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CHINA CHEMICAL REPORTER J une 21, 2013 18

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Table 2 Chinas New BPA Capacity, 2013-2015 (kt/a)

Company Location New Capacity Startup

Changchun Chemical Co., Ltd Changshou, Jiangsu 135 2013

Nanya Plastics Corporation Ningbo, Zhejiang 130 2013

Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Caojing, Shanghai 150 2015

Chemicals Co., Ltd

Wuxi Resin Factory of BlueStar Wuxi, Jiangsu 150 2015

New Chemical Material Co., LtdTotal 565

Table 3 Chinas BPA Supply and Demand, 2004-2011 (kt)

Year Output Import Export ApparentConsumption Self-sufciencyRate/%

2004 42 183 12 213 19.7

2005 40 279 9 310 12.9

2006 45 360 4 401 11.2

2007 131 461 2 590 22.2

2008 104 420 1 523 19.9

2009 157 514 5 666 23.6

2010 292 439 7 724 40.3

2011 400 581 6 975 41.0

Soaring BPA Output Accommodatedby Huge Demand

By Zhang Guihua, Research Institute of PetroChina Jilin Petrochemical Company

1. Growing Capacity

Chinas bisphenol A (BPA) annual capacity

jumped from 50 000 tons in 2005 to 396

000 tons in 2008, and then to 636 000 tons

in 2012. The six major domestic producers

include Bayer (Shanghai) Polymer Co., Ltd,

Sinopec Mitsubishi Chemical Polycarbonate

(Beijing) Co., Ltd and Shanghai Sinopec

Mitsui Chemicals Co., Ltd.M ore t han ha l f o f domes t i c BPA

capacity is operated by Bayer (Shanghai)

Polymer Co., Ltd and Shanghai Sinopec

Mitsui Chemicals Co., Ltd, both located in

Shanghai, Chinas BPA production center.

Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Material Co.,

Ltd started up a 90 000 t/a BPA unit with

proprietary technology in 2010.

Promoted by downstream markets like

polycarbonate and epoxy resin enterprises,

Chinas demand for BPA increased

continually. Enterprises at home and abroad

that are attracted by Chinas great potential

intend either to construct new BPA units or

to expand existing ones.

If projects mentioned in table 2 are put

into operation on schedule, Chinas BPA

capacity will increase 565 000 tons, reaching

1.20 million tons in 2015.

2. Relying on Imports

China produced 45 000 tons of BPA in

2006, growing to 157 000 tons in 2009,

292 000 tons in 2010 and to 400 000 tons

in 2011, with the self-sufciency rate rising

from 11.2% in 2006 to 41.0% in 2011.

However, domestic supply is still far lower

than demand, which is signicantly boosted

by epoxy resin and polycarbonate industries,

making import volume jump to 580 000 tons

in 2011 from 420 000 tons in 2008.

Bayer (Shanghai) Polymer Co., Ltd produces

BPA for its polycarbonate production; Sinopec

Mitsubishi Chemical Polycarbonate (Beijing)

Co., Ltd, for its 60 000 t/a polycarbonate unit

and external supply; Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui

Chemicals Co., Ltd, polycarbonate unit of

Jiaxing Diren Company and external supply;

Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Material Co., Ltd,

epoxy resin production; Huizhou Chung Shun

Chemical Co., Ltd, 50 000 t/a epoxy resin unit.

Chinas demand for BPA is predicted to

exceed capacity in 2015 even if the new 565

000 t/a capacity is fully realized. Therefore,

import volume wi l l keep i t s upward

momentum.

3. Advantages of Industry Chain

C h i n a s B P A i s m a i n l y u s e d i n

polycarbonates, epoxy resins, re retardants,

unsaturated polyester resins, polyacrylic

esters, polyetherimide and polysulfone

resins. More than 90% are consumed by

polycarbonate and epoxy resin.

Table 1 Chinas Main BPA Producers in 2012 (kt/a)

Producers Capacity Remarks

Bayer (Shanghai) Polymer Co., Ltd 210 Phase I 110 000 t/a project

started up in 2006; phase II

100 000 t/a project started up

in 2007

Sinopec Mitsubishi Chemical 150 Started up in 2011

Polycarbonate (Beijing) Co., Ltd

Shanghai Sinopec Mitsui Chemicals Co., Ltd 120 Started up at the end of 2008

Nantong Xingchen Synthetic Material Co., Ltd 90 Started up in 2010

Wuxi Resin Factory of BlueStar New Chemical 41

Material Co., LtdHuizhou Chung Shun Chemical Co., Ltd 25 Started up in 2007

(Guangdong Branch of Kingboard Chemical

Holdings Ltd)

Total 636

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Dow Corning Sees Chinas Projected Growth of LED

Lighting Linked to Adoption of Advanced Optical Silicones

China represented 45% of Asias lightingmarket last year, and LED lighting counted

for 12% of Chinas market, according

to analyst firm McKinsey & Company.

