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日本瑞翁,生物基丁二烯项目开工,布局两大技术路线
DT新材料·2025-07-23 16:01

Core Viewpoint - The collaboration between Zeon and Yokohama Rubber to establish a pilot plant for bio-based butadiene marks a significant step towards sustainable synthetic rubber production, aiming for commercial viability by 2034 [1][8]. Group 1: Industry Overview - Butadiene is the most widely used rubber raw material globally, serving as a core monomer for various synthetic rubbers such as Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR) and Polybutadiene Rubber (BR) [2]. - SBR and BR have production capacities of 6.8 million tons/year and 5.2 million tons/year, respectively, making them the top two synthetic rubbers used in automotive tires [3]. Group 2: Technological Developments - Zeon is pursuing two main technological routes for bio-based butadiene production: 1. Ethanol-based catalytic synthesis, which faces challenges such as catalyst carbon deposition and cost-effectiveness of high-purity ethanol [5]. 2. Direct biosynthesis using enzyme catalysis or microbial metabolism, which is currently limited to laboratory stages due to complexities in metabolic pathways and high costs of engineered bacteria [6]. - The pilot plant will validate the efficiency of new catalysts in converting bio-based ethanol to butadiene, with the goal of producing polybutadiene rubber prototypes for tire testing [8]. Group 3: Market Trends - Major companies in the synthetic rubber and tire industry are increasingly investing in bio-based butadiene, primarily using ethanol as a raw material, indicating a shift towards sustainable practices [4][7]. - The project is expected to complete process validation by 2030 and achieve industrialization by 2034, contributing to reduced reliance on petroleum and advancing carbon neutrality in the tire industry [8].