Linear α-olefins (LAO) have broad application prospects, and the domestic substitution process in the domestic market needs to continue to accelerate.

α-Olefin refers to a single olefin with a double bond at the end of the molecular chain. The molecular formula is R-CH=CH2. Linear α-olefins, also known as linear α-olefins, or LAO for short, refer to C4 and above high-carbon linear olefins containing only a single terminal double bond in the molecule, including butene-1, hexene-1, and decene. -1, octene-1 and other products.

Linear α-olefins are important organic chemical raw materials and active intermediates. They can be used as comonomers in polyolefin elastomers (POE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), high-performance linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and other high-performance products. Molecular material production scenarios; it can be used as raw materials in fine chemical production scenarios such as lubricants, plasticizers, detergents, pour point depressants, surfactants, sizing agents, extreme pressure additives, friction modifiers, etc.

Among them, linear α-olefins are the main use as comonomers in the production of polymer materials. In recent years, with the rapid development of downstream POE, HDPE, LLDPE and other polymer material industries, domestic demand for linear α-olefins has continued to increase. Taking HDPE and LLDPE as examples, my country’s LLDPE production capacity has reached 15.365 million tons in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 56.8%; HDPE production capacity has reached 14.372 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%. Against this background, my country’s linear alpha-olefin market size will be approximately 9.53 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 7.1%.

Linear α-olefins have high technical barriers and complex process routes. Currently, their production methods mainly include five methods: wax cracking olefins method, high-carbon alcohol dehydrogenation method, Fischer-Dau synthesis method, mixed C4 separation method, and ethylene oligomerization method. Among them, the use of ethylene oligomerization to produce linear α-olefins has the advantages of high product purity, good performance, mild reaction conditions, and environmental friendliness. It is currently the most widely used production method of linear α-olefins.

Due to technical limitations, the domestic linear α-olefins market has long been dominated by international companies such as Chevron Phillips Chemical, Shell, Sasol, Idemitsu, Saudi Arabian Basics, Linde Group, Ineos, etc., and the degree of localization is relatively low. Low. However, after years of technology development and testing, the number of domestic companies that have mastered the key technologies of linear α-olefins has continued to increase, and the industry has gradually entered a stage of rapid development.

According to the“China Linear Alpha Olefin (LAO) Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report 2023-2027” released by the Industrial Research Center 》 Shows that the current domestic linear α-olefin production companies mainly include PetroChina, Sinopec, Inner Mongolia Yitai Group, Shanxi Lu’an Mining, National Energy Group Ningxia Coal, Yankuang Group, etc., along with local Enterprise technology continues to improve and production capacity continues to be released, and the pace of domestic substitution in my country’s linear α-olefin market is gradually accelerating.

Industry analysts said that linear α-olefins are an important type of organic chemical raw materials and intermediates. It is widely used in the production of polymer materials such as POE, HDPE, and LLDPE, as well as fine chemical products such as lubricants, plasticizers, detergents, and pour point depressants, and has broad application prospects. However, due to technical limitations, the current domestic level of my country’s linear α-olefin market is still relatively low and the dependence on imports is high. There is still huge room for domestic substitution in the future market.