Looking ahead, McKinsey expects Chinas

LED lighting market to grow at a compound

annual growth rate averaging 43% through

2016, Dow Corning a global innovator

in silicones and silicon-based technology

expects that much of that growth will

be co nt in gent on the adop ti on of more

advanced materials technologies. While

conventional LED materials helped enablegrowth in low-power applications, higher

pe rf or mi ng pr od uc ts su ch as si li co ne s

can help solid-state lighting meet the

challenging application requirements for

Chinas fast-growing general lighting

market.

Chinas fast-growing general lighting

market is calling for LED designs, such

as chip-on-board architectures, that are

pu sh ing conv entional gl as s, epox y and

plastic packaging materials to their practical

limits, said Eric Peeters, vice president

of Dow Corning Electronic Solutions.

Consequently, Dow Cornings is seeing

increasing interest from customers in

Asia and around the globe in its high-

per for ma nce opt ic al si li co ne s for th e

advanced performance properties and

processing exibilities they provide.

Four major industry-wide trends that are

fueling this interest in silicone innovation

include:

* The drive toward higher efficiency

-Although LEDs are among the mostefficient of all light sources, Chinese

designers are continuously pushing toward

higher and higher efficiency products.

Offering advanced optical performance

and superior mold ability vs. traditional

materials, silicones offer exceptional clarity

and new design possibilities for primary and

secondary optics that squeeze more lumens

out of every watt.

* Rising LED temperatures -As LED

designers in China seek to increase the

amount of driving current in their devicesand decrease the overall size of the lighting

fixture, the operating temperatures of

emerging LEDs are approaching 150C

and higher. Such temperatures can cause

conventional epoxies and plastics to turn

yellow and physically degrade over time.

In contrast, silicones have demonstrated

reliable optical and physical performance

at temperatures reaching 200C and higher,

which helps ensure next-generation LED

sources can meet and exceed the lumen

maintenance requirements of todays most

challenging lighting applications.

* Demand for more design flexibility

-While conventional glass, polycarbonate

and acrylic products were adequate for

low-power LED designs, Chinas market

is calling for new lighting applications

with LED architectures that are difficult

to fabricate with traditional materials. The

unique mechanical properties of silicone

materials are driving broad new design

poss ibil it ies fo r secondary optics , ligh t

pipes , light guides, white reflecting partsand remote phosphor components. The

superior mold ability of silicones enables

LED architectures with more complex

shapes, micro-scale optical structures,

undercuts and thinner wall configurations

that would be difficult or impossible to

fabricate with either organic polymers or

glass.

* Lower cos t s -As Chi na s LED

manufacturers seek to deliver more lumens

per RMB, many are exploring how optical

silicones can help minimize their productstotal cost of ownership through improved

performance and processing. More easily

molded than glass or plastics, silicones

offer unique options for consolidation of

mechanical and optical LED, helping to

reduce assembly operations. Plus, their

lower molding temperature translates into

lower energy consumption during LED

manufacture. Lastly, the thermal and

optical stability of silicones combined

wi th the i r s t rong res i s tance to UV,

chemicals and impact helps ensure LED

light sources deliver consistent, reliable,

high-quality illumination over the lifetime

of the device.

None of these emerging application

demands will hinder adoption of Chinas

next generation of LED lighting designs.

But in Chinas fractured and highly

competitive market, the success stories will

likely include close collaboration between

designers, manufacturers and materials

developers, said Peeters.

More foreign enterprises are establishing

epoxy resin plants in China, bringing ample

opportunities for Chinas BPA industry.

With rapid development, Chinas epoxy

resin industry boasted capacity of more than

1.5 million t/a in 2010, when the output

exceeded 1.3 million tons. Blocked by raw

materials of BPA, domestic epoxy resin

enterprises once developed slowly and

could hardly make breakthrough in high-

purity products. But now things have been

changed. Epoxy resin products are exported

in large quantity, meeting worlds demand

to make high-end goods like aerospace

products and electronics.

Chinas fast-growing economy greatly

prop el led po lycarb on ate consumpt ion.

Polycarbonate import reached 1.26

million tons in 2010 and 1.22 million

tons in 2011. Increasing demand and

prof its att racted companies from home

and abroad to es tabl i sh new plants

or expand cur ren t un i t s . Domes t i c

p o l y c a r b o n a t e d e m a n d g r o w t h i s

est imated to continue at around 9%

in the next few years . Wi th market

development, Chinas BPA consumption

structure will also be changed, reflected

in that polycarbonate will account for

more of the consumption.

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C o p y r i g h t o f C h i n a C h e m i c a l R e p o r t e r i s t h e p r o p e r t y o f C h i n a N a t i o n a l C h e m i c a l

I n f o r m a t i o n C e n t r e a n d i t s c o n t e n t m a y n o t b e c o p i e d o r e m a i l e d t o m u l t i p l e s i t e s o r p o s t e d t o

a l i s t s e r v w i t h o u t t h e c o p y r i g h t h o l d e r ' s e x p r e s s w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . H o w e v e r , u s e r s m a y

p r i n t , d o w n l o a d , o r e m a i l a r t i c l e s f o r i n d i v i d u a l u s e .