The market monopoly pattern has been broken, and the pace of domestic substitution of high-grade polybutene-1 in my country has accelerated.

Polybutene-1 is a polymer material obtained by polymerizing butene-1 monomer in a reactor. High isotactic polybutene-1 is a high-end polybutene-1 product. Compared with general cross-linked polyethylene, heat-resistant polyethylene, and random copolymerized polypropylene (PPR), high isotactic polybutene-1 has better impact resistance. It has better performance in terms of hoop stress bearing capacity, creep resistance, high temperature and high pressure resistance, etc. High isotactic polybutene-1 is suitable for the production of high-end pipes, and it has been widely used in high-end residential areas in Europe and the United States.

In 2021, the global poly-1-butene market will be around US$320 million, with consumption areas mainly concentrated in developed countries such as Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea. The industrial production of polybutene-1 abroad started early. However, due to the difficulty in implementing polymerization technology and limited raw materials, the industrial large-scale production of polybutene-1 is greatly restricted. At this stage, the global polybutene-1 production companies mainly include LyondellBasell Industries of the Netherlands, Mitsui Corporation of Japan, and Aikang Co., Ltd. of South Korea.

According to the “2022-2027 High Isotactic Polybutene-1 Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report》shows that the main polybutene-1 manufacturers in my country are Dongfang Dongfang Hongye Chemical, Shandong Tengzhou Ruida, Jingbo Petrochemical, etc. my country’s polybutene-1 industry started late. Due to technical limitations, high-end products such as high-end polybutene-1 are highly dependent on imports, and there is broad room for domestic substitution of high-isotactic polybutene-1.

my country’s high-grade polybutene-1 is mainly used in the production of pipes, such as water supply pipes, hot water pipes, industrial pipes, building pipes, etc. With the high-quality development of the construction industry, the market demand for high-isotactic polybutene-1 will continue to be released, and the demand is expected to reach 34,000 tons in 2025. From the perspective of production technology, the polymerization process of high isotactic polybutene-1 mainly includes three processes: slurry method, liquid phase bulk method (homogeneous and heterogeneous phase) and gas phase method.

With its excellent comprehensive properties, high-isotactic polybutene-1 has received increasing attention and research. The main units engaged in research on high-isotactic polybutene-1 in my country include Qingdao Institute of Chemical Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, etc. On February 8, 2022, the 3,000 tons/year high-isotactic polybutene-1 industrial demonstration unit developed with the participation of the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry successfully achieved stable operation at Zhenhai Refining and Chemical. This unit is the first independently developed solution-process polyolefin in China. The process equipment indicates that the monopoly of foreign companies in my country’s high-performance polybutene-1 market has been broken.

Industry analysts said that as a high-end polybutene-1 product, high-isotactic polybutene-1 has excellent comprehensive properties and is mainly used for in the production of high-end pipes. Due to limitations of polymerization technology, my country’s production capacity of high-isotactic polybutene-1 is low, and current market demand mainly relies on imports. However, with the improvement of domestic enterprises’ R&D capabilities, my country’s high-isotactic polybutene-1 market is monopolized by foreign companies. has been broken, and the pace of domestic substitution of high isotactic polybutene-1 has accelerated.