English
Recently, ecopol of Italy and RDM group (finchin group) jointly developed a new barrier packaging solution: a layer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) film provided by ecopol is coated on the recycled cardboard as the substrate. The packaging can not only be applied to the packaging of food and products easily affected by aroma, but also enter the conventional paper recycling process. Due to the existence of barrier layer, the problem that recycled cardboard may be contaminated by food grade mineral oil when used in food packaging is solved, and the level a recyclable standard can be reached in the conventional fiber recycling process. At present, the two enterprises are looking for interested brands and processors to invite potential partners to participate in the development of relevant projects.
PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) and PVOH (polyvinyl acetal resin) are both high molecular materials. PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) is a water-soluble polymer, while PVOH (polyvinyl alcohol acetal resin) is a modified product of PVA. Their chemical structures are similar. The main difference is that PVOH enhances the thermoplastic and processing properties of the material through special processes. In practical applications, PVOH is often used in the field of packaging in the form of coating, while PVA is more used as water-soluble and environmentally friendly packaging materials.
Background of cooperative enterprise: ecopol and RDM group
Ecopol, headquartered in kyessinauzanese, pistoya Province, is a major European producer of extruded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films. Its products are used for the packaging of single dose detergent, agricultural and water treatment chemicals. Since September 2023, the company has been controlled by private equity company SK Capital Partners. Ecopol has three factories (two in Italy and one in the United States), with more than 130 employees and an annual turnover of about 45million euros. Sk capital invested in ecopol, a PVA film company.
RDM group, whose Chinese name is finchin group, was founded in 1979 and headquartered in Italy. Its main business covers fashion, retail and real estate development. It owns serravalle, the largest outlet shopping center in Europe, and the famous outlet in Florence, China. At present, Florence town has seven famous outlets in Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu and Chongqing.
PVA membrane is a kind of green environmental protection functional material, which is made of polyvinyl alcohol as the main body, modifier and other additives, and processed by special process. It has the characteristics of good compactness, high crystallinity and strong adhesion. The film is flexible and smooth, oil resistant, solvent resistant, wear-resistant, and has excellent gas permeability. It has shown irreplaceable application value in many fields. Its core component is polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which forms a film with high barrier and biodegradability through tape casting, coating and other processes, and has become an important choice to replace traditional plastics. At the same time, PVA membrane can be degraded under the action of bacteria and enzymes. It is a biodegradable polymer material with good environmental affinity and no pollution.
Classification of PVA membrane
In terms of classification, PVA films can be divided into normal temperature soluble film, medium temperature soluble film and high temperature soluble film according to the dissolution temperature; According to the dissolution rate, it can be divided into fast soluble water-soluble film, medium soluble water-soluble film and slow soluble water-soluble film.
1. By dissolution temperature:
Normal temperature dissolving film: (20-40 ℃): used for washing beads and pesticide packaging, such as pva-1788 series of wanwei high tech, with a dissolving time of about 5 minutes.
Medium temperature soluble film: (50-70 ℃): suitable for industrial detergent packaging. Pva-2488 products of Ningxia Dadi cycle are completely dissolved in 60 ℃ water within 3 minutes.
High temperature soluble film: (80-90 ℃): used for electronic component packaging, which needs to be stable in high temperature and high humidity environment, mowiflex from Kolari, Japan ™ HT series occupies 70% of the global market share.
2. By dissolution rate:
Fast dissolving water-soluble membrane: (1-5 minutes): disinfection packaging materials in the medical field, such as Kuraray's solvy ® Series, which can disintegrate rapidly in normal saline at 37 ℃.
Medium soluble water soluble film: (5-15 minutes): the mainstream choice for food packaging. Domestic enterprises such as Jiangsu breir's PVA film have a dissolution rate of 95% in normal temperature water for 10 minutes.
Slow soluble water-soluble film: (15-30 minutes): Agricultural slow-release fertilizer coating, which can realize the slow release of nutrients by controlling the film thickness (20-50 μ m).
Casting method is the dominant method for PVA film production in China (accounting for 70%), which can produce films with thickness of 10-200 μ m, thickness uniformity CV ≤ 3%, haze ≤ 3%, and production line speed of 50 m/min, and the cost is 20% lower than that of coating method. Through the "step-by-step plasticization method" independently developed by wanwei hi tech, the hot processing time of PVA resin was shortened by 40%, the yield was increased from 65% to 92%, and the first 3.4-meter wide optical film production line in China was built. The light transmittance of the product exceeded 42db, close to the level of Kolari in Japan.
Market size and growth momentum
In 2023, China's PVA film market reached 2.22 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 18.09%. In 2024, it further increased to 2.314 billion yuan, of which the size of the optical film segment reached 1.745 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of more than 20%. Drivers include:
Policy dividend: the "14th five year plan" for the development of new materials industry lists PVA membrane as a key material for development, and gives R&D subsidies and tax incentives.
