Sinopec Launches Lithium Initiated Polymers Project    

On December 8th Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Company started to construct a 60 000 t/a specialty lithium initiated polymers at its Yueyang site, Hunan province. This RMB493 million project includes a 40 000 t/a Styrene-Isoprene-Styrene Block Copolymers (SIS) unit and a 20 000 t/a Styrene-Ethylene-Butylene-Styrene Elastomer (SEBS) unit, both using the complete technology that Sinopec Group owns intelligent property right. The project is planned to come on stream in January 2012. Once full operational, Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Company's capacity to produce lithium initiated polymers will reach 280 000 t/a.
   Sinopec Baling Petrochemical Company is the first company commercially producing lithium initiated polymer SBS in China. It developed the SIS production technology in 1997, completed pilot production of SEBS in 2002 and built China's first 10 000 t/a SEBS production unit in 2006.
   When planning its production layout in the coming five years, Sinopec Group aims to make Baling Petrochemical Company a lithium initiated polymer production base, and one of its four synthetic rubber production bases. In 2011-2015, Baling Petrochemical Company will renovate its 60 000 t/a polybutadiene rubber unit and 120 000 t/a polypropylene unit, will construct a 200 000 t/a lithium initiated polymers unit, a 20 000 t/a SEPS unit, a 60 000 t/a SEBS unit and a 150 000 t/a polypropylene unit. By 2015 the company will be capable of producing 1 million tons of synthetic rubber, including 600 000 tons of lithium initiated polymers.