Expansion of maleic anhydride, why is it difficult to brake?

It is predicted that by 2009, the total domestic demand for maleic anhydride will be less than 340,000 tons, and by the end of 2006, the total production capacity of maleic anhydride will reach 600,000 tons, and the total annual production of maleic anhydride will reach or approach 400,000. Ton. However, under this market situation where supply exceeds demand, the expansion of maleic anhydride continues. Why is it difficult to brake maleic anhydride? The author analyzes the following reasons:

The first reason is the need for the extension and development of the company's own product chain. Of the increments newly built and put into operation this year, the vast majority of the plant's capacity is to build maleic anhydride production plants that have their own raw materials or existing raw materials for their products, that is, extend the product chain upward or downward. The development model. For example, of the 12 new sets of maleic anhydride devices with a total production capacity of 200,000 tons this year, only 3 sets, with a total capacity of 40,000 tons, are the reasons for the expansion of old enterprises; while other new production capacity of 160,000 tons Of the maleic anhydride devices, 80% are built by companies that need to develop their own product chains. Of the 18 sets of maleic anhydride and fumaric acid plants newly built and put into production next year, with a total production capacity of 350 thousand tons, there are 5 sets, with a total capacity of 70,000 tons, which is the reason for the expansion of old enterprises; there are 2 sets of total 25,000 tons are newly-built enterprises; while 9 sets of maleic anhydride and fumaric acid plants with a total production capacity of 255,000 tons are all built by enterprises for the needs of their own product chain extensions, accounting for the increase in next year. 72.86% of the total.

The second reason is the need for enterprises to improve their product's competitiveness through the use of innovation and optimization technologies. Benzene maleic anhydride production has high single-tube capacity, low energy consumption and material consumption, combined with the advantages of processes and equipment such as phthalic anhydride, acrylic acid, and optimization of maleic anhydride process technology. Therefore, this technology has become the preferred process for the old maleic anhydride device to improve the product's competitiveness and make the necessary technological transformation. At present, there are two sets of devices that use this technology in the country. The device with a capacity of 30,000 tons has been in operation for two years; in the third quarter of this year, there will be three sets of capacity and a total capacity of 50,000 tons; there will be four next year when it will be completed and put into production. Sets, a total of 120,000 tons capacity.

The third reason is the comprehensive utilization of n-butane resources. With the high international oil prices, the price of pure benzene has also risen sharply. Liquefied gas involves people's livelihood, and its price adjustment is strictly controlled by the government. The resulting price difference between liquefied gas and pure benzene establishes the price advantage of n-butane maleic anhydride for benzene maleic anhydride, which lays a solid foundation for the benefits of the production of maleic anhydride on the n-butane feed route. . At present, Xinjiang Uygur, a unit for the production of maleic anhydride using only butane, is the only one. The new butane method, 20,000 tons, will be put into operation in the fourth quarter of this year. The new butane method, 20,000 tons, will be installed in the Tarim region. It was completed and put into production in 2007, but this will not solve the problem of excess liquefied gas in the future. Therefore, in order to avoid over-exposure of the liquefied gas to daylight, and to make full use of the resources in the area, the Xinjiang region is preparing to build a 100,000 tons/year normal butane maleic anhydride plant. In recent years, due to the large-scale production of methyl ethyl ketone plant for the production of methyl ethyl ketone (Ket) in the large-scale production of butadiene after the extraction of butadiene, the production of maleic anhydride from its high content of n-butane tail gas will be used to produce Malay. The conversion of the anhydride feed route opened the curtain. At present, there is already a set of equipment that can produce maleic anhydride using methyl ethyl ketone tail gas, with a capacity of 20,000 tons/year, which will be completed and put into operation in the third quarter of this year. It is reported that all the production units for methyl ethyl ketone of this method have already completed the feasibility study of the construction of maleic anhydride device. At present, waiting for an opportunity, as long as the timing comes, that is, the benefits of maleic anhydride are higher than the value of selling liquefied gas, and all will certainly build maleic anhydride production facilities immediately.

In summary, the development of the company's own product chain will be extended upwards or downwards, or the use of n-butane in the regional excess liquefied gas to produce maleic anhydride, and the use of innovative and optimized technologies for technological transformation of old installations; production of methyl ethyl ketone that has been put into production The device, which utilizes its high content of n-butane tail gas to produce maleic anhydride and other new trends, will be the mainstream of maleic anhydride development in the future.

By 2009, the total domestic demand for maleic anhydride is expected to reach only 334,500 tons. If it is expected that the output of maleic anhydride can reach 70,000 tons in 2009, the total amount will be only 400,000 tons. It can therefore be concluded that the rate of development of downstream users of maleic anhydride in the future will certainly not be able to increase the capacity of maleic anhydride devices. Therefore, the macro demand relationship of the domestic maleic anhydride product market in the next few years will be a serious situation in which supply exceeds demand. In the future, if the development of maleic anhydride does not have the advantages of its own product chain extension, resource allocation and comprehensive utilization, and it does not adopt innovation and optimization techniques to enhance the support of product competitiveness, its decision-making needs careful and careful consideration.