On December 20, the first set of polypropylene-based elastomer (PBE) pilot plant in China built by Tianjin Scientific Experimental Base of Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing Research Institute") was successfully put into operation, marking the first phase of the base project was put into operation. The device adopts the solution polymerization technology and the self-developed catalyst independently developed by the Beijing Institute of Chemical Technology, and can prepare a series of new PBE products. The successful commissioning of the plant means that Sinopec has the foundation to accelerate the industrialization of PBE technology, laying the foundation for the subsequent industrial production of PBE.

PBE is a low-crystalline polymer prepared with propylene as the main raw material and a small amount of ethylene or α-olefin monomer obtained by solution polymerization, and its second monomer content is generally less than 20% (generally 10%~15%). PBE has excellent properties such as high elasticity, high toughness, high transparency, high flexibility, chemical corrosion resistance and good weather resistance, and is mainly used in automobiles, packaging, shoe materials, wires and cables, sporting goods and other fields. At present, there are three main companies in the world that can industrially produce PBE, namely ExxonMobil (Vistamaxx™ series), Dow (Versify™ series) and Mitsui Chemicals (Tafmer™ XM series) products, and there is no domestic manufacturer of industrial production of PBE. Among them, ExxonMobil and Dow have a relatively rich product system, while Mitsui Chemicals has relatively few product grades. While Dow's elastomer portfolio focuses more on vinyl elastomers, ExxonMobil focuses more on propylene-based elastomers, with Vistamaxx being its trump card. ExxonMobil Chemical uses a special discrete metallocene catalytic technology, Exxpol™ solution polymerization, to produce a polymer with tightly controlled properties, with a good balance between elasticity, flexural modulus and tensile strength. On September 19, ExxonMobil announced plans to expand production of polyolefin elastomers and α-olefins at its Baytown, Texas site. The project plans to invest US$2 billion to produce 400,000 mt/year of Vistamaxx™ and Exact™ series of polyolefin elastomer products, and 350,000 mt/year of linear α-olefin products. Vistamaxx™ is an E-POE product and Exact™ is a POE product.

Before the realization of localization, the development of China's POE industry mainly faces six major problems: 1. Technical bottlenecks

The production of polyolefin POE requires the use of special catalysts such as metallocene catalysts, while foreign companies have a leading position in the research and development and production of catalysts, while domestic enterprises are relatively backward in the preparation technology of catalysts, and the relevant technologies are strictly confidential, resulting in a slow localization process. 2. Shortage of raw materials

The production of polyolefin elastomers requires high carbon α-olefin and other copolymer monomers, the production technology of these monomers is mainly in the hands of a few foreign companies, China needs to import a large number of products every year, not only the supply is limited, but also the price is high, which increases the production cost and restricts the localization development of POE. 3. The production process is limited

The production process of POE is complex, such as high-temperature solution polymerization process, which has high requirements for production equipment and process control. Foreign enterprises have long-term accumulation and mature technology in production technology, while domestic enterprises have relatively insufficient experience in this area, and need to invest a lot of time and money in research and development and improvement. 4. Market monopoly

The global POE market is mainly monopolized by several multinational companies such as Dow and ExxonMobil, which have advantages in technology, brand, market share, etc., and domestic enterprises are facing greater pressure in market competition, and it is difficult for products to enter the high-end application market. 5. Insufficient capital investment

The R&D and production of POE requires a large amount of capital investment, including the purchase of equipment, the construction of plants, and the research and development of technology. Due to the limited financial strength, some domestic enterprises are difficult to afford large-scale investment, resulting in slow progress in R&D and production. 6. Insufficient development of the application market

Although POE has excellent performance, it has not been fully developed in the domestic application market, and some enterprises do not have enough understanding of its performance and application advantages, which limits the market demand, which in turn affects the speed of localization. In recent years, with China's policy support for the development of POE, the gradual improvement of the industrial chain related to POE production, the increasing demand for photovoltaic, automobile, cable and other industries, the technological breakthroughs brought about by the continuous investment of scientific research forces, and the successive layout of many domestic enterprises, the localization process of POE in China has been continuously promoted. On October 30, 2023, Chambroad Holding Group's Hainan Beouyi Technology Co., Ltd.'s 30,000 tons/year special polyolefin and supporting project equipment was CCCC, and on December 15, 2023, it successfully started up at one time, realizing the localization of POE. In 2024, in addition to PBE, the following four high-end polyolefin elastomers in China have also made new progress, and their future development also has broad prospects. 1.E-POE

Vinyl polyolefin elastomer (E-POE) can be prepared from ethylene only as raw material without the use of high-carbon α-olefin monomers such as 1-octene, which has excellent properties and broad application prospects. Taking toughened polypropylene as an example, when using E-POE, only 1/3 of the amount of polyolefin elastomer currently on the market needs to be added to achieve the same toughening effect, which is far more cost-effective than existing polyolefin elastomers. The earliest E-POE development in China is Professor Chen Changle of the University of Science and Technology of China, which was initiated by him and established by Zhongke Kele has a unique E-POE technology process, using a completely self-developed nickel-based catalyst, using only ethylene as a single raw material, with domestic additives, with conventional polymerization devices and processes to achieve the preparation of polyolefin elastomers, which greatly reduces the production cost and the risk of device operation. On November 18, the world's first 5,000 tons/year E-POE project of Shandong Dongming Petrochemical was successfully completed, and the device had the conditions for trial production. 2. Bio-based POE

Bio-based polyolefin elastomers (POEs) were introduced by Dow to meet the market's demand for sustainable materials. ON SEPTEMBER 5, DOW ANNOUNCED THE LAUNCH OF ITS FIRST BIO-CIRCULAR PRODUCT FOR THE FLOORING INDUSTRY, ENGAGE™ REN POE. This is the world's first bio-based POE product. Initially, the material was mainly used for flooring, but later it was used in the products of the well-known casual shoe brand CROCS. As a leading enterprise in POE supply, Dow's layout of bio-based POE is to innovate the substitution of sustainable raw materials on the basis of its original industry, which also indicates that POE is developing in the direction of green and sustainable. 3. Coal-based POE

On November 23, the National Energy Group Low Carbon Institute completed the first continuous preparation of coal-based polyolefin elastomer (POE) in China. The properties of this material are comparable to, and in some respects even superior to, petroleum-based POE. For example, the transparency and haze of the prepared membrane samples reached the level of foreign photovoltaic materials. The continuous preparation of coal-based POE verifies the feasibility of coal-based high-carbon α-olefins in the production of POE and other high-end polyolefin copolymers, which not only improves the economic benefits of Fischer-Tropsch's synthesis of high-carbon α-olefins, but also provides a new impetus for the differentiation and high-end development of polyolefin products in China. 4.H-POE

Hyperbranched polyolefin elastomer (H-POE) is a new type of polyolefin elastomer developed by Starcom New Materials, which uses ethylene as a single raw material, does not rely on α-olefin and metallocene catalysts, and has many advantages such as "low investment, low cost and low energy consumption". On November 29, Starcom started the world's first H-POE industrial unit with an annual output of 30,000 tons (Phase I). The project uses completely self-developed catalysts and process technologies to produce polyolefin elastomers from ethylene as a single raw material.