Interpretation of the Adjustment of the Adhesive Industry Structure

On December 27, 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission revised and released the “Catalogue for the Guidance of Industrial Structure Adjustment (2024 Edition)”, which will come into effect on February 1, 2024. As an important basis for guiding the direction of social investment, managing investment projects by the government, and formulating and implementing policies on finance, taxation, credit, land, import and export, etc., the Catalogue consists of three categories: encouraged, restricted and eliminated, with a total of 1,005 items, including 352 encouraged items, 231 restricted items and 422 eliminated items. Among them, for the petrochemical and chemical industry, there are 12 encouraged items, 13 restricted items, and 17 items to be phased out (10 items for backward equipment and 7 items for backward products).   Encouraged category mainly refers to technologies, equipment and products that play an important role in promoting economic and social development. The restricted category mainly refers to production capacity, process technology, equipment and products that are technologically backward, do not meet industry access conditions and relevant regulations, are not conducive to safe production, and are not conducive to achieving the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and require urging for transformation and prohibition of new construction. The elimination category mainly consists of backward technologies, equipment and products that do not comply with relevant laws and regulations, seriously waste resources, pollute the environment, pose serious safety hazards in production, and hinder the realization of the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, and thus need to be phased out.

Among them, those related to the adhesive industry are as follows: 1 item in the encouraged category, 1 item in the restricted category, and 1 item in the eliminated category.

Encouraged category: Development and production of low-VOCs content adhesives, environmentally friendly water treatment agents, new high-efficiency and environmentally friendly catalysts and additives, functional membrane materials, ultra-clean and high-purity reagents, photoresists, electronic gases, new display and advanced packaging materials and other electronic chemicals and key raw materials. This means that “adhesives with low VOCs content such as water-based, hot-melt, solvent-free, radiation-cured, modified, and biodegradable ones” will further embrace development opportunities.

Restricted category: “Production facilities for solvent-based general-purpose adhesives of chloroprene rubber, styrene-butadiene thermoplastic rubber, polyurethane and polyacrylate” are included in the restricted category entries. The market demand for solvent-based general-purpose adhesives is basically saturated, and the supply capacity is excessive. Therefore, the main task for the solvent-based adhesive industry in the future is “high-end and functional application fields” rather than simply increasing the production capacity of solvent-based general-purpose adhesives. Of course, from the development history and current situation of countries such as Europe, America and Japan, there is still a certain market demand for solvent-based adhesive products, and there will be a specific market demand for a long time. Other types of adhesive products cannot completely replace them. Solvent-based adhesive products are irreplaceable in some special fields, such as consumer electronics, 5G communication equipment, composite packaging materials, pressure-sensitive adhesive materials, and industrial precision manufacturing. The production and use of solvent-based adhesive products in these special fields should be permitted.

“107 Adhesive (polyvinyl alcohol formaldehyde adhesive)” is listed as an outdated product in the elimination category. Due to the severe over-standard formaldehyde content in 107 glue, the national regulations have clearly phased out the production and use of 107 glue since 2011. With the development and progress of bonding technology, 107 adhesive itself has poor bonding strength, poor creep resistance and heat resistance. The current technological trend is to replace 107 adhesive with other environmentally friendly adhesive products or completely improve the formula and process of 107 adhesive.