eSun initiates 30,000 t per year lactide and 110,000t per year biodegradable materials projects

    Summary: In early April, eSUN carried forward with an easily recyclable, degradable new materials master project encompassing the 30,000 t/a high-gloss pure lactide and 10,000 t/a lactate esters integrated project, and the 110,000 t/a degradable materials and 33,000 t/a lactate esters project—the record filings of the two projects have been approved.   

    On 7 April, Shenzhen Esun Industrial Co., Ltd. (eSUN) has been approved for the recordings of two projects involving collective investments (estimated) of USD342.08 million (RMB2.28 billion) in the production of easily recyclable, degradable new materials. The two projects, designed in Yichang City of Hubei Province with the construction work to be undertook by its subsidiary Hubei Yisheng New Material Co., Ltd. (Hubei Yisheng), are expected to ramp up the company's overall production capacity and help it catch up with the increasing market demand for biodegradable materials and related products under China's implementation of plastic restrictions. Details of the two projects are summarised below.   

    30,000 t/a High-gloss pure lactide and 10,000 t/a lactate esters integrated project   

    
•       Construction type: New construction     
    
•       Investment: USD42.01 million (RMB280 million)     
    
•       Construction period (estimated): May 2022–April 2024     
    

            

    

      This project works on chemical recycling of polylactic acid (PLA) and higher value application of lactate esters and polyols aiming to improve recycling rate of resources and slash carbon emission.     

    
•       The self-developed "X-form" production system by eSUN to be adopted in one production system of this project, uses lactide that are generated from lactic acid (LA) or recycled PLA as intermediates to produce directly, in one way PLA and PLA polyol, or in another, lactate esters.     
    
•       Chemical recycling of PLA developed by eSUN is the world-first technique of such kind, untangling the knots in recycling and reutilising biodegradable materials and helping build a "green and circular" economic system in the course of meeting global target of carbon reduction and pursuing sustainable development—eSUN filed a pattern application for "A Preparation Method of refined lactide using recycled PLA" in 2012 and was approved in 2014; at present, the company has put such chemical recycling technique into its industrial production.     
  

    110.000 t/a Degradable materials (PLA and PCL (polycaprolactone)) and 33,000 t/a lactate esters project   

    
•       Construction type: New construction     
    
•       Investment: USD300.07 million (RMB2 billion)     
    
•       Construction period (estimated): starting in Aug. 2022     
    

            

    

      This project focuses on copolymerisation of monomers like lactide,  glycolide and caprolactone, as well as modification blending with PLA, polyglycollide, or polycaprolactone for better functional features that can be well applied to a wide range of industries and areas.     

  

    Hubei Yisheng is a wholly-owned subsidiary of eSUN, founded in Jan. 2022 and registered with USD1.50 million (RMB10 million) in capital.    

    eSUN prioritises businesses in 3D printing materials, environmental-friendly biodegradable materials, capable of producing 10,000 t/a of polymers, 15,000 t/a of lactate esters, 5,000 t/a of polyols, and 5,000 t/a of 3D printing materials currently. In 2021, the company gained USD42.41 million (RMB274 million) in revenue, increasing 33.88% YoY, and USD2.06 million (RMB13 million) in net profit, dropping 17.36% YoY; main businesses' earnings soared 33.7% YoY including 3D printing materials up 37.22% and environmental-friendly biodegradable materials jumping 53.98%.