Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) has good application prospects and my country’s market supply capacity needs to be improved

Hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) is a highly saturated elastomer obtained by special hydrogenation treatment of nitrile butadiene rubber. Hydrogenated nitrile rubber has excellent heat resistance, corrosion resistance, acid and alkali resistance. Compared with ordinary nitrile rubber, hydrogenated nitrile rubber has better properties, so it is suitable for use in more harsh environments. Hydrogenated nitrile rubber is widely used in petroleum, aerospace, defense industry, automobiles, lithium batteries and other fields. In the field of lithium batteries, hydrogenated nitrile rubber is a potential substitute for PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride).

According to the “2022-2026 Global Hydrogenated Nitrile Rubber Industry In-depth Market Research and Key Area Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center , the hydrogenated nitrile rubber industry has high technical barriers. Due to this restriction, there are few companies in the world with the ability to supply hydrogenated nitrile rubber on a large scale. They mainly include four companies, Arlanxeo, Zannan Technology, Japan’s Zeon, and Dawn Co., Ltd. , in 2021, the global hydrogenated nitrile rubber industry production capacity will be around 30,000 tons, of which Japan’s Zeon and Arlanxeo have annual production capacities of more than 10,000 tons.

The research on hydrogenated nitrile rubber in my country started later than that in European and American countries. After 2010, as relevant research continued to deepen, my country gradually realized the mass production of hydrogenated nitrile rubber. In recent years, benefiting from the development of domestic automobiles, lithium batteries and other terminal industries, the market demand for hydrogenated nitrile rubber has continued to rise. However, domestic production is insufficient to meet market demand, so my country’s dependence on the import of hydrogenated nitrile rubber is still high. In order to promote the localization process, Chinese companies are also actively building or expanding production capacity, such as Sinopec Qilu Branch, Dawn Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Zansheng New Materials, etc.

The preparation process of hydrogenated nitrile rubber is divided into two categories: heterogeneous solution hydrogenation method and homogeneous solution hydrogenation method. Domestic enterprises mainly use homogeneous solution hydrogenation method. The preparation process of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is complex and expensive. Due to this limitation, hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber is currently mainly used in the military industry and needs further development in the civilian field.

As a potential substitute for PVDF, hydrogenated nitrile rubber has excellent adhesion and electrochemical stability. In the field of lithium batteries, it can be used in the production of battery binders, solid electrolytes and dispersants. With technological advancement, hydrogenated nitrile rubber is currently Nitrile rubber has been commercialized and applied in the field of lithium batteries. Under the background of carbon neutrality and carbon peak strategies, the lithium battery industry will continue to increase its volume, and hydrogenated nitrile rubber has broad application prospects.

Industry analysts said that hydrogenated nitrile rubber has excellent comprehensive properties and is widely used in military industry, aerospace, automobiles, lithium batteries and other fields. With the development of terminal industries, the market demand for hydrogenated nitrile rubber will grow steadily, and the industry development prospects are good. The technical threshold of the hydrogenated nitrile rubber industry is high. Due to the imbalance between supply and demand, domestic demand for hydrogenated nitrile rubber still relies on imports. Against the background of domestic substitution, my country’s hydrogenated nitrile rubber urgently needs to achieve large-scale supply as soon as possible.