The 500,000 tons/year caustic soda project of technological transformation and expansion of Fuhua Group's subsidiary company Southeast Electrochemical Company sounded the "aggregation number" for the start of mobilization. This is the first new construction project led by Fuhua Group after the strategic cooperation between Fujian's leading chemical company Fuhua Group and the world-renowned chemical giant Wanhua Group to reorganize the Fujian Jiangyin Chemical Project. The total investment of the project is about 1.3 billion yuan. It is undertaken by Shaanxi Chemical Engineering Company and is expected to be completed and put into operation in October 2021.
Southeast Electrochemical Company is a key backbone enterprise in China's chlor-alkali industry. This technological transformation and expansion will be based on the existing 120,000 tons/year caustic soda plant of Southeast Electrochemical Company, and will be expanded by 300,000 tons/year caustic soda. The relocated 80,000 tons/year production capacity will eventually reach 500,000 tons/year.
After the project is completed and put into production, it can provide chlorine raw materials for Wanhua Fujian’s expansion of TDI projects and new MDI projects. The by-produced hydrogen chloride can be provided to downstream companies such as Fu Shi New Materials, Kelin Environmental Protection and other upstream large-scale coal gasification The project will improve the coal chemical industry and salt chemical industry chain.
Kou Guangwu, president of Wanhua Group, said that after the technical transformation and expansion of the caustic soda project, it will play a very important role in the chemical industry chain of Jiangyin Park. The cooperation between Wanhua Group and Funeng and Fuhua Group will substantially change Fujian’s three The development pattern of the petrochemical industry, one of the major businesses, will also greatly improve the development quality of Fujian's chemical industry.
Supply and demand status of caustic soda in the world
In recent years, the overall production capacity of the caustic soda industry in the world has changed little, and the newly added production capacity is mainly concentrated in developing countries such as China and India. In 2018, there were more than 500 chlor-alkali producers in the world. Asia has the most concentrated caustic soda production capacity in the world, with production capacity close to 60% of the world. China is the country with the largest caustic soda production capacity in the world, accounting for 45% of global production.
In 2018, the total international trade of liquid caustic soda reached USD 5.19 billion, and the global average export price of liquid caustic soda increased by 54.6% year-on-year. Imports: In 2018, the world's imports of liquid caustic soda mainly came from Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and other countries and regions. Among them, Belgium is the number one importing country, with total annual imports accounting for about 14.8% of global imports. Export: In 2018, the world's liquid caustic soda exports mainly came from countries and regions such as the United States, the Netherlands and Japan. Among them, the United States exports accounted for about 37.6% of total global trade.
In 2018, the total international trade of solid caustic soda reached US$1.13 billion, and the global average export price of solid caustic soda increased by 36.3% year-on-year.
Imports: In 2018, world caustic soda imports mainly came from Nigeria, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and other countries and regions. Among them, Nigeria is the number one importing country, with a total import volume of 73,000 tons for the whole year, accounting for about 5.4% of the total global imports.
Export: In 2018, the world's solid caustic soda exports mainly came from mainland China, India and Taiwan Province of China. Among them, mainland China exported 624,000 tons of solid caustic soda, accounting for 44.5% of global trade.
Supply and demand status and forecast of caustic soda in my country
In 2019, China's caustic soda production capacity increased by 4.7% year-on-year; output increased by 1.3% year-on-year. The average operating rate of domestic caustic soda industry in 2019 is 80.5%. Some devices have also withdrawn from the market. Overall, the layout of caustic soda devices has not changed much. The total production capacity of caustic soda in Shandong, Jiangsu and Inner Mongolia ranks among the top three in the country. The production capacity of caustic soda in North China is the largest in 2019, followed by the northwest, while the overall change in production capacity in the eastern and southern regions is small.
China is a net exporter of caustic soda, and import and export trade has remained basically stable in recent years. From 2012 to 2014, the export volume was maintained at more than 2 million tons; from 2015 to 2019, the export volume was less than 2 million tons, and it decreased year by year. In 2019, China's caustic soda exports decreased by 22.2% year-on-year. The way of export trade is mainly general trade.
From the perspective of the export of liquid alkali and solid alkali, the export of liquid alkali is mainly in countries and regions such as Australia, Taiwan Province of China, the United States and Vietnam. The top five countries and regions account for more than 60% of total exports In terms of solid alkali, the export flow is dominated by developing countries such as Africa and Southeast Asia. The top eight exporting countries account for less than 50% of total exports, which is relatively scattered.
With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, the consumption of caustic soda in China is also showing a rapid growth trend, with an average annual growth rate of 6.8% from 2009 to 2019. As of 2019, the downstream consumption of domestic caustic soda is dominated by alumina, chemicals, papermaking, printing and dyeing industries, among which alumina consumption accounts for 34% of caustic soda.
In terms of production capacity, it is expected that China's caustic soda production capacity will continue to increase in the next few years, but due to environmental pressures, the capacity growth rate will maintain a relatively small increase.
On the demand side, the focus is on domestic consumption and export of caustic soda. Downstream alumina industry's strong short-term demand is difficult to last. In addition, due to heavy pollution, important downstream industries such as printing and dyeing, chemical fiber, and papermaking will face increasing pressure on environmental protection in the future, so it is difficult for the downstream industry of caustic soda to provide long-term support for caustic soda market.
