Silicone materials are not only an important part of the national strategic emerging industry new materials industry, but also an indispensable supporting material for other strategic emerging industries.

With the continuous expansion of application fields, the huge demand potential makes silicone one of the most popular chemical materials.



The domestic silicone consumption accounts for a large proportion in the fields of construction, electronics, electric power, new energy, medical treatment and personal care. Among them, the construction field is the main terminal scenario for silicone application, accounting for about 30%.



In addition to the continuous growth of demand for organic silicon materials in traditional industries, the development of energy-saving and environmental protection industries such as photovoltaic, new energy, high-voltage and ultra-high voltage power grid construction, intelligent wearable materials, 3D printing, 5g and other emerging industries all provide new demand growth points for organic silicon.













Overview of silicone

Organosilicon is a general term of silicon organic compounds, which is synthesized and hydrolyzed by metal silicon and methyl chloride.



The first step in the synthesis of organosilicon is to produce methylchlorosilane, and then through synthesis and hydrolysis, monomethyl trichlorosilane, dimethyldichlorosilane and trichlorosilane can be obtained. Dimethyldichlorosilane is the main monomer of silicone, and its main downstream is silicone rubber and silicone oil.



At present, the capacity of organic silicon mentioned in China generally refers to the capacity of methyl chlorosilane, and the output statistics at present are the output of dimethylsiloxane.



Silicone industry chain

The organic silicon industry chain is mainly divided into four links: organic silicon raw materials, organic silicon monomers, organic silicon intermediates and organic silicon deep-processing products. Among them, there are few manufacturers of raw materials, monomers and intermediates, while there are many products in the downstream deep processing links, and the production capacity is more dispersed.





Organosilicon raw materials

Raw materials account for a large proportion in the organic silicon production process. The raw material of organic silicon is industrial silicon powder, which is prepared by reducing quartz with coke in electric arc furnace.



The production of industrial silicon consumes a large amount of silicon ore and energy, and causes great environmental pollution. Therefore, a stable supply source of industrial silicon raw materials has become the basic guarantee for the production of organic silicon.



According to sagsi, in 2020, the global industrial silicon capacity will be 6.23 million tons, and China's capacity will be 4.82 million tons, accounting for 77.4%.





Organosilicon monomers and intermediates

The domestic supply of organosilicon monomers and intermediates accounts for 50% of the global supply, and is the largest supplier of organosilicon monomers and intermediates in the world. Due to the unstable state of silicone monomer, enterprises generally synthesize the monomer into intermediates such as DMC (dimethylsiloxane) or D4 for sale.



There are few varieties and specifications of organosilicon monomers and intermediates.



Dimethyldichlorosilane is a widely used organosilicon monomer, accounting for more than 90% of the total amount of the monomer.



The entry threshold of the silicone industry is high, which has been raised to 200000 tons and requires at least 1.5 billion yuan of capital investment. The high industry entry threshold will promote the concentration of monomer production capacity to leading enterprises.



At present, only a few companies have sufficient technology accumulation and achieve large-scale production, and more than 90% of the production capacity is distributed among the top 11 enterprises.



The concentration of silicone monomer production capacity also gives it more room for bargaining with downstream enterprises.



By the end of March 2022, capacity distribution of domestic silicone Enterprises:





Source: Baichuan Yingfu, Shengang securities



In terms of supply, most of China's leading silicone enterprises have projects under construction or new plans. The new capacity will be put into operation from 2022 to 2023, and the industry capacity will soon enter a rapid expansion cycle.



According to the data of Baichuan Yingfu, this year, Hesheng silicon, Yunnan energy investment, Dongyue silicon materials and other enterprises will put in about 1025000 tons of organic silicon production capacity, and new special energy, Asia silicon, Sichuan Yongxiang and other enterprises will also put in polysilicon production capacity, driving the rise of industrial silicon demand.



Sagsi predicts that China's capacity of organosilicon methyl monomer will exceed 6million tons / year in 2025, accounting for more than 70% of the global capacity of organosilicon methyl monomer.



According to c&en, maitu, a leading foreign silicone enterprise, plans to close its silicone production capacity in Waterford, New York, making Dow a manufacturer of upstream silicone raw materials in the United States.



The global silicone monomer production capacity will be transferred to China, and the industry concentration will continue to increase in the future.



2021-2025e domestic silicone monomer production capacity forecast (10000 tons):



Silicone deep processing



Organosilicon deep-processing products mostly exist in the molecular form of rnsik (4-N). The stable physical and chemical properties of silicon chain and the variability of functional groups endow organosilicon deep-processing products with rich functions. The main products are silicone rubber and silicone oil, accounting for 66% and 21% respectively.



At present, the silicone deep processing industry is still in the stage of rapid development, and the industry is relatively scattered. There are more than 3000 silicone enterprises in the downstream deep processing link alone.



Structure of China's Silicone deep processing products:





Source: zhuochuang information



Compared with Chinese enterprises, overseas silicone enterprises lack cost advantages in producing silicone monomers. Most overseas silicone leading enterprises focus on developing downstream deep-processing products and extending the industrial chain.



China's encouraging policies for the silicone industry have gradually shifted from monomer production to deep processing of silicone products, development of new silicone products, expansion of new application fields and improvement of comprehensive utilization level.





Source: Silicone Industry Association



The downstream products of organosilicon have higher added value and market application prospect. At present, there is still much room for development in the consumption of silicone in China and foreign emerging markets.

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