Self-sufficiency rate of only 20%! Blocked abroad for a long time! The localization of this chemical material should accelerate the breakthrough

Recently, Sinochem International (Holdings) Co.
, Ltd.
said in an investor relations activity that the company will launch the para-aramid expansion plan in a timely manner and gradually promote the implementation of the entire upstream and downstream industry chain layout
.

In May 2022, Sinochem International made a major breakthrough in the quality and stability of high-strength and high-mold aramid products, and won a number of leading enterprise customers in downstream industries such as tires, communication optical cables, special protection, rubber, etc.
, with intended orders exceeding production capacity
.
The company has an existing aramid production capacity of 5500 tons/year, and high-strength and high-mode aramid accounts for 75%
of the total production capacity.

Domestic para-aramid self-sufficiency rate is only 20%

Aramid was first developed by DuPont of the United States and achieved commercial production
at the end of the 60s of the 20th century.
The world's most influential para-aramid brands include Kevlar® of the United States and Twaron of Japan, Heracron®® from South Korea and Taparan® and Stararmid® from China ® in recent years also have a certain influence in the domestic market; Meta-aramid brands include Nomex in the United States, Tameta ®® in China and Conex®® in Japan; Hybrid aramid includes Russian Armos® (heterocyclic aramid) and so on
.

Because para-aramid has important uses in the aerospace field, it has been embargoed by the West as a controlled material to China, and its production technology is also strictly confidential, so China has not been able to achieve a complete technological breakthrough
for a long time.
At present, the self-sufficiency rate of domestic para-aramid production capacity is only about 20%, which is heavily dependent on imports
.

In recent years, with the development of China's economy and many high-end manufacturing fields, the demand for para-aramid is increasing, especially the demand for high-strength and high-model grades is becoming more and more urgent
.
According to industry estimates, China's current annual demand for para-aramid fiber exceeds 10,000 tons, and the current domestic production capacity is far from meeting the demand, which seriously inhibits the development of
many fields.

Main downstream application areas

The synthetic raw materials of para-aramid fiber are terephthaloyl chloride (TPC) and p-phenylenediamine (PPD); The typical preparation process is a two-step process: continuous polymerization of low-temperature solution, washing and drying after polymer separation and re-dissolution with concentrated sulfuric acid, dry spray wet spinning, drying of fibers after washing with water, and winding and forming
.
With its performance advantages, para-aramid is used in reinforcement materials, safety protective materials such as body armor, helmets, aerospace composites, friction materials such as brake pads, sports equipment and other fields
.
Domestic para-aramid is mainly used in the field of optical fiber protection reinforcement and safety protection, and has not been used on a large scale in
other fields.
The global para-aramid has a wide range of applications, and friction materials such as brake pads, tire rubber reinforcement, safety protection, etc.
occupy market advantages
.

1.
Bulletproof field

Body armor and bulletproof helmets made of para-aramid have long been installed in the US military
.
According to military experts, more than 75 percent of the casualties on the battlefield are caused by low- and medium-speed stray bullets or bomb fragments, and no more than 25 percent
of casualties caused by direct bullet hits.
Therefore, people pay more and more attention to the use of
high-performance body armor.
Early hard body armor was made of special steel plates, super hard aluminum alloys, etc.
, and the body armor was of large quality and not flexible
.
Later, it was gradually replaced by soft body armor, which refers to high-performance organic fibers such as para-aramid
.
The requirements for body armor for fiber materials are high strength, high modulus and certain toughness
.
High strength and high modulus make the fiber have excellent impact resistance, and high toughness enables the fiber to effectively absorb the kinetic energy
of the bullet during the deformation process.
Although carbon fiber also has high strength and modulus, its toughness is poor and its weavability is poor, so it cannot be used as a body armor fabric
.
The body armor woven from para-aramid is lightweight, comfortable, flexible and easy to move, and has now been installed
by the armies of many countries around the world.

