In 2017, the total output of chemical fiber in China has exceeded 50 million tons, accounting for more than 70% of the world. The output of polyester is about 80% of the total output of chemical fiber. The problem of waste pollution associated with huge production is also becoming more and more serious. According to estimates by the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, the total social stock of waste polyester materials is currently close to 400 million tons. Therefore, the development of recycled chemical fiber industry is the only way in the process of sustainable development in China.

Recycled PET fiber raw material industry

The recycled PET fiber industry belongs to the raw material shortage industry. The main raw material is waste PET bottle reclaimed materials. The annual supply of PET flakes is insufficient. The foam material and the small amount of PET fiber foam are processed from the waste fiber produced in the polyester fiber production process. Foam supplementation, currently available in this part of the total raw material supply of 5% to 8%. As can be seen from the figure below, the supply of recycled bottle flakes in China has been about 60% of the capacity of recycled PET fiber (including about 200 million tons of PET scrap per year).

2005-2017 China's recycled polyester industry raw material supply and capacity matching

In the past three years, the recycled PET raw material supply industry has gradually developed to scale, and the trend of raw materials to large enterprises and large groups has become more and more obvious. Large enterprises involved in this industry include Huanjia Group, Gezhouba Group, Aerospace Science and Technology, China Renewable Resources, Zhejiang Huafei and Qianlong Technology, etc. Some leading primary enterprises have prepared or have entered the recycled polyester industry (such as Guxiandao Group Investment). Luyu Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.), there are also a few recycled fiber companies ready to gradually withdraw from the recycling industry into the original polyester industry.

Recycled PET bottle film 2017 price trend

According to the policy announced by the Solid Waste Management Center of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the import of discarded PET flakes is expected to drop to 200,000 t/year in 2018, which means that if the production volume is maintained at 2017 level, the raw material gap will reach 2018. 1.8 million tons, accounting for 26% of the production of recycled PET fiber in 2017. At the same time, as the country completely stops importing PET waste in 2018, the shortage of raw materials will further intensify. If the price of virgin PET fiber remains at the same level in 2017, it will inevitably squeeze the profit margin of recycled PET fiber companies. The transformation and upgrading, structural adjustment and mergers and acquisitions of the recycled PET fiber industry will accelerate in the coming period.

Recycled PET fiber industry

The products of recycled PET in China are mainly fibers. As of the end of 2017, China's renewable PET fiber production capacity has exceeded 10 million tons, ranking first in the world, but the global share continues to decline, which also reflects the actual situation of China's renewable PET fiber companies and production capacity began to accelerate. The domestic production capacity of recycled PET fiber is still concentrated in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. The development of the inland areas is subject to various reasons, not as optimistic as many industry insiders expected to develop three years ago.

2005-2017 China's recycled PET fiber production capacity and production changes

The changes in industry capacity, output and capacity utilization tend to be stable, reflecting the fact that the industry's development has become more rational from overheating. Different from the original PET fiber industry, the recycled PET fiber industry does not have obvious scale production advantages due to various factors such as raw material supply radius, raw material pollution control and enterprise management capabilities. Some leading enterprises with domestic production capacity of 150,000-200,000 t/a (such as Cixi Dafa Company, Shandong Longfu Company, Yangzhou Tianfulong Company and Zhejiang Haili Company) have stopped the pace of capacity expansion, new entrants The perception of industry development has also become cautious.

Changes in production capacity, production and utilization of recycled PET fiber from 2005 to 2017

The idea that recycled PET filaments cannot guarantee dyeing uniformity, unsatisfactory quality stability, and low full-volume rate has made it difficult to achieve the idea that the product was originally expected to be applied on a large scale in the apparel and home textile fabric market. Since 2015, a large number of recycled PET filament enterprises have been discontinued, resulting in a decline in the proportion of recycled PET filaments in the composition of recycled PET fibers.