01 Background
Special engineering plastics are engineering plastics with high overall performance and long-term use temperatures above 150°C. Generally both high temperature resistance, radiation resistance, hydrolysis resistance, weathering resistance, corrosion resistance, natural flame retardancy, low thermal expansion rate, fatigue resistance and other advantages. There are many varieties of special engineering plastics, mainly including polyether ether ketone (PEEK), poly liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polyimide (PI), phenyl sulfide (PPS), polysulfone (PSF), polyarylate (PAR), fluoropolymers (PTFE, PVDF, PCTFE, PFA), etc. This year’s Special Engineering Plastics Forum focuses on the topic of the PEEK industry chain.
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a semi-crystalline, thermoplastic aromatic polymer. There are three main types of PEEK products on the market: pure resin, glass-fibre modified and carbon fibre modified. PEEK has excellent wear resistance, electrical insulation, radioactivity resistance, chemical stability, biocompatibility and thermal stability. In addition, PEEK is reusable and has a high recycling rate.
In terms of PEEK production, Victrex UK is the world’s largest PEEK producer, with a production capacity of approximately 7,000 tonnes/year, accounting for approximately 60% of total global production capacity. China’s PEEK technology development started late, with production capacity mainly concentrated in China Research, Zhejiang Pengfu Long and Jida Special Plastics, accounting for 80% of China’s total production capacity. It is expected that in the next five years, China’s demand for PEEK will maintain a growth rate of 15% to 20%, with demand reaching 3,000 tonnes by 2025.
In terms of application areas,PEEK is widely used in aerospace, electronics and electrical appliances, biomedical, marine protection, automotive, industrial and other fields, as well as 3D printing, semiconductors and other fields.
From the midstream modification and processing point of view, PEEK often requires filling modification, blending modification, interface modification, synergistic modification and other modifications to further enhance its application value. In addition, from a morphological perspective, PEEK is subdivided into particles and rods, sheets, tubes, and films. The post-processing methods include injection moulding, extrusion into film, impregnation lamination, bar profiles, mechanical processing, etc., which will use a variety of additives, processing equipment, etc.
