PPS Has Bright Development Prospect
By Yan Feng  

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is an engineering plastic with
excellent thermal stability, chemical stability, measurement
stability, corrosion resistance and electric property. Its
development and utilization prospect is therefore very bright.

Capacity increases stably in the world

The total capacity of PPS in the world is 60 thousand t/a and
the total output is 50 thousand tons today. The total capacity
is expected to reach 85 thousand t/a in 2010.
   The total consumption of PPS in the world is 50 thousand tons
today. The electronic/electric industry and the automobile
industry are major consumption sectors. PPS is mainly used to
produce connectors, switches, coils, steam valves, engine
components, gauge covers, pumps, cameras and instruments.
   The United States and Japan are both major PPS producers and
consumers. The output of PPS in the United States is 18 thousand
tons, accounting for 36% of the world total and the consumption
of PPS is 15 thousand tons, accounting for 30% of the world total.
The output of PPS in Japan is 22 thousand tons, accounting for
44% of the world total and the consumption is 16 thousand tons,
accounting for 32% of the world total.
   The demand of PPS in the world has increased stably in the
past decade. The average annual demand growth is 15% in the
United States, 18% in Japan and 15% in Western Europe. The total
demand of PPS in the world is expected to reach 90 thousand tons
in 2010.

It is imperative to expand PPS application sectors in China

China started the research and development of PPS rather early,
but the capacity is relatively small. The pressure process for
the synthesis of injection-grade PPS developed by Sichuan Haton
Enterprise Co., Ltd. made successful pilot tests in 2001 and an
85 t/a pilot production unit was constructed. Sichuan Deyang
Science and Technology Co., Ltd. used the technology to
construct China's first 1 thousand t/a PPS production line in
2002. China therefore became the fourth country that achieved
the PPS commercial production after the United States, Japan and
Germany. The 5 thousand t/a PPS project funded by Deyang Science
and Technology Co., Ltd. with an investment of RMB480 million
started construction in 2006. (CCR2006, No. 18) A 500 t/a unit
in Industry and Trade Company of Cangzhou Refinery and a 1.5
thousand t/a unit in Nanjing Chemical Industry Park are also in
preparation.
    The output of PPS in China is less than 1 thousand tons today,
but the demand of PPS reaches 10 thousand tons. PPS is mainly
used in anticorrosive coatings and injection-molded plastics.
The output of PPS in China can not meet the demand and import
has to be made from Phillips of the United States and some
companies of Japan.
    There are some key technical problems such as raw material
refining, polymerization process, product post-treatment and
product development in China's PPS sector. Besides, the
production cost is high, the product quality and appearance are
poor and pollution is serious. Needs in the actual production
therefore can not be satisfied. Besides, there is almost no
production of PPS alloys, films, fibers and copolymers. With the
rapid development of electronic, automobile and machine
industries, the consumption of PPS will surely increase
drastically. It is expected that the demand of PPS in China will
reach 15 thousand tons in 2010. The development prospect of PPS
is therefore very bright.