Recently, the New Foamable Polypropylene Pilot Technology Project, jointly undertaken by China Shenhua’s Baotou Chemical and the NICE, has made a significant breakthrough. The project achieved success in first attempt both in stable operation of the pilot polymerization unit and the verification of the product through industrial foaming trials, thereby completing the entire core technology chain and laying a solid technological foundation for industrial-scale production and commercialization.
The project utilized the newly built and commissioned polypropylene pilot plant to conduct scale-up validation of advanced catalyst technologies. It targeted the domestic technological gap in high-end foamable polypropylene, focusing on overcoming industry challenges such as fluctuating catalyst activity, difficulty in maintaining stable reactor material levels, and a tendency to agglomerate during long-term operation. Throughout the R&D, NICE fully leveraged its strengths in catalysts, polymerization processes, and new materials R&D, while Baotou Chemical continuously fine-tuned process parameters and iterated control strategies. The two teams worked together for 28 days, and, on June 8, continuously and stably produced 660 kg of qualified pilot products, with all performance indicators and process conditions meeting the expected R&D targets.
On June 30, the pilot products passed trial use by downstream industrial foaming customers. The results showed a broad foaming capabilities, stable expansion ratio, and excellent particle uniformity. The molding performance fully complies with industrial production standards, and the product can effectively improve yield, shorten cycle times, and reduce energy consumption. Its overall performance exceeds that of comparable products on the market, highlighting its industrial advantages.
The successful deployment of this new foamable polypropylene pilot technology has fully validated the reliability of the resin R&D platform and the industrial feasibility of the new foamable polypropylene technology. It has enabled the full-chain development of polyolefin technology from laboratory through pilot scale-up to industrial application, filling a gap in CHN Energy’s polyolefin production technology R&D.
