China Frames 5-Year
Plan for Filtration Textiles
By Jason Chen, China Correspondent
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 Dr. Li Lingshen |
At the China International Industrial Yarn & Technical Textiles Forum held this autumn in Wujiang, China, associations and experts explained China’s 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) for filtration textiles and illustrated the market trends and technologies.
The Chinese filtration textile industry recorded double-digit annual growth rates in the last five years. “China’s filtration textiles output grew at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 16.7% from 2005 through 2010 and reached 559,000 metric tons by 2010,” said Dr. Li Lingshen, president of China Nonwovens & Industrial Textiles Association (CNITA).
China’s
12th Five Year Plan
Dr. Li said the Chinese government had set up the 12th Five Year Plan
for the technical textile industry. “According to the Plan, from
2011 through 2015, the output of the Chinese technical textile industry,
including filtration textile, will grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth
rate) of 9.2% from 8.2 million metric tons in 2010 to 12.8 million metric
tons in 2015,” said Dr. Li.
According to the 5-Year Plan, China will focus on three developments for the filtration textile industry, including:
• Develop high-temperature resistant and erosion resistant filtration materials.
• Improve the performance of liquid filtration materials made by hollow fibers.
• Develop filtration materials for the manufacturing of machine, chemical, food and paper.
The Chinese government does not make a specific forecast for the growth of filtration textiles for the 12th Five Year period. But Dr. Li said the growth would continue. “China’s output of filtration textiles grew at an AAGR of 16.7% from 2005 through 2010, while the whole technical textile output grew at an AAGR of 16.0%. In the 12th Five Year period, the technical textile industry will grow at a CAGR of 9.2%. So we expect a high growth rate for filtration textiles as well,” said Dr. Li.
If filtration textiles output in 2015 account for the same percentage of technical textile output as 2010, China’s output of filtration textiles will grow at a CAGR of 10% from 560,000 metric tons in 2010 to 900,000 metric tons in 2015.
Filtration
Textiles Market
Shen Henggen, professor of the Shanghai-based Donghua
University, said that growth of the high-temperature filtration materials
would be boosted by fast growing industries such as power generation,
and steel and iron.
The power generating industry is the largest high-temperature filtration
textiles user. “In 2010, China’s coal-fired plant consumed 1.921
billion metric tons of coal, which emitted a total of 13.6 million metric
tons of gases. To reduce 70% of the emissions, China should consume a
total of 24.6 million square meters of filtration textiles for making
bag filters,” Mr. Shen said, estimating the potential market size
for high-temperature filtration materials for coal-fired power generation.
He is also a member of the Bag Filter Committee, China Association of
Environmental Protection Industry (BFC CAEPI).
Mr. Shen said that the average weight of a square meter of high-temperature gas filtration fabric is 500-600 grams. Therefore, the potential annual consumption in weight terms is 12,300-14,760 metric tons. The potential market in value terms is $231-277 million. But according to BFC CAEPI, the real consumption in 2010 was only around 7,000 metric tons with a market value of $131 million.
China’s coal-fired power generation sector will keep growing in the next five decades, according to Lu Qizhou, general manager of China Power Investment Corporation, one of the five largest Chinese electric utilities. In addition, stricter environmental laws will increase the requirements for emission reduction. Based on the above factors, the potential annual consumption of high-temperature resistant filtration textiles for coal-fired power plants may reach up to 24,670 metric tons with a market value of $462 million by 2015, so this market could grow at a CAGR of 28.7% from $131 million in 2011 to $462 million in 2015.
High-temperature resistant filtration textiles also have other applications such as cement, steel and iron, and solid waste treatment. According to BFC CAEPI, in 2010, the power generation industry consumed 37% of China’s high-temperature resistant filtration textiles; the steel and iron industry consumed 25%; the cement industry consumed 28%; solid waste treatment consumed 4%; and other segments consumed 6%. China’s total high-temperature resistant textile consumption was 18,900 metric tons with a market value of $354 million in 2010; and the market will grow at a CAGR of 28.8% from 2011 through 2015 and reach 67,000 metric tons with a market value of US$1.25 billion by 2015.
High-Temperature
Resistant
Mr. Shen said that there are six kinds of manmade fibers for manufacturing
high-temperature resistant materials. They include:
• PPS (Polyphenylene Sulfide) fiber, which is used at the temperature of 120-160 degree centigrade and has a price of 90,000-120,000 RMB (Renminbi) yuan ($14,000-19,000) per metric ton
• P84® polyimide fibers, which is used at the temperature of up to 230 degree centigrade and has a price of approximately 420,000 RMB yuan ($66,000) per metric ton
• PTEF (Polytetrafluoroethene), which is used at the temperature of 260 degree centigrade and has a price of 250,000 RMB yuan ($39,000) per metric ton
• Glass fiber, which is used at the temperature of 180-250 degree centigrade and has a price of approximately 30,000-50,000 RMB yuan ($4,700-7,800) per metric ton
• Aramid fibers such as Kermel®, Nomex® and Conex®, which are used at the temperature of 180-220 degree centigrade
• PSA fiber, which is used at the temperature of 180-250 degree centigrade and has a price of 130,000-150,000 RMB yuan ($20,000-23,000) per metric ton
“Two other fibers, basalt fiber and high silica fiber, could be the most promising new high-temperature resistant materials. Hybrid materials can also be used for manufacturing high-temperature resistant materials with specific functions,” added Mr. Shen.
Liquid Filtration
Textiles Output
According to CNITA, China’s output of liquid filtration textiles
was approximately 180,000 metric tons in 2010. Dr. Li said that new materials
such as advanced hollow fibers would increase the performance of liquid
filtration textiles and boost the market consumption. China’s output
of liquid filtration textiles will exceed 280,000 metric tons with a market
value of $5.2 billion by 2015.