Polymethacrylimide foam (PMI foam) has a wide range of uses and the level of localization in the Chinese market needs to be improved.
Polymethacrylimide foam, also known as PMI foam, refers to a type of rigid foam with a copolymer of methacrylic acid (MAA) and methacrylonitrile (MAN) as the base resin, and a main chain containing repeated imide rings. . PMI foam has the advantages of high/low temperature resistance, lightweight, high strength, excellent mechanical properties, high compressive strength, and good fatigue resistance. It is widely used in wind power generation, electronic communications, aerospace, medical, sports equipment and other fields.
PMI foam production processes include autoclave process, molding process and RTM process. The autoclave process refers to pressurizing the cured raw materials under vacuum conditions to finally produce the finished product; the molding process refers to using a mold to solidify the PMI foam and finally produce the finished product; the RTM process is also called the liquid resin injection molding process , a new PMI foam production process, which has the advantages of simple production process, low production cost, and high quality of finished products, and is expected to achieve large-scale production in the future.
According to the “2023-2028 China polymethacrylimide foam (PMI foam) industry market in-depth research and development prospect forecast report strong>” shows that PMI foam is widely used, including wind power generation, electronic communications, aerospace, medical treatment, sports equipment, etc. In the field of wind power generation, PMI foam can be used as the base material of wind turbine blades, with the advantages of high compressive strength, corrosion resistance, and aging resistance; in the aerospace field, PMI foam can be used to produce various types of helicopter blades and aircraft engine air intakes. Side panels, etc.; in the medical field, PMI foam can be used to produce medical bed boards, nuclear magnetic resonance equipment, etc.; in the field of sports equipment, PMI foam can be used to produce ski equipment.
The main players in the global PMI foam market include BASF, SABIC, Covestro, Zotefoams, Evonik, etc. Compared with overseas developed countries, my country’s PMI foam industry started late, with fewer companies with large-scale production capabilities, and its products mainly rely on imports. Longhua Technology, Haobo Technology, AVIC Hi-Tech, etc. are the main manufacturers of PMI foam in my country.
Longhua Technology is my country’s leading PMI foam enterprise. Its subsidiary Zhaoheng Materials focuses on the research and development, production and sales of military PMI foam. It has independent intellectual property rights for PMI foam and its products are widely used in the field of military aircraft. According to the annual report of Longhua Technology Enterprises, the company will achieve revenue of 2.3 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 4.2%.
Industry analysts said that PMI foam has the characteristics of high/low temperature resistance, lightweight and high strength, and is widely used in many fields. Restricted by factors such as high technical barriers and high production costs, my country’s PMI foam industry has developed slowly, and its demand is highly dependent on imports. It is expected that in the future, as local companies improve their independent research and development capabilities, the process of domestic substitution in my country’s PMI foam market will accelerate.