MOSCOW (MRC) -- SABIC intends to boost production capacity for its specialty NORYL SA9000 resin to support rapid growth of high-performance printed circuit boards (PCBs) used in 5G base stations and high-speed servers, as per the company's press release.
It is anticipated that this latest expansion, which builds on 2019 increases, will nearly double regional production in Asia and increase overall NORYL SA9000 resin production in Asia tenfold vs. 2018 levels.
The incremental gain in capacity will help to reduce global lead times for manufacturers of high-performance copper-clad laminates (CCLs), which can provide them greater flexibility to meet customer requests for quick turnarounds. Additionally, it provides capability for future product development. The expansion project is currently underway in India, with completion expected by the end of 2020.
NORYL SA9000 resin is an important component in CCLs used worldwide in PCBs for the 5G infrastructure market, which is forecast to register a 53 percent CAGR between 2020 and 2025, as reported by Mordor Intelligence.
“SABIC continues to invest in specialized materials that help advance global adoption of 5G networking,” said Scott Fisher, business director, Specialties, SABIC. “As the wireless networking industry faces rising demand for infrastructure with high expectations for speed, bandwidth and low latency, SABIC is committed to delivering the unique material solutions our customers need to help drive this technology forward.”
Specialized PCBs used in 5G network infrastructure require copper clad laminates that address the need for high speed and low insertion loss at higher frequencies. High-performance NORYL SA9000 resin is a modified, low-molecular-weight, bi-functional oligomer based on polyphenylene ether (PPE). It offers formulators the opportunity to achieve very low loss CCL products while balancing heat resistance, dimensional stability, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and higher layer count capability.
NORYL SA9000 resin provides formulating flexibility in existing CCL production operations. It is soluble in conventional solvents such as toluene and methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and can be incorporated into various thermoset resin systems such as styrenics, allylic, acrylic, maleimide, methacrylic and unsaturated polyester monomers and resins.
In addition to NORYL SA9000 resin, SABIC offers other resins that may help thermoset formulators develop solutions for 5G infrastructure. NORYL SA90 resin provides formulating flexibility in solvent-based epoxy systems to achieve improved dielectric performance while balancing heat resistance, improved toughness and improved dimensional stability. SABIC’s BISDA specialty dianhydride resin can improve dielectric performance and lower water absorption in certain polyimide formulations.
Building out 5G mobile networks to deliver up to 10 times faster speeds than 4G networks requires specialized infrastructure, including huge numbers of small cell base stations. Components for traditional and multiple input-multiple output (MIMO) style base stations and antennas, such as radomes, dipole resonators, antennae components, fasteners, screws, stand-offs, fittings, phase shifters and radio frequency filter housings, demand high-performance materials to provide the right balance of mechanical, physical, and dielectric properties. SABIC’s broad portfolio of injection molding solutions including ULTEM resin, NORYL resin, LNP THERMOCOMP compounds and LEXAN EXL copolymer resin can offer tailored dielectric performance, weatherability, weight-out and increased design freedom to help customers optimize performance in 5G infrastructure applications.
As MRC reported earlier, major petrochemicals producer SABIC expects the lifestyle changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic to shape the different usage of plastics going forward.
We remind that Saudi Basic Industries Corp., the petrochemicals giant 70%-owned by Saudi Aramco, saw average petrochemical prices in the second quarter plunge by 27% year-on-year as it posted a third consecutive quarterly loss, according to CEO Yousef al-Benyan's statement Aug. 6.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's overall PE production totalled 1,712,400 tonnes in the first seven months of 2020, up by 58% year on year. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) accounted for the greatest increase in the output. At the same time, overall PP production in Russia increased in January-July 2020 by 24% year on year to 1,063,700 tonne. ZapSibNeftekhim accounted for the main increase in the output.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic) ranks among the world"s top petrochemical companies. The company is among the world"s market leaders in the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and other advanced thermoplastics, glycols, methanol and fertilizers.
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