The market demand for medium molecular weight polyisobutylene (PIB) is vast and my country’s supply capacity needs to be improved.

Polyisobutylene (PIB) is a polymer produced by cationic polymerization of isobutylene and is a typical saturated linear polymer. The molecular weight of polyisobutylene can range from hundreds to millions. Those with a relative molecular mass of 350-10,000 are called low molecular weight polyisobutylene, those with a relative molecular mass of 10,000-100,000 are called medium molecular weight polyisobutylene, and those with a relative molecular mass of more than 10 Thousands are called high molecular weight polyisobutylene. Among them, polyisobutylene with a relative molecular mass of less than 30,000 is usually in liquid state.

The relative molecular weight of medium molecular weight polyisobutylene is medium, so its appearance usually appears as a viscous liquid. It has the characteristics of colorless, odorless, airtight, insulating, weather-resistant, acid and alkali resistant, corrosion-resistant, and aging-resistant, and can be widely used in Food, chemical, rubber, medical, industrial and other fields. According to different application fields, medium molecular weight polyisobutylene can be divided into two categories: food grade and industrial grade products.

Among them, industrial-grade medium molecular weight polyisobutylene is the current mainstream product in the polyisobutylene market. It can be used as a blending additive in rubber resin production scenarios, playing a role in improving the performance of rubber resins such as polyethylene and butyl rubber. The end market involves electronics, packaging, Automobile and other fields; can be used as an adhesive in hot-melt composite coating production scenarios, so that it can be made into end products without drying procedures; can be used as a binder and reinforcing agent in the production of polyethylene films, cling film and other films It plays a role in enhancing the flexibility, self-adhesion, tensile strength and other properties of the finished film; it can be used as a sealant in the production scenarios of new energy photovoltaic sealants, building insulating glass and other products.

According to the “2023-2028 Medium Molecular Weight Polyisobutylene (PIB) Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospect Forecast Analysis Report” released by the Industrial Research Center shows that medium molecular weight polyisobutylene has a wide range of application fields. Driven by the rapid development of domestic construction, automobile, electronics and other industries, its demand continues to increase and its scale continues to expand. In 2022, the domestic market size of medium molecular weight polyisobutylene will be approximately 420 million yuan.

From the production side, the foreign medium molecular weight polyisobutylene industry started earlier and developed rapidly. BASF in Germany was the first company in the global market to realize the industrial production of this product. It is also the largest supplier of medium molecular weight polyisobutylene in the world with its production capacity. It has reached more than 10,000 tons level. At the same time, benefiting from the growth in demand in the downstream market, BASF is actively expanding its production capacity. For example, in August 2023, BASF increased its production capacity of medium molecular weight polyisobutylene by 25% and is expected to fully complete the expansion project by the first half of 2025.

Industry analysts said that my country’s medium molecular weight polyisobutylene industry started late, and companies entering the industry Mainly Zhejiang Shunda New Materials and Shandong Hongrui New Material Technology. With the gradual expansion of production capacity of local enterprises, my country’s medium molecular weight polyisobutylene production is continuously increasing, the level of localization is continuing to grow, and the industry is showing a good development trend. However, judging from the market supply and demand situation, the current domestic medium molecular weight polyisobutylene market is still in a situation where supply exceeds demand. In the future, local companies will need to continue to improve large-scale production capabilities.