At present, environmental protection policies are becoming more and more strict, and vigorously developing "green fibers" is related to the sustainable development of the entire textile and chemical fiber industry. Recycled chemical fiber (also called regenerated chemical fiber) is one of the important varieties of "green fiber", and its typical characteristics are in line with the concept of circular economy development.

In order to guide my country's recycled chemical fiber enterprises to promote sustainable development and increase efforts to eliminate backwardness and mergers and reorganizations, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued the "Notice on Organizing the 2018 Recycled Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry Specification Announcement", and organized the second batch of recycling. Chemical fiber (polyester) industry standard announcement work. Entrusted by the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, on May 11, the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association organized dozens of domestic recycled chemical fiber enterprises to hold the "Recycled Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry Specification Announcement Work Conference" in Shaoxing Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Co., Ltd. The meeting explained the "Regulations of Recycled Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry", and discussed some specific practices of recycled chemical fiber enterprises in green development, some development "pain points" of the industry, and how recycling companies can be better under the new policy environment. issues such as land development were discussed.

He Yanli, Vice President of China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, pointed out: "The sustainable development of chemical fibers is directly related to the sustainable development of the textile industry and the national economy. The application fields of chemical fibers are not only for clothing and home textiles, but also for industrial use. Sustainable development requires reducing the consumption of petroleum resources, and recycled chemical fibers have the outstanding characteristics of green, low-carbon and sustainable development. In the next step, the proportion of recycled fibers in the total chemical fibers will be higher.”

"Standard Conditions" sets clear goals and strengthens guidance

Recycled chemical fiber is made of waste bottle flakes, plastics and waste textiles, etc., through chemical or physical means, combined with spinning technology, and can continue to be used in textiles, materials and other fields. At present, the recycled chemical fibers produced by Chinese enterprises are basically recycled polyester fibers.

In order to promote the structural adjustment and industrial upgrading of the recycled chemical fiber (polyester) industry, prevent low-level repeated construction, reduce resource waste, encourage the comprehensive utilization of recycled chemical fiber (polyester) with high quality, high efficiency and high value, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of the industry, In accordance with the principles of rational layout, adjustment of structure, encouragement of innovation, conservation of resources, reduction of consumption, protection of the environment and safe production, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially announced the "Regulations of Regenerated Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry" (hereinafter referred to as "Regulations" in June 2015 ").

The "Regulations" stipulates the production layout, production capacity, process and equipment requirements of the recycling enterprises (including production scale, process, process and equipment requirements that should be met by the newly built, renovated and expanded recycled chemical fiber (polyester) projects), resource consumption indicators ( Water consumption, material consumption, energy consumption), quality and management, environmental protection and other aspects have been regulated in detail.

Taking the material consumption in the resource consumption index as an example, the "standard conditions" stipulates that the unit consumption of recycled raw materials is less than 1.25 tons/ton, the unit consumption of recycled polyester staple fibers is less than 1.03 tons/ton, and the pre-oriented yarns in recycled polyester filaments The unit consumption of raw materials is lower than 1.03 tons/ton, and the unit consumption of fully drawn yarns in recycled polyester filaments is lower than 1.05 tons/ton.

In 2016, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the first batch of 28 companies that met the "standard conditions", including 7 recycling companies in Cixi. As we all know, Cixi area is an important cluster of recycled chemical fibers in China. There are more than 20 local enterprises producing recycled chemical fibers, and a large number of trading enterprises that develop around the recycling industry chain are gathered.

"At that time, 10 recycling companies actively declared, and each company had several thick documents. The documents of the 10 companies were very heavy together. When I went to declare, I pulled a large box and packed it." Recycled Chemical Fiber in Cixi City Lu Kejun, secretary general of the industry association, recalled.

Li Jun, general manager of Hangzhou Haike Fiber Co., Ltd., said: "The "Regulations" have an important leading role in the healthy development of the recycling industry, and put forward relatively clear requirements for the development of recycling enterprises. When applying, enterprises need to follow the "Regulations" "The requirements of self-examination are carried out one by one, which invisibly promotes the standardized development of enterprises." According to reports, Haike Fiber mainly produces recycled polyester staple fibers, and the output of its recycled products in 2017 was about 70,000 tons.

"As the economy has entered a 'new normal', recycling enterprises must actively respond to the call of the country and the industry, and regulate their own development with higher requirements and standards. Enterprises should carry out work according to the relevant requirements of the "Regulation Conditions"." Zhao Li, executive vice president of Hangzhou Best Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., said.

Zhu Jianxun, President of Anhui Dongjin Resource Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. said: "To develop a circular economy and promote green development, enterprises must first self-discipline in standardizing operations. From the perspective of the entire industry, the recycling industry is a strategic emerging industry, which needs further standardized development and accelerated elimination. inefficient capacity.”

He Yanli pointed out: "The "Regulations" guide the industry to develop in a healthy direction. Through hard work, the development quality of the recycling industry will be further improved. In this process, enterprises that fail to meet the environmental protection requirements will be eliminated, and the industry will enter a A new stage of development.”

"Complying with the "Regulations" will become the basis for the relevant state departments to carry out work on project construction, investment filing, land supply, EIA approval, credit issuance, etc. in the recycling industry. In the future, recycling companies that do not meet the "Regulations" will face comparison. Difficult living environment. Of course, the "Regulation Conditions" itself will also keep pace with the times. Under the strict environmental protection policy, it is the general trend to implement stricter standards for subdivided industries. Trend." At the meeting, relevant representatives from the Consumer Goods Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said after interpreting the "Regulations".

Standardization is the development demand of the industry itself

Under the new policy environment and competitive situation, the more standardized development is first and foremost the development demands of renewable enterprises and the industry itself.