Alternative demand: the annual consumption of traditional plastic film exceeds 20million tons, and the penetration rate of PVA film in the field of food packaging has increased from 3% in 2019 to 12% in 2024.
Technological breakthrough: wanwei hi tech's wide PVA optical film project for TFT polarizer (with an annual output of 20million square meters) was put into operation in 2025, and the domestic replacement rate is expected to increase from less than 10% to 30%.
Analysis of core enterprise competitiveness
Wanwei hi tech: a leading enterprise in China, with a capacity of 310000 tons of PVA resin per year and a capacity of 12million square meters of optical film per year. In 2024, the revenue of PVA optical film increased by 190.6% year-on-year, and the products entered the supply chain of BOE and TCL Huaxing.
Ningxia Nenghua (Sinopec subsidiary): breaking through the PVA consumables technology for 3D printing, the alcoholysis degree of 088-40 brand products reached 99%, realizing import substitution and filling the domestic gap.
Changchun Chemical (Jiangsu): focus on PVA film for polarizer, with a production capacity of 5million square meters/year. The products are used for small and medium-sized LCD screens, with a market share of about 8%.
Technological innovation of PVA membrane
In terms of technological innovation, the development of functional materials has achieved remarkable results. The pva/pbat composite membrane developed by Sichuan University has increased its tensile strength to 80MPa and water resistance by three times by adding 1% nano cellulose; The team of China University of science and technology modified PVA with corn starch, with a bio based content of 50% and a cost reduction of 15% compared with petroleum based PVA. In the process upgrading path, the wet biaxial tensile production line independently developed by wanwei group adopted AI visual inspection system, which reduced the defect rate by 60%, controlled the uniformity of film thickness at ± 1 μ m, and increased the light transmittance to 43%; The microcellular PVA membrane with a density of 0.3g/cm ³ can be prepared by the supercritical CO ɑ foaming technology developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences for lightweight packaging, with a cost reduction of 25%.
Market expansion opportunities and challenges
There are broad opportunities for market expansion. In the display field, the global market scale of PVA film for polarizer will reach 6.386 billion yuan in 2024. Chinese enterprises are expected to seize 30% of the market share by 2030 by virtue of technological breakthroughs in broadband (3.4 meters) and high transmittance (>42db); In the field of new energy, PVA based solid electrolyte showed an ionic conductivity of 1.2ms/cm in lithium batteries, which was 30% higher than that of traditional liquid electrolyte. Ningde times has carried out pilot production; In the medical field, PVA based friction electrification materials are used for medical masks, which fix water molecules through hydrogen bonds, improve the efficiency of electrostatic adsorption of virus by 50% in high humidity environment, and extend the service life to 72 hours.
Industrial development faces many challenges. In terms of technical barriers, the purity of optical grade PVA resin requires the content of metal ions<1ppm. At present, only wanwei high tech has achieved mass production in China, and the dependence on imports is still 70%; In terms of cost pressure, the price of PVA resin is significantly affected by oil fluctuations. The price in 2024 is 12400 yuan/ton, 28% higher than that in 2020, which restricts the penetration of middle and low-end markets; In the international competition, kolali of Japan continued to suppress the breakthrough of Chinese enterprises in the high-end market by expanding production (the production capacity will reach 334million square meters in 2027) and blocking technology (more than 500 patents).
In view of these situations, there are many suggestions on policy and industry coordination. We should strengthen basic research, set up a national key R&D plan, and support basic research such as PVA molecular design and efficient catalytic synthesis, so as to break through Japan's technological monopoly on optical grade PVA resin; Improve the standard system, accelerate the formulation of general technical requirements for biodegradable PVA membrane, clarify the degradation rate, heavy metal content and other indicators, and guide the standardized development of the market; Build an industrial alliance, promote wanwei hi tech, China University of science and technology, and BOE to establish a "display material innovation Consortium" to achieve a technological breakthrough in the whole chain from resin synthesis to terminal application; Expand the international market, build a PVA membrane production base in Southeast Asia with the help of the "belt and road" initiative, and avoid anti-dumping duties in Europe and the United States. In 2024, China's PVA membrane exports increased by 45% year-on-year, mainly to India and Vietnam.
As the core carrier of green material revolution, PVA membrane is changing from a "substitute" to an "innovation leader". Chinese enterprises need to make continuous breakthroughs in high-end resin synthesis, wide range production, application scenario expansion and other aspects. At the same time, relying on policy support and industrial chain coordination, they are expected to form a 100 billion level industrial cluster by 2030 and contribute Chinese solutions to global sustainable development.
