Work on a major polycarbonate production complex, being built by a joint venture of Sabic and Sinopec in China, was launched today (April 3).

The ground-breaking ceremony for the Sinopec Sabic Tianjin Petrochemical Company’s (SSTPC) 260,000 tonnes per annum capacity complex was held in the Tianjin Binhai New Area.

Previously, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) had cooperated on an ethylene production project with a capacity of one million metric tonnes per annum.

The ceremony was officiated by Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thenayan Al-Saud, chairman of the Royal Commission Jubail and Yanbu and chairman of Sabic; Zhang Gaoli, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Tianjin Party Secretary; Fu Chengyu, chairman of Sinopec; Wang Tianpu, vice chairman and president of Sinopec and other senior officilas.

Launched in October 2009, SSTPC is a joint venture with Sinopec and Sabic each holding 50 percent equity.

The Phase One project, with annual capacity of one million metric tonnes of ethylene, began production in January 2010.

With a total investment of RMB11 billion ($1.7 billion) and covering a ground area of 67 hectares, the new polycarbonate production complex with an annual capacity of 260,000 metric tonnes is the Phase Two project and was approved by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on January 13, 2012. 

With two sets of phosgene free production systems, with an annual capacity of 130,000 metric tonnes each, the new polycarbonate production complex started construction today (April 3). The project is expected to be operational in 2015.

Upon operation, it can produce four major classes of polycarbonate, including the mixed grade, extrusion grade, optical grade and molding grade. The project uses the world's leading non-phosgene polycarbonate manufacturing technology, which complies with China’s national energy saving and carbon emission policy, the statement said.

Prince Saud said: “Today’s ground-breaking ceremony is an important milestone for Sabic. It marks another collaboration we have with Sinopec, and our closer connection with the Chinese people.  Sabic and Sinopec have shared ambitions of establishing long-term strategic partnership that contributes towards enriching the economies of Saudi Arabia and China in the areas of scientific research, technology, reform and product marketing.” 

Demand growth for polycarbonate is the fastest among the top five engineering plastics. Polycarbonate has high purity and transparency properties. With its excellent overall performance, it is widely used in automotive parts, home appliances, medical products, etc.

With the recent growth in industries such as electronics, automotive, information technology and building materials, there is a significant increase in China in the demand of polycarbonate and other engineering plastics. In 2010, China consumed 1.13 million metric tonnes of polycarbonate, with a domestic output of 220,000 metric tonnes only. – TradeArabia News Service