According to Li Deli, deputy director of the Development Department of China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, in 2017, the output of recycled chemical fiber in my country was about 6 million tons. Commodity prices have a greater impact.

"Except for regenerated filaments, regenerated chemical fiber enterprises generally experienced shortage of raw materials in 2017, low product inventory, good sales in peak season and good sales in off-season, filling, filling, non-ferrous and functional, differentiated and exclusive products with good profits, other conventional varieties The status quo of the profit margin. It is worth noting that in 2017, the prices of virgin and recycled raw materials and chemical fiber products were the closest in many years. Due to the sharp decrease in the import of raw materials, some recycling companies are close to or even inverted with the prices of recycled raw materials. In this case, virgin polyester chips and bottle chips were chosen to produce the product,” said Lidley.

Even under the influence of factors such as policy adjustments and the approaching prices of primary products, the pace of upgrading of recycling companies that are still persisting in the market has not stopped. Li Jun introduced: "In recent years, the company has adopted a large number of automated, high-efficiency and energy-saving equipment to lay the foundation for large-capacity production. The company has been implementing green and clean production, for example, the removal rate of VOC gas has reached 90%."

Zhao Li introduced that Best Company actively carried out clean production work through energy saving and technological transformation, which significantly reduced the company's energy consumption. The company has been using natural gas boilers since 2017, which has greatly reduced the emissions of sulfur dioxide and dust. The sewage is reused for production after physicochemical and secondary biochemical treatment, realizing recycling and effectively reducing the consumption of fresh water. The company also significantly reduced the consumption of raw materials through the control of the end breakage rate and spinning process.

The products of Anhui Dongjin Recycling Technology Co., Ltd. include recycled polyester filaments and recycled polyester staple fibers, as well as recycled polyester knitted fabrics and woven fabrics, of which the annual production capacity of recycled knitted fabrics is about 5,000 tons.

Zhu Jianxun introduced that Jieshou City, where Dongjin is located, is an important recycled plastic recycling base in China, 40% of which is PET. 70% of the raw materials used by the company are purchased locally, all recycled polyester staple fibers produced are sold to Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas, and 40% of the recycled polyester filaments produced are used in the company's own production of woven and knitted recycled white grey fabrics. The raw materials used by Dongjin Company are all pure regeneration. 40% of the fiber products are dope dyed fibers, which can save the printing and dyeing process in the downstream, and try to use neutral oil in the production. The company turned all the leftover materials into foam materials, reproduced them, and controlled the power equipment by frequency conversion. At present, the company has 3 boilers, one of which burns biomass resources and the other two burns natural gas. At the same time, the company's waste gas and waste water discharge are up to the standard. Taking sewage treatment as an example, the company adopts a new technology of microbial technology and membrane treatment, and has built two sewage treatment stations with a daily sewage treatment capacity of about 2,600 tons. Moreover, after being treated by the enterprise, the sewage will be centrally treated in the park.

"When we first entered the industrial park, we were only an enterprise with an annual output of 15,000 tons of recycled polyester staple fiber, but now, the company's production capacity has increased by 70 times, and its efficiency has increased by 440 times, and it has achieved rapid development. At present, the company is carrying out new projects. The plan includes an annual output of 100,000 tons of recycled dope colored filament and color fiber, and a new type of water spray cloth of 200 million meters." Zhu Jianxun said.

Better development still looking forward to "peripheral" power

Although the recycling industry is a strategic emerging industry, for my country, the development of this industry still has a long way to go, whether in terms of the perfection of the construction of the circular economy system in the whole society or the acceptance of recycled products by the public. . This means that if the industry wants to develop better, it is not enough to break through from the inside.

Policies are critical to support the recycling industry and businesses. In this regard, Lou Baoliang, president of Zhejiang Jiaren New Materials Co., Ltd., was deeply impressed. "The company has developed rapidly since its establishment. The newly constructed chip spinning differential regenerated chemical fiber project with an annual output of 60,000 tons will soon be put into operation. In June, the third-phase transformation project with an annual output of 66,000 tons will also be launched. The company's development has been greatly improved. The support of governments at all levels such as Zhejiang Province and Shaoxing City. Everyone should work together for the regeneration cause." Lou Baoliang said.

According to reports, Jiaren New Materials has now become a leader in the domestic chemical recycling polyester fiber industry. The company uses waste textiles as raw materials and thoroughly decomposes the raw materials into new polyester fibers through chemical methods, and can remove pigments , color and impurities. In the process of enterprise development, it has enjoyed some practical support from the local government in terms of applicable tax rates and recycling of waste textiles.

Zhu Jianxun also said that Guangwu Industrial Park in Jieshou City has excellent conditions for investment and factory establishment, preferential policies for investment promotion, adequate government services, complete functions and infrastructure of the park, and sufficient human and raw material resources, all of which have created a good environment for the development of enterprises. outside condition.

However, in the opinion of industry insiders, the policy support for the regeneration industry can be more diversified. Zhu Jianxun said: "In addition to taxation, more support should be given to government procurement. The whole society should also increase the guidance on the consumption of recycled products, so that more people can form the awareness of consuming recycled products."

Over the past few years, He Yanli has put forward suggestions on many occasions. The state should give a certain inclination to the recycling industry from the aspect of government procurement to support the development of the recycling industry. People know the value of consuming recycled products for the environment.

"The China Chemical Fiber Association is actively coordinating and communicating, hoping that recycled fiber products can be included in the government procurement list. At the same time, it is very important to guide the cognition of Chinese consumers. In fact, many international brands recognize recycled fiber. There are misunderstandings, in fact, recycled fiber products are very safe. In the future, the whole society should strengthen popular science education for the public in this regard." He Yanli said.