Domestic paraxylene (PX) production capacity is rapidly expanding and the industry development trend is improving

Paraxylene (PX) is an organic compound with the chemical formula C8H10. It appears as a colorless and transparent liquid with a special smell of aromatic hydrocarbons. It is insoluble in water and soluble in ethanol and ether. Paraxylene is mainly used in coatings, dyes, plastics, resins, inks, medicines, pesticides, chemicals and other fields. The main production methods include short-process m-xylene (MX) preparation method, medium-process off-process naphtha preparation method, and long-term off-process naphtha preparation method. Process integrated device preparation method.

At this stage, paraxylene in my country is mainly used to produce terephthalic acid (PTA), which is used to produce polyethylene terephthalate (referred to as polyester, PET), butylene glycol ester (PBT), etc. An important raw material for polyester resin. In recent years, against the background of the continuous development of terminal application fields such as engineering plastics, polyester fibers, coatings, special phenolic resins, medicines, and pesticides, the domestic market demand for paraxylene has continued to increase. The apparent domestic demand for paraxylene in 2021 is approximately 3502.5 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 1.9%.

Driven by the continued increase in demand, the number of domestic companies in the field of paraxylene continues to increase. The main companies include Zhejiang Petrochemical, Dalian Hengli, Ningbo CICC, Hainan Refining and Chemical, Fuhua Fuhaichuang, Fujia Dahua, and Hualian Petrochemical wait. Among them, Zhejiang Petrochemical and Dalian Hengli are the first and second companies in domestic paraxylene production capacity in 2021.

Currently, global paraxylene production capacity is mainly concentrated in Asia, North America, Africa and other regions. China is the main producer of paraxylene in Asia. In 2021, China’s paraxylene production capacity will account for 45% of Asia’s total production capacity. In recent years, my country’s paraxylene production capacity has shown continued expansion. According to the “Paraxylene Industry Market Status and Investment Prospects Forecast Report in 2022” released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that from 2017 to 2021, my country’s paraxylene production capacity increased from 13.853 million tons to 29.272 million tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.57% during the period. 2022 is the peak period for paraxylene production, and it is expected that nearly 10 million tons of new domestic production capacity will be put into operation.

Currently, against the backdrop of rapid expansion of domestic paraxylene production capacity, its import volume continues to decline while export volume continues to increase. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, domestic imports of paraxylene in 2021 were 13.65 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.5%; exports were 64.5 tons, a year-on-year increase of 34.8%. Although the decline in domestic paraxylene imports in 2021 is relatively small, its import dependence has reached the lowest value in recent years, at 38.82%.

Industry analysts said that overall, driven by application market demand, the number of paraxylene companies in my country continues to increase, and their production capacity continues to increase. expansion, which in turn led to a significant reduction in its import dependence, and the overall development trend of the industry was positive. In the future, under the background of continuous development of social economy and new energy industry, my country’s oil refining industry will gradually shift from gasoline and diesel consumption to chemical consumption. The proportion of chemical oil will continue to increase, which will continue to benefit the production of paraxylene. In the future, domestic paraxylene production capacity will grow rapidly, the supply and demand pattern will usher in a new situation of self-sufficiency, and the industry has huge development potential.