With the release of new domestic NBR production capacity, the competition in China's domestic market will become increasingly fierce. To maintain the advanced nature of Lanzhou Petrochemical's NBR products, it is necessary to improve the quality and safety of existing products, strengthen the research on NBR modification technology, and conduct in-depth research on the development of a series of functionalized NBR products.
1 High-quality, environmentally friendly NBR products
Gradually improve the quality of NBR products, produce clean and safe high-performance high-quality NBR products, and lead the development direction of the industry. Realize the environmental protection of additives such as antioxidants and terminators, and improve product safety.
2 Differentiation and serialization of NBR grades
The differentiation and serialization of NBR grades need to be realized in terms of synthesis methods, key indicators, processing performance, application requirements, etc. First, improve the products of low nitrile and ultra-high nitrile grades, and then further realize the differentiation and specialization of grades within each nitrile content. have.
1) Development of low temperature and low nitrile NBR
China Petroleum and Petrochemical Research Institute has carried out a series of low-temperature resistant NBR technology development, reserves the small-scale technology of NBR1805, NBR1806, NBR1807 products, and completed the industrialization technology development of NBR1806, which is expected to be installed in Lanzhou Petrochemical's 50,000 tons/year nitrile plant scheduling. From product development to application technology development, we mainly focus on tackling key problems through the combination of nitrile uniform distribution control, Mooney viscosity stabilization and differential control, and low-nitrile NBR processing technology research (especially the processing and coordination technology of military models). Low nitrile NBR (17% to 20%) has a good balance between low temperature, elasticity and oil resistance, and can be widely used in aviation, packaging, gaskets, oil seals, belts and other oil-resistant fields that require low-temperature flexibility. It is one of the main series of major NBR manufacturers.
2) Ultra-high nitrile NBR
The extremely high acrylonitrile NBR with acrylonitrile content of more than 43% has high oil resistance, low oil and gas permeability and elasticity. It is widely used in oil drilling and mining and other fields. It is a high-end NBR product with high added value. China Petroleum and Petrochemical Research Institute and Lanzhou Petrochemical Company have carried out the development of ultra-high nitrile and high oil-resistant NBR products combined with acrylonitrile>45%. Through the precise control of the combined nitrile content and Mooney viscosity, the development of small-scale technology has been completed. The research on the processing technology of the development of ultra-high nitrile NBR is mainly aimed at the research on the processing and coordination technology of products used in oil drilling and development. By completing the development of NBR with ultra-high nitrile content, Lanzhou Petrochemical will realize the full series of NBR products.
3. Development of high value-added NBR products
1) Carboxyl NBR (XNBR)
The introduction of carboxyl group modification into NBR can greatly improve the wear resistance, adhesion and aging resistance of NBR [3]. The products are mainly used for the preparation of rubber products, adhesives, Mechanical parts, etc. [4], are widely used in aerospace, equipment manufacturing and other fields, and are special high-performance NBR.
China Petroleum and Petrochemical Research Institute is an early unit engaged in the research of carboxyl NBR. It has successively developed liquid carboxyl nitrile and solid carboxyl NBR technology. There are two brands of liquid carboxyl rubber, LXNBR-40 and LXNBR-26, which are mainly supplied to aerospace. , Enterprises in the field of defense use. In the face of increasingly fierce competition, we will conduct in-depth research on the introduction of key technologies such as multi-copolymerization of carboxyl groups, low gel control, demulsification and coagulation of carboxyl nitrile latex, and further develop high-performance carboxyl NBR series products. It is expected to be carried out in Lanzhou Petrochemical in 2015. Industrial mass production.
2) Hydrogenated NBR (HNBR)
Hydrogenated NBR (HNBR), also known as highly saturated NBR, is prepared by partial or complete hydrogenation of the unsaturated double bonds on the carbon chain of NBR. There are three main preparation methods: NBR solution hydrogenation, NBR emulsion hydrogenation and Ethylene-acrylonitrile copolymerization method [5]. Its main manufacturers are Lanxess Corporation (10,000 tons/year) and Zeon Chemical Corporation (12,000 tons/year), with a total production capacity of 22,000 tons/year in the world, which is the largest variety of special rubber. Mainly used in automobile oil seals, fuel system components, automobile transmission belts, drilling holding boxes and pistons for mud, rubber rollers for printing and textiles, tank belt liners, aerospace seals, air-conditioning sealing products, shock absorption materials, etc. [6 -7].
The production and application of domestic HNBR is still in its infancy. In the early stage, only Lanzhou Petrochemical Company built a 30-ton/year production unit and launched the brands LH-9901 and LH-9902. Shanghai Zannan Technology Co., Ltd. launched more than 10 grades of HNBR in 2011, with a combined nitrile range of 25% to 50%; Petrochemical Research Institute achieved breakthroughs in technologies such as hydrogenation catalyst preparation and heterogeneous hydrogenation on the basis of original research. It is expected to achieve a technological breakthrough in HNBR industrialization in 2015. At the same time, some progress has been made in its processing and coordination technology, which has paved the way for the further promotion and application of PetroChina HNBR.
3) Butadiene-acrylonitrile-isoprene rubber (NIBR)
Isoprene-modified NBR (NIBR) is a kind of NBR with high strength, high elasticity and easy processing. It is a special high-performance NBR. Mainly used in printing, aerospace and other fields [8]. The key technical points are the sequence structure control of isoprene in the copolymerization or grafting reaction, the control of combined nitrile and Mooney viscosity, and the research on processing and coordination technology.
4) Liquid nitrile
Mainly develop functionalized liquid NBR such as carboxyl-terminated, hydroxyl-terminated, mercapto-terminated, and amino-terminated NBR[9]. The introduction of various groups can improve the adhesion between NBR and the interface, as well as the compatibility with the resin. The products are mainly used as adhesives and modifiers for the modification and bonding of military and civilian materials. On the basis of existing research, China Petroleum and Petrochemical Research Institute further conducts in-depth control and adjustment of molecular weight, precise control of viscosity and sequence structure, and develops serialized liquid NBR products.
5) Powder NBR
The special feature of powder NBR lies in its excellent processing performance, its output is about 10% of that of NBR, and it is widely used in the field of resin modification. Lanzhou Petrochemical Company has built a 3,000-ton/year powder rubber plant, and the China Petroleum and Chemical Research Institute has a very mature rubber powder technology. The next step will focus on the development of serialized and specialized powder rubber grades.
6) Others
PVC/NBR co-precipitation glue, plasticized NBR, and nano-modified NBR are also the current research focus, which can effectively enrich NBR product grades and improve competitiveness.
Lanzhou Petrochemical has a complete range of NBR products with stable performance, which will further improve product quality and safety, develop low-nitrile and ultra-high nitrile series products, and focus on the development of high-value-added NBR products. In recent years, fruitful results have been achieved in the renovation of old equipment, the construction of new equipment and the development of new products, the production capacity has been improved, and the product quality has been continuously improved. More than 10 new NBR product grades have been newly developed, which has effectively enriched Lanzhou Petrochemical's NBR product grades and improved the quality of products. The device's ability to resist risks, the products can now meet the needs of general-purpose and special-type NBR in different application fields in the domestic market.