Chinese state-owned petrochemical producer Ningbo Zhenyang Development achieved on-specification production at its new polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant on 8 January, during successful trial runs.
The 300,000 t/yr PVC plant, located at Ningbo, Zhejiang province in eastern China, which completed construction on 29 September 2023, has 300,000 t/yr capacity for vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), 480,000 t/yr for ethylene dichloride (EDC) and 350,000 t/yr for caustic soda.
But Zhenyang shut the PVC plant soon after the trial runs because the caustic soda unit is undergoing maintenance. The PVC plant will start commercial operations in late January.
Zhenyang has no ethylene production facilities and the PVC plant will rely on ethylene purchased mainly from state-owned Sinopec Zhenhai Petrochemical and state-owned Ningbo Fund Energy via pipeline.
Some more PVC plants with a total capacity of 1.6mn t/yr will come on line in China in 2024 (see table). Domestic PVC prices could face further downward pressure as a result, forcing Chinese producers and traders to l;look at export markets.
| China's new PVC capacities | ||||
| Company | Product | Grade | Capacity ('000 t/yr) | Timeline |
| Shanxi Jintai | PVC, carbide-based | Suspension | 600 | second-half 2024 |
| Wanhua Chemical (Fujian) 2nd Phase | PVC, ethylene-based | Suspension | 400 | end 2024 |
| Tianjin Bohai Chemical | PVC, ethylene-based | Suspension | 400 | end 2024 |
| Qingdao Haiwan | PVC, ethylene-based | Suspension | 200 | end 2024 |
