Jilin, Jilin – Juyuan Chemical Industry started up its 400kT/year polyether polyol plant in October after a successful trial run, according to China’s state-owned news agency Xinhuanet.
Located in Jilin’s Chemical Industry Circular Economy Pilot Park, the facilities began construction three years ago with CNY1.2bn ($182m) as UTECH-polyurethane.com reported at the time.
The project licensed technology from Spain’s Repsol, including that for polyether polyols and grafted polyether.
Juyuan’s parent company, privately held conglomerate Shenhua Group, has a 300kT/year propylene oxide plant that came on stream three years ago. The new polyol project will make Shenhua the largest polyurethane feedstock maker in Asia, said the Xinhuanet report.
Shenhua Group also has arms in automotive, real estate and pharmaceutical. The report forecasts that Jilin will become the nucleus of the emerging polyurethane sector in China’s northeastern area.
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a minority owner of Juyuan’s, claims to have developed carbon dioxide-based, green polyether polyol.
Polyurethane applications made with the polyol, such as automotive interiors, are free of aromatic hydrocarbons and aldehydes. The technology is expected to be in use by 2018, said the report.
