Domestic hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin production capacity is expanding rapidly and is expected to face overcapacity problems within three years

Dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) is the by-product of ethylene cracking, C5 fraction and C9 fraction. It can be divided into polymer grade, EPDM grade, polyester grade and low purity grade. Among them, w (DCPD) ≥ 99% is polymer grade product. 95%≤w (DCPD) <99% is EPDM grade, 80%≤w (DCPD) ≤85% is polyester grade, and 68%≤w (DCPD) <80% is low purity grade. At present, domestic DCPD is mainly polymer grade and EPDM grade, which mainly come from the C9 fraction, while polyester grade and low purity DCPD come from the C5 fraction.

DCPD is mainly used to produce unsaturated resins and DCPD petroleum resins. DCPD petroleum resin has shortcomings such as odor, dark color, poor stability, and low oxidation stability. It is difficult to be compatible with other resin matrices and has low demand for use as a tackifier. . With the continuous improvement of modern technology, currently major companies mainly improve DCPD petroleum resin through hydrogenation, thereby improving the performance of DCPD petroleum resin.

After hydrogenation, DCPD petroleum resin becomes lighter in hue, lowers in unsaturation, and has no special odor. It has good compatibility with SBS, EVA, etc., and can be used in inks, tackifiers, rubber, pressure-sensitive adhesives, etc. It has been applied in other fields. In addition, it can also be used as special adhesives in food packaging, sanitary napkins, disposable paper diapers and other products.

The current DCPD petroleum resin hydrogenation methods mainly include slurry bed hydrogenation process, fixed bed hydrogenation process and spray hydrogenation process. Among them, the slurry bed hydrogenation process is the DCPD hydrogenation unit currently in production in China. The process used, also known as the autoclave hydrogenation method, has shortcomings such as long hydrogenation time, the need for catalyst filtration and recovery, and low production efficiency. It still needs to be continuously improved in the future.

According to the “DCPD Hydrogenated Resin Industry Market In-depth Research and Investment Prospects Forecast Analysis Report 2021-2025” released by the Industrial Research Center , hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin has a wide range of applications, and the annual demand reaches about 450,000 tons. In terms of production, companies currently producing DCPD hydrogenated petroleum resin include Kairi Chemical, Luhua Chemical, Ruisen Petroleum Resin, Jinhai Chenguang Chemical, Yongxin Petrochemical, Limingxin Petrochemical, Bandelu and other companies. In 2018, my country’s hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin production was about 63,000 tons, but it is expected that the actual domestic hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin production capacity will be about 388,000 tons/year by the end of 2021. According to the current production capacity expansion rate, it is expected to face overcapacity by 2022 question.

Industry analysts said that hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin has a higher market share among hydrogenated petroleum resins and is the most mature hydrogenated petroleum resin. Petroleum resin production capacity has grown rapidly in recent years, and the market has experienced price inversion. Generally speaking, my country’s hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin production capacity will continue to show a rapid expansion trend in the future, but downstream demand growth is slow and the problem of overcapacity is becoming more and more prominent. Therefore, domestic hydrogenated DCPD petroleum resin companies need to actively explore application fields and develop overseas markets at the same time. .