2.
Non-metallic self-supporting optical cable

Para-aramid is also widely used in all-non-metallic self-supporting optical cables (ADSS).

The high strength of aramid is enough to withstand the load of ADSS in use, and the high modulus makes the fiber only have a small deformation when subjected to the load, so that the diameter change of the optical cable can be limited to a small range
.
The excellent dimensional stability of para-aramid greatly increases the service life of the cable in overhead optical cables, and its lower density can reduce the difficulty
of installation.
At the same time, the good insulation and non-magnetism of para-aramid do not affect
signal transmission.
Combining the above advantages, para-aramid is very suitable for ADSS applications
.

3.
High-end cables in offshore projects

Para-aramid has been used in offshore engineering
.
Previously, most offshore projects were equipped with steel cables and steel cables, but in deep seas, steel cables and steel cables are easy to break due to their own weight, and another alternative material
needs to be found.
Par-aramid has low density, high specific strength and specific modulus, as well as good solvent resistance and low elongation
.
Therefore, the rope made of multiple para-aramid has high strength, and even if it breaks, it will not rebound and hurt people
.

4.
Composite materials

Due to its excellent mechanical properties, para-aramid is an ideal composite reinforcement.

The engine casings of the Trident missiles installed in the United States and the SS-24 and SS-25 missiles of the Soviet Union are all epoxy resin composites
reinforced with Kevlar fiber.
Many space engine housings also use Kevlar fiber-reinforced composites
.

5.
Other application fields

Para-aramid is also used in the data line of electronic products, which can provide effective structural support for the cable, protect the internal wire, and improve the overall tensile strength and bending resistance of
the cable.
Due to the excellent chemical and heat resistance of para-aramid, vacuum hoses reinforced by para-aramid will have very good application prospects
in the future in the field of oil and gas extraction.
In addition, para-aramid can be processed into long yarn, staple fiber, chopped fiber and pulp, which have different application areas
.

Table Application areas of different categories of para-aramid

The downstream demand structure of domestic para-aramid is quite different from that of the world, and is mainly used in relatively low-end fields
such as optical fiber, automotive industry and rubber reinforcement.
The main reason is that domestic technology lags behind international enterprises, and the high-end demand area is still in the development stage
.
With the development of China's aerospace, rail transit, and automobile high-end, the demand for paraaramid will continue to grow
.
It is estimated that China's demand for aramid is expected to reach about
20,000 tons in 2025.

Domestic enterprises still need to make efforts

On the supply side, in 2021, the global para-aramid production capacity was about 94,000 tons/year (see table below), and only a few countries such as the United States, Japan, South Korea and China have the capacity to produce it
.

At present, the United States and Japan suppliers are still in the first echelon, and the domestic para-aramid production enterprises mainly include Yantai Taihe New Materials, Sinochem International, Yizheng Chemical Fiber and Zhonglan Chenguang
.
At present, domestic manufacturers mainly produce ordinary aramid products, and high-strength and high-mold products mainly rely on imports, with a large gap and high prices for a long time
.

Sinochem International products are more anchored in the needs of higher-end customers, through joint application research and development with downstream customers, promote formal cooperation in many fields, and obtain high customer stickiness
by virtue of quality and supply stability.

Taihe new materials business includes high-performance fiber, special paper, fine chemicals and other industrial fields, the products are mainly
spandex, meta-aramid, para-aramid three major plates.
The main products are para-aramid Taipron ®, meta-aramid ranks second in the global production capacity, para-aramid ranks third in
the global production capacity.

Zhonglan Chenguang has made important progress in the research and development of aramid II and its fibers and heterocyclic aramid III and its fibers, and is in a leading position
in the research field of aramid fibers in China.
Through the overcoming of the key technical problems of continuous polymerization and high-speed dry and wet liquid crystal spinning, after years of technical research and accumulation, heterocyclic aramid III.
fiber has also achieved stable production, successfully replaced imported aramid fiber in some types of weapons, and achieved localization
.

(Source: China Chemical Information Weekly)