Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone to Build Synthetic Rubber Industry Base     

Recently, Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone, which is striving to build a sustainable modern petrochemical industry base relying heavily on the refining and ethylene project, is turning its eyes to the synthetic rubber industry. On the very day that Ningbo city was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission as a national high-tech new materials industry base, Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone launched its synthetic rubber industry base development planning. Before the end of 2008, the zone had developed land for constructing the base and now is preparing to complete various supporting public utilities in the base.  
    Xi Weida, vice director of the Zone said, "The status quo and future development trends of China's synthetic rubber industry as well as the state's evident intent are guidelines for our planning of this industrial park. The park's existing raw material resources, port resources and supporting logistical conditions give Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone unique advantages in developing the manufacture of synthetic rubber."
    By May 2008, China's overall synthetic rubber capacity had reached 2.38 million t/a. Of this, the capacity for making seven major varieties - styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polybutadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR), butyl rubber and styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS) - was 1.8875 million t/a, 79.3% of the total. Among the major synthetic rubber producers, Sinopec Corp. and PetroChina have capacities of 930 000 t/a and 509 500 t/a respectively, 39.1% and 21.4% of the national total. However, China's synthetic rubber production cannot yet meet the domestic demand, and large amounts of imports are needed every year. In recent years, the rapid development of the automobile industry speeds up the tire and the rubber goods industries. It is estimated that by the year of 2015, China's total demand for synthetic rubber will reach 5.1 million to 5.3 million tons. Although the synthetic rubber price went down significantly recently due to the international financial crisis, it can be expected that China's synthetic rubber industry will have broadening prospects with the gradual warming of the global economy.
    Xi Weida points out that once the synthetic rubber base is built, it will provide a convenient raw material source for companies in the park, while the integrated public utilities there will create good conditions for the companies to reduce operating costs and enhance competitiveness. The planned synthetic rubber industry base is located in the Wantang area of the Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone and has an area of about 700 000 square meters. At present, construction has begun on some projects, and at the same time, the base site area can be expanded according to its actual development and construction needs.
    Xi also said that, at present, Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone has not only been equipped with roads, pipelines and other basic supplies, but also completed several projects such as the main pipe rack, power and heating co-generation, industrial water supply, 220 KV and 110 KV substations, system for concentrated treatment of industrial wastewater and deep sea discharge of qualified water, integrated hazardous waste treatment center and special fire service station. Moreover, construction has already started or is about to start on some projects in the park like a large-scale industrial water plant, a liquid chemical terminal and storage, a low-temperature & pressure tank zone planned for ethylene tanks, propylene tanks, butadiene tanks, etc., and industrial gas supply, which together will equip Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone with the capability to undertake large petrochemical projects.
    The synthetic rubber industry base, as currently mapped out, enjoys four advantages. First, among all blocks in the chemical industry zone, the base is the nearest to Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company and its 1 million t/a ethylene project, with a distance of about 4 km, and also to Zhenhai Liquid Chemical Terminal, of about 7 km. At the same time, it is adjacent to Zhoushan Liandao Bridge and the linked Ningbo Round-City Expressway, making raw material acquisition and product transportation very convenient for synthetic rubber plants here.
    Second, the base is near the coastline and enjoys a relatively large environmental capacity as well as adequate safe space, all of which help promote the formation of an industrial chain in the base and also the co-location of synthetic rubber projects.
    Third, in 2009, the construction of the branch pipe gallery in the base will be completed and connected to the main pipe gallery in the chemical industrial zone, which will greatly improve the safety of pipelines transporting main raw materials of synthetic rubber, such as volatile and dangerous materials like butadiene, isobutylene and acrylonitrile and also reduce logistics costs.
    Fourth, the base is located close to the industrial park's wastewater treatment facilities and low-temperature & pressure tank zone. While construction has started on supporting water, electricity, heat supply facilities, and they will be put into production successively. Together, these conditions provide a good external environment for the construction of the synthetic rubber industry base.
    Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone is determined to build the synthetic rubber industry base into a leading domestic synthetic rubber production cluster which has good infrastructure and logistics system, integrates production and R&D, and places a high value on saving energy and protecting the environmental, as well as sustainable development. Before 2010, the base plans to take the lead to build synthetic rubber projects that are urgently needed and use advanced technologies to make products with good market prospects. Currently, the key projects that Ningbo Chemical Industry Zone plans to build or hopes to introduce include various special rubber projects for products like nitrile butadiene rubber, butyl rubber, isoamyl rubber, EPDM rubber, SIS and SBR, as well as a multitude of elastomer projects.