In 2025, the planned production capacity of PBAT resins is about 15 million tons

Global Coatings Network News: The accelerated layout of enterprises will lead to oversupply

Before 2019, the development of domestic PBAT was slow.

With the issuance of the new "plastic restriction order" in 2020, the development of the industry has accelerated significantly, and PBAT production has surged to 130,000 tons in 2020
.

Strong market demand and insufficient production capacity have prompted many companies to enter the PBAT production industry
.
According to the European Bioplastics Association, the global production of degradable plastics in 2021 was 1.
553 million tons, and it is expected to grow to 5.
297 million tons by 2026, with a compound growth rate of 28%.

Among them, PBAT/PBS (both can share the same flexible production line for production, classified as PBAT) accounted for 35%
in 2021.

By the end of 2021, domestic PBAT has put into operation 521,000 tons/year, and the production capacity under construction is 1.
52 million tons/year, of which the larger production scale is Lanshan Tunhe (128,000 tons/year), Kingfa Technology (120,000 tons/year) and Changhong Hi-Tech (120,000 tons/year).

At present, the existing production capacity of domestic PBAT equipment is 903,000 tons/year, and the production capacity will soon be put into operation of 148/year
.

According to statistics from the Biodegradable Resin Branch of the China Synthetic Resin Association, the planned production capacity of PBAT resins will reach about 15 million tons / year
in 2025.
At present, the production capacity of PBAT resins has far exceeded the market demand, and over time, the share of excess capacity will increase
.

Production capacity exceeds the remaining three major countermeasures

Wang Wenguang, executive vice president of the China Synthetic Resin Association, said that for enterprises that have been put into production, it is necessary to reasonably plan production capacity and output
.
In the current situation of serious overcapacity of PBAT resins, each production enterprise should reasonably plan the output according to market demand, and it is recommended that the operating rate be maintained at a low load to avoid market supply and demand imbalance caused by overcapacity, which will lead to vicious competition
.
For enterprises that have completed or are in the process of testing, it is recommended to delay the production or switch to other varieties
according to the characteristics of the production line.
For companies planning to invest, it is recommended to enter the market cautiously, if you have not invested funds, you can reconsider whether to invest, the current prospects for PBAT resins are not optimistic, you should invest
cautiously.

In order to solve the problem of overcapacity of PBAT resins, Wang Wenguang pointed out three development paths
.

1.
Innovative research and development to improve the quality of PBAT products

Taking plastic shopping bags as an example, the current plastic shopping bags filled with modified PBAT resin have defects such as insufficient strength, which affect consumer use and are surpassed by non-woven bags
.
To this end, the industry should strengthen product innovation and research and development, improve the strength of PBAT shopping bags, strictly in accordance with the published PBAT film special material group standards, it is recommended that the total filling amount of filled modified PBAT film special material is not more than 30%, so as to ensure the strength
of product use.

2.
Jointly develop new uses for PBAT resins

At present, PBAT is mainly used in plastic shopping bags, and the market demand is not large, which is not enough to absorb the existing planned production capacity
.
Companies can develop new uses for PBAT resins and explore new markets, such as mulch films, roll-up bags and garbage bags
.

3.
Set your sights on the international market

The quality of PBAT resins in China is world-class, and the production capacity far exceeds the domestic market demand, while the only companies that produce PBAT resins internationally are BASF and Novoment
of Italy.
At present, many countries have introduced policies to control plastic pollution, and the demand for PBAT resins is increasing, and the industry should focus on the international market
.