Summary: On 31 Aug., the EI report of Zhangjiagang Jiutai's 30,000 t/a PTT new bio-based material project was approved.

Jiutai Energy (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. (Zhangjiagang Jiutai)'s 30,000 t/a polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) new bio-based material project got approved with the local authority on the environmental impact (EI) report on 31 Aug. The company was founded in March 2007 with a registered capital of USD53.81 million (RMB370.31 million), a division of Inner Mongolia JiuTai Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd. in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu. According to the publicised report, the company's 300,000 t/a dimethyl ether (DME) project has stopped production since Nov. 2019 as a result of market factors and weak profitability. In 2020, it decided to swift focus on the new bio-based material, PTT.

This 30,000 t/a PTT new bio-based material project takes renewable products as raw materials and features a cleaner production, which helps to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development. The project product PTT polyester chips, is expected to be with properties including good dyeability, biodegradability, stain and UV resistance, elasticity and similar toughness as nylon, and be an upgraded version of the traditional polyester and polyamide chips (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide 6 (PA6), polyamide 66 (PA66)).

Overview of PTT project:

• Construction nature: Reconstruction (of the establishment of the 300,000 t/a DME project)
• Location: Jiangsu Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park
• Total investment: USD45.06 million (RMB310.10 million), of which USD2.91 million (RMB20.00 million) are for environmental protection, accounting for 6.45%
• Area: Around 6.67 ha (100 mu) of the existing factory
• Construction period: 24 months
• Product scheme: PTT polyester chips (30,000 t/a), in types of super bright, semi dull and full dull
• Labour quota: 110 employees
• Working system: Three eight-hour shifts (24-hour workday), totalling 333 working days (=8,000 working hours) annually

 

Highlights:

• Zhangjiagang Jiutai introduces China Textile Academy (CTA)'s PTT production technique—the production routes and equipment that adopt the "low-temperature and short-process polyester technology" and use 1,3-propanediol (PDO) and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) as raw materials and titanium-based catalysts to produce fibre-grade PTT polyester melts and chips through continuous pulping, esterification and polycondensation. This technique can shorten the time when the materials are under high temperature, reduce generation of by-products and improve the quality of PTT.
• This project complements the industrial chain nearby, which is in line with the goals of building industrial clusters and fostering recycling, green and integrated development.
• Constructing this project in Jiangsu Yangtze River International Chemical Industrial Park secures the raw and auxiliary materials the company needs. PDO, the raw material in the project, will be sourced from Guangzhou Guohong New Material Co., Ltd.,  which produces PDO of consistent, high quality. Besides, Zhangjiagang Glory Biomaterial Co., Ltd. located in the same industrial park and Shenghong Holding Group Co., Ltd. nearby also have production capacity for PDO.
• Companies such as Taiko Palm-Oleo (Zhangjiagang) Co., Ltd. and Dongma Palm Industries Zhangjiagang Co., Ltd. readily supply glycerol, as there are companies like Vopak Terminal Zhangjiagang Ltd. and Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone Changjiang International Harbor Co., Ltd. engaging the international transportation for major commodities. 
• Stongly backed, this project can also help promote the future extension of the PDO industrial chain.

 

To sum up, this project can further extend the key part of Zhangjiagang Jiutai's industrial chain, expand its production capacity and scale and increase the added value of products and its pricing power in the market. Moreover, it can also help facilitate the transition of textile, chemical fibre, home textile and industrial products to be more functional with a higher grade, thus further improving the company's awareness around the globe.