Five Categories of Plastic Products Worth Developing
According to experts, compared  with  the  development  and
application of  plastic  products  in  foreign  countries,
  China  still  has  lots  of  gaps  in  plastic  products,
  especially  in   engineering   plastics   and   composite
engineering plastics, for chemical and plastic  processing
enterprises to fill.
(1) varieties used in large chemical  units,   tanks,   gas
pipelines and other industrial equipment
Most  of  acid  and  alkali-  resistant   storage   tanks,
circulation pumps, impellers, liquid  chemical  tanks  and
gas pipelines are made of PVC or glassfiber reinforced  PE
and PP. Some of them are all plastic and others have steel
carcass and PVC lining. Adhesives,   putties  and  leaking
stoppage agents  are  also  needed  in  both  process  and
technology.
(2) varieties for energy saving and  consumption  reduction
used in mechanical equipment
Plastic varieties with high- temperature  resistance,   low
friction coefficient and high mechanical strength used  in
mechanical and electrical equipment should  be  developed.
They include PAI, PI, PEEK, PPS, PTFE, POM and UHMPE.
(3) varieties used in trains and ships
China has started the production of sub-express trains  and
hovercrafts. They need  composite  plastic  materials  for
internal decoration and structure.   Some  components  are
made of flame-retardant and glassfiber reinforced phenolic
plastics, some components  are  made  of  polyester  fiber
reinforced plastics, or  desks  and  chairs  are  made  of
acrylic acid modified polyethylene. Hovercraft bodies  use
  glassfiber  reinforced  unsaturated  polyester  resin  or
polyamide resin according  to  the  requirements  of  load
capacity and  speed.   Flame  retardants,   adhesives  and
antioxidants are also needed in this field.
(4) varieties used in marine equipment and facilities
China has started offshore oil development  and  submarine
oil and gas transmission which have special  requirements.
Seawater desalination, seawater tidal power generation and
coastal mudflat utilization  all  need  plastic  varieties
with  resistance  to  seawater  corrosion,   seawater  low
temperature, repeated wave impact, high deepwater pressure
and shellfish or algae attachment  and  growth.   Besides,
floating lamps and ropes and buoys for coastal cultivation
are made of polyethylene or nylon. Deepwater fittings  are
made of composite PVC  or  glassfiber  reinforced  PVC  in
  foreign  countries.   All  these  varieties  have  to  be
developed in China.
(5) varieties for fiber-optical cable coating
To increase the tensile strength of fiber- optical  cables,
the external layer of the fiber-optical inner core is made
of the twine pre-treated by polyamide fiber. To avoid  the
reduction  of  transmission  efficiency  caused  by  damp,
polymeric absorbent material is  filled  around  the  core
wire with plastic film and flame-retardant resin as  outer
coating materials.  Big- volume  coaxial  cables  used  in
computers and wires and cables used in planes  and  trains
all have special requirements and promising market demand.