SGL Group - The Carbon Company - recently won the largest PTFE-lined piping order of its history in the Chinese market from Shanghai Lianheng Isocyanate Co. Ltd. (SLIC). SGL Group will supply PTFE-lined piping systems for SLIC’s 120,000 metric ton per year HCL (hydrogen chloride) recycling plant for the production of chlorine as a precursor for MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate). The project is expected to start in 2017.
“With nearly six decades of proven application experience, SGL Group’s PTFE-lined piping systems hold the leading market share in Europe,” said Burkhard Straube, Chairman of the Business Unit Graphite Materials & Systems (GMS) at SGL Group. “This project with SLIC is proof of the great customer value we offer and the huge market potential for our PTFE-lined piping products in China. It also proves our capabilities for providing local technological expertise, engineered solutions and comprehensive services to our customers. ”
The liners used in the project are made from SGL Group’s POLYFLURON® PTFE liners, which are paste extruded using a proprietary manufacturing process. This material delivers outstanding chemical resistance, substantial wall thickness and maximum barrier properties against aggressive media. Pipes incorporating the material can be used in highly corrosive applications of chemical industries, with the properties such as high reliability, low permeation rates, easy maintenance and long service lives, helping customers reduce maintenance cost and total costs of ownership.
Proven, reliable POLYFLURON® applications have long been established in chemical plant construction, where the material is used for lining corrosion-sensitive components, among other uses. POLYFLURON® is also employed for other uses in other industries, such as a highly effective plastic insulator in electrical equipment, in expansion joints for applications requiring very high flexural fatigue strength, or when extremely high product purity is needed.
Shanghai Lianheng Isocyanate Co. Ltd. (SLIC) is a leading chemical raw material company invested by BASF, Huntsman, Shanghai Hua Yi (Group) Company, and SINOPEC Shanghai Gaoqiao Company and Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co. Ltd. The new recovery facility is an important part of its MDI plant expansion at its site in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP). MDI itself is a precursor in the manufacture of polyurethanes that are used in industries like construction, automotive, appliance, and footwear.