MOSCOW (MRC) - Ekoplastics, which supplies polymer raw materials from South Korea, believes that from the second half of 2021, the capacities installed in Russia for the production of small-diameter peroxide-crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-A) pipes will be able to satisfy more 80% of domestic demand, the company said.
According to Ecoplastics company estimates, the volume of the Russian market for small diameter PEX-A pipes is about 7000 tons of products per year. Until 2020, the demand was mainly covered by the import of such pipes to Russia from Europe and China. Only about 20% of PEX-A pipes were produced domestically.
In late 2020 - early 2021, the situation on the Russian market for small-diameter pipelines made of peroxide-crosslinked polyethylene (PEX-A) underwent fundamental changes. During this period, the largest Russian pipe manufacturers commissioned or planned to install several twin-screw lines for high-speed extrusion of PEX-A pipes, each with a capacity of up to 30 meters of pipe with a diameter of 16 mm per minute.
One such line is capable of processing more than 1000 tons of peroxide-crosslinked polyethylene per year. In addition, a number of Russian companies have launched or are planning to launch the production of PEXa pipes using ram extrusion (RAM) technology, which is competing with twin-screw technology.
Pipes made of polyethylene crosslinked with peroxide are used in indoor hot and cold water supply systems, as well as in radiator and underfloor heating systems. Despite the impossibility of installing PEXa pipes by welding, as is the case with the most popular PPR pipes on the market.
Earlier it was reported that Ekoplastics, in August last year, agreed with the Korean manufacturer Hanwha Total to start deliveries to the Russian market of a new grade of PE100RC high-density pipe polyethylene. In the summer of 2020, the Korean manufacturer Hanwha Total (formerly Samsung Total) began exporting its new grade of PE100 pipe grade XRC20B, which will be supplied to the Russian market through Ekoplastics, which specializes in the supply of Korean innovative polymeric pipe materials.
According to MRC's ScanPlast, the estimated consumption of PE in Russia amounted to 356.37 thousand tons in the first two months of this year, which is 9% less than in the same period a year earlier. The supply of high-density polyethylene (LDPE) only increased. PP supplies to the Russian market in the first two months of 2021 amounted to 246.87 thousand tons, which is 30% more than a year earlier. The supply of propylene homopolymer (PP-homo) and propylene block copolymer (PP-block) increased.
The Ekoplastics company is a trading company that supplies polymer raw materials from South Korea. Ecoplastics is primarily a distributor of polymers produced by LG Chem. In addition, it has direct long-term contracts with other large Korean manufacturers of polymer raw materials (Hyosung, Huyndai).
MRC