Cathay Biotech Inc. is pleased to announce the on-going operations at its Wusu plant and the successful start of production of its bio-based monomers and polymers. The manufacturing of bio-based PDA and PA5X commenced in the middle of 2021.

At the Cathay Wusu plant, the production capacities of pentamethylene diamine (PDA) are 50Kt/annum and 100Kt/annum of the PA5X polyamides. The fine-tuning and operational parameters of the production lines have been fully implemented and the production lines have started to yield the first batches of finished product at the end of June 2021. The operational plan is to initiate the PDA lines at the same time as the PA5X lines, in order to have the continuous and batch production lines working simultaneously to produce various grades and specifications of the PA5X products.

After the initial start-up and with the subsequent operational parameters being fine-tuned, the quality of both the bio-based PDA and the bio-based PA5X are in line with the target specifications. The product grades have been tested and evaluated by a number of market participants and positive results have been obtained by both engineering plastics producers and textile spinners. In the textiles industry, Cathay has proven the ability of the bio-based PA56 “full dull” material to be fed directly into the melt spinning process and the production of the pre-orientated yarn (POY) and the full-drawn yarn (FDY) with high efficiency of the process and excellent results. Using the direct feed into the spinning process of the bio-based polymers has led to greater efficiency in that the production steps are reduced, for example there is no need for pelletizing, drying and extrusion of the resins. Such parameters create a competitive edge for the production of a PA56 filament for both performance and cost.

Dr. Xiucai Liu, Founder, Chairman and President of Cathay Biotech commented: “The onset of the production of bio-based PDA and bio-based polyamides has a positive impact on the development of the Cathay business and its products. It is further proof that making large-scale industrial products from renewable materials, utilizing bio-based processes, is commercially viable.”

It will take some time for the full capacity to be utilized at the Wusu production plant. External factors such as price fluctuations in raw materials can affect the performance and investment risks must be factored in accordingly.

Cathay Biotech Inc. is a listed company on the Shanghai stock exchange’s STAR market (symbol: 688065.SH). Cathay Biotech was founded in 2000 and engages in the research, development, production and sales of new bio-based materials based on synthetic biology and other disciplines and utilizes bio-manufacturing technology. Its headquarters and R&D center are located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech park in Shanghai and the two production sites are in Jinxiang and Wusu, P.R.China. The third production site is under construction in Taiyuan, also in China, which will expand the current capacity of 75kt/a long-chain diacids, 50kt/a pentanediamine  and 100kt bio-based polyamides to a much larger scale. Cathay focuses on the polyamide industry chain, producing monomer raw materials that can be used in the production of bio-based polyamides, including a series of bio-manufactured long-chain diacids and bio-based pentamethylene diamine, as well as several bio-based polyamides and related products. The products are used in many applications in textiles, pharmaceuticals, perfumes, automobiles, electronic appliances, consumer goods and other fields.

About PDA and PA5X

Pentamethylene diamine (PDA), produced from sustainable resources through Cathay’s proprietary process, can be widely used as an epoxy curing agent, an ingredient in hot melt adhesive formulations, diisocyanates and in other related applications. The substitution of hexamethylene diamine (HMDA) by Cathay’s PDA in the field of polyamides can solve the main bottleneck of the development of the domestic polyamide industry. Cathay’s PDA also provides the market and customers with new "biological manufacturing" materials made from renewable biomass raw materials. Moreover, PDA provides downstream bio-based polyamides and other products with excellent performance characteristics due to its odd-numbered carbon structure.

Cathay’s array of bio-based polyamide products, which are polymerized from the proprietary bio-based PDA (also called 5-chain diamine) and different diacids (resulting in nylon grades PA5X), have many excellent characteristics such as flame retardance, moisture absorption, easy dyeing, low warpage and high flowability, as well as the advantages of sustainable sourcing and low environmental impact. Based on its own bio-based polyamide products, Cathay launched the high-performance textile material TERRYL^® for broad applications in clothing, carpets, industrial yarns and other textile fields. Based on the excellent properties such as high strength, high heat resistance and good dimensional stability, Cathay launched the engineering material ECOPENT^®, which is used in automotive applications, electronics and electricals, industrial and consumer goods and other engineering material fields, and provides solutions for the sustainable development of our society.

For further information, please contact:

Europe: eu.service@cathaybiotech.com

America: order-us@cathaybiotech.com(Diacids)

              us.service@cathaybiotech.com(Polyamides)