leading level, achieving “winning with professional features rather than winning by quantity”.
About 40% of the polyethylene catalysts produced by Shanghuayuan are exported and the international market share is 5%. The “State Key Laboratory of Polyolefin Catalytic Technology and High Performance Materials”, which was built by Shanghua Institute, is also in the “national zone”. Under the guidance of the “One Way” strategy, we will actively promote polyethylene catalyst products to the Middle East. In 2018, we will export more than 170 tons of catalysts to the Middle East countries, accounting for 32.3% of the total annual shipments, reflecting the complementary advantages and cooperation of the “One Belt, One Road” policy. The win-win concept has also optimized the sales pattern of China's polyethylene catalysts; Shanghuayuan is actively promoting cooperation and cooperation with Vietnam, Ghana and other countries, and is expected to further open up the Southeast Asian and African markets and expand China's influence in the international polyolefin market. .
The “Invisible Champion” status of Shanghua Institute in polyolefin catalytic technology has also promoted China's development in a series of polyethylene downstream industries: UHMWPE fiber drives downstream production value of more than 15 billion yuan, including domestic body armor occupying 70% of the international market. Lithium battery separator with an annual output value of 5 billion yuan, more than 10,000 marine buoys used in dozens of regions, and steel-plastic composite pipes with a total application of 300,000 meters at home and abroad.
Bulletproof vests and helmets with a ballistic resistance of up to 100%, high-strength mooring lines made of UHMWPE fiber with strong load-bearing capacity, lithium battery separators for the development of new energy vehicle industry, comfortable new technology mats... In the showroom, Prof. Ye Xiaofeng, the director of the Advanced Materials Division of Shanghua Institute, introduced the application of polyolefin in many fields: “Polyolefin is a new material, and it has become a petrochemical industry because of its high strength and wide application. Basic materials in the fields of aerospace, advanced manufacturing technology, cutting-edge defense technology, national economy and people's lives."
Since the 1980s, the Shanghua Institute, which is dedicated to the research of polyolefin catalytic technology, has mastered a large number of polyolefin industry core technologies, and has established a complete industrial chain and promoted the industrialization of polyolefins. The project laid the foundation.
While affirming the achievements, the problems still existing in China's polyolefin industry cannot be ignored. "China has become a major producer of polyolefins, but it still has certain dependence on technology and equipment," Professor Ye Xiaofeng said. "For example, in the process technology of fuel cell separators, China is still subject to the United States, Japan and other countries. Constraints." Compared with some western developed countries, China's polyolefin industry has structural shortcomings: low-end polyolefin products have overcapacity, but high-end products cannot achieve full localization and rely heavily on imports, resulting in strong dependence and low profits. In view of this, Shanghua Institute is based on the national “13th Five-Year Plan”. According to the requirements of Shanghai “accelerating the construction of a globally influential science and technology innovation center”, Shanghuayuan continues to innovate and transform in line with the needs of the market and the country, relying on its own Technical advantages, facing cutting-edge science, basic science, engineering science, developing key technologies with independent intellectual property rights, enhancing original innovation capabilities, promoting technological progress, and accelerating industrial transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
Shanghua Institute has successfully developed more than 40 kinds of polyolefin catalysts independently, reaching the international advanced level, and achieving industrialization at a rate of 2 to 3 per year. In the high-end polyolefins, it has more than 190 authorized invention patents including 21 foreign patents. Established 17,000 tons of high-end UHMWPE resin industrialization equipment; advanced olefin purifier technology, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene production process and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene processing and modification technology; completed the national "Eleventh Five-Year" technology support plan Nearly 100 scientific research projects have won dozens of awards such as the second prize of National Science and Technology Progress Award.
The development of technology has also promoted the rapid development of China's polyolefin industry. In 2018, China's polyethylene production capacity was 19.38 million tons, accounting for 16.5% of the world. In 2018, the apparent consumption of polyethylene exceeded 30 million tons/year for the first time, the apparent demand reached 46 million tons, the total market value reached 166 billion yuan, and the new material industry related to polyethylene downstream exceeded 4.0 trillion yuan.
In the polyolefin industry, China has achieved arduous and long-term technical breakthroughs in related enterprises including Shanghai Chemical Industry, and has achieved “and running” from “follow-up” in competition with developed countries such as the United States, and in some technologies and products. Realized the "leading".
The new materials industry is a national strategic emerging industry. Accelerating the cultivation and development of new materials industries is of great significance for ensuring the implementation of major projects and enhancing the core competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry. High-performance ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene materials are the key new engineering strategic materials in China. China's high-end UHMWPE resin and advanced processing technology are subject to large foreign companies, the industry chain is not perfect, and some high-end products are blocked abroad.
For a long time, China's advanced UHMWPE resin catalysis, polymerization and high-end product processing and molding technology has been monopolized by large companies such as the United States and Japan, which has seriously restricted the development of strategic emerging industries such as new materials in China.
After more than ten years of technical research, Shanghuayuan broke the foreign monopoly and broke through the advanced UHMWPE catalysis and polymerization technology to realize the localization of high-strength high-modulus fiber-grade, high-end lithium battery separator grade and high-performance profile-grade special resin. A series of key technologies for fiber, diaphragm, profile forming, modification and evaluation of property rights, self-developed and built UHMWPE advanced dry spinning, new wet spinning, lithium battery separator preparation, high performance pipe production, high-end profile preparation, etc. Complete sets of pilot-scale equipment, forming a complete set of application technology systems from small test, pilot test to industrial development, and built a series of dedicated laboratories to solve the urgent need for the development of high-end polyolefin materials and the key technology of "card neck".
Shanghuayuan and upstream and downstream cooperation units carried out joint research on production, learning, research and use, breaking through the single-active center non-metallocene FI system catalysis and polymerization technology, inventing new solid phase grafting, organic-inorganic hybridization, photo-initiated controllable Free radical polymerization graft modification, high fluidity and other modification methods, develop a series of functional special resins, through the formulation design, product optimization, process innovation and equipment development, to achieve wear-resistant gaskets for rail transit, marine buoys, steel Localization of series of high-performance UHMWPE profiles and supporting technologies such as plastic wear-resistant pipes.
The developed high-speed railway bridge bearing wear plate has been applied to high-speed railway lines such as Beijing-Tianjin, Wuhan-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai, Lanxin, Hefu and Hukun, with a cumulative mileage of more than 10,000 kilometers. The marine buoy series products have been applied in China. The East China Sea, the South China Sea, the North Sea and other sea areas, and exported to the United States, France, Canada, Australia and other countries and regions, more than 10,000 applications; steel-plastic composite pipe for steel, Kunming, Fuping, Huainan Mining Such large enterprises have successfully entered international markets such as Southeast Asia and Africa, with a cumulative application of more than 300,000 meters. The performance indicators developed by Shanghuayuan have reached the level of international similar products.
Dean Li Liangjun said that in the next step, Shanghuayuan will base itself on Shanghai and face the whole country, increase investment, continue to promote the localization process of high-end UHMWPE, maintain the domestic UHMWPE technology leadership, and provide technology for the development of marine engineering, national defense military, new energy and other industries. Support, safeguard the country's major project construction and defense equipment development, and launch the "Made in Shanghai" and "Made in China" brands.
