MMA Industry to Make a Great Adjustment
Year:2019 ISSUE:24
COLUMN:ORGANICS
Click:117    DateTime:Dec.26,2019


By Zhang Tianran, Beijing Bodingcheng Engineering Design Co., Ltd., Shanghai Branch


Operating rates of domestic MMA enterprises have remained low in recent years due to many factors, like downstream demand, raw materials and environmental protection. However, high profits of the industry attracted a large number of investors. In the recently issued Industrial Restructuring Guide Catalogue (2019 Edition), MMA adopting acetone cyanohydrin process was listed in the restricted category, leading to great changes in the industry.


Increasing supply and decreasing imports

   Domestic output of MMA reached 652 000 tons in 2018, and the average operating rate was 65%. Table 1 shows China’s major MMA producers in 2018.

   Table 1   China’s major MMA producers in 2018

Region

Company

Capacity (kt/a)

Process

East China

Lucite International (China) Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

173

ACH


Evonik Degussa (China) Co., Ltd.

100

C4


Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical Co., Ltd.

90

ACH


Shandong Hongxu Chemical Co., Ltd.

75

ACH


Wanhua Chemical Group Co., Ltd.

50

C4


Zibo Qixiangtengda Chemical Co., Ltd.

100

C4


Shanghai Huayi Group/Shandong Yuhuang Chemical (Group) Co., Ltd.

50

C4

South China

Huizhou Huiling Huacheng Co., Ltd.

90

C4

Northeast China

PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company

200

ACH


Heilongjiang Zhongmeng Longxin Chemical Co., Ltd.

75

ACH


Total

1 003



   East China boasted MMA capacity of 638 000 t/a in 2018, accounting for 63.6% of the nation’s total, and northeast China contributed 27.4% or 275 000 t/a. Domestic MMA capacity is forecast to reach 1.86 million t/a in 2023 (new or expanded projects are shown in Table 2).

   Table 2  China’s new or expanded MMA projects

Company

Location

Capacity (kt/a)

Process

Remarks

Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical

Lianyungang, Jiangsu

90

ACH

Put into production in 2019

Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical

Zhoushan, Zhejiang

90

ACH

To be put into production in 2020

Wanhua Chemical Group

Yantai, Shandong

120

C4

To be put into production in 2020

CNOOC Dongfang Petrochemical

Dongfang, Hainan

70

ACH

Early stage of project

Jilin Petrochemical, Jieyang Branch

Jieyang, Guangdong

50

ACH

Early stage of project

Liaoning Baolai

Panjin, Liaoning

90

ACH

Early stage of project

Zibo Qixiangtengda Chemical

Zibo, Shandong

200

C4

Early stage of project

Total


710




   Around 62% of domestic MMA is used in producing PMMA, 20% in coatings, 14% in ACR & MBS and 4% in other fields. 

   China imported 165 000 tons of MMA in 2018, and exported 58 000 tons in the same year.


Urgent need of making breakthroughs in domestic technologies

   MMA producers mainly adopt the acetone cyanohydrin process (ACH), the isobutene process and the ethylene process. 

   The mature ACH process is widely used given good quality and high yield of products, low investment and low production costs, etc. Further, it makes good use of hydrocyanic acid, a kind of petrochemical by-products. However, it utilizes sulfuric acid, corroding equipment seriously, and supply of raw materials is curbed by operating rates of acrylonitrile plants. High liquid waste disposal charge is also a disadvantage.

   The isobutene process has no problems in corrosion, but it is affected by prices of raw materials and has higher production costs.

   The ethylene process applies to refining and chemical integration plants, with BASF process and Lucite Alpha process being industrialized.

   The isobutene process has been industrialized in China. While improving this process continually to reduce production costs, industry players are wise to strengthen R&D of the ethylene process, and develop downstream products with high added-value.


Acceleration of industrial consolidation

   China’s MMA industry is to develop rapidly in the next five years, and the capacity is to increase 13.2% annually, resulting in more intense competition. Downstream sectors (e.g. PMMA, ACR/MBS and surface coatings) are generally facing problems of low production concentration, low technical level and homogeneous competition among middle and low-end products. Hence, industrial consolidation is forecast to be accelerated and outdated capacities to be eliminated more quickly.

   Among MMA derivatives, PMMA has the highest quality standards for MMA, but domestic MMA is mainly used in mid-and low-end sectors and the demand from high-end fields relies on imports. Domestic MMA demand is to increase with high-end PMMA products being accepted rapidly in China. In addition, lightening of vehicles becomes more urgent owing to policies to reduce energy and emissions of fuel vehicles and consumers’ need to increase endurance mileage of new energy vehicles. This requires more modified plastics, brings opportunities to the PMMA industry, and finally propels the MMA industry.

   Environmental pressure and higher taxes make increasingly more oil paint producers switch to water paint, which is to stimulate domestic demand for MMA.