Freezer packaging bags and agricultural mulch films buried in farmland are not ordinary plastic products. Their core raw material is low-density metallocene polyethylene film material, which was long reliant on imported supplies due to overseas technical barriers. Recently, Sinopec Qilu Petrochemical has achieved independent R&D and mass production of this high-end material, marking a breakthrough to replace imported equivalents.
Low-density metallocene polyethylene film material refers to film-grade polyethylene produced with metallocene catalysts, with a density lower than 0.915 g/cm³. It differs greatly from conventional polyethylene film materials in intrinsic molecular structure and comprehensive performance.
Compared with regular metallocene polyethylene film materials, Qilu Petrochemical’s self-developed product owns multiple prominent performance strengths tailored for flexible packaging usage:
As a high-end synthetic resin, the material covers widespread civil and industrial flexible film fields, including stretch films, heavy-duty packaging films, soft food packaging bags, frozen food packaging bags, agricultural mulch films and industrial wrapping films. It also meets customized usage demands for other high-end film scenarios with strict performance standards.
China is a major consumer of metallocene polyethylene film materials, with annual apparent consumption reaching around 2.6 million tons. For decades, core catalyst and polymerization process barriers were monopolized by overseas enterprises. More than half of domestic high-end metallocene film material supply relied on imports, restricting the upgrading of domestic packaging and agricultural plastic industrial chains.
Following differentiated and customized product development strategies, Qilu Petrochemical analyzed market demand and economic benefits of high-end film resins, and tapped the production potential of existing polyethylene facilities. The integrated production, sales and R&D team conducted nationwide field surveys on downstream packaging and agricultural film manufacturers to collect accurate customized performance requirements before technical research.
Qilu Petrochemical’s Technology Development Department, Plastic Plant and Corporate Research Institute collaborated closely during technical iteration. After repeated formula adjustment and pilot tests, the company successfully realized commercial production of low-density metallocene polyethylene film material in 2022. It is the first domestic manufacturer adopting gas-phase fluidized bed technology for this product, breaking long-term overseas technical monopoly.
Based on the integrated production-sales-R&D operation mechanism, Qilu Petrochemical carried out imported alternative formula verification targeting packaging films, agricultural mulch films and wrapping films, and accelerated market promotion of the new resin. After iterative optimization, the final product density dropped to 0.9131 g/cm³, exceeding the performance level of mainstream imported counterparts. Processed finished films meet all industrial standards in terms of surface smoothness, fisheye and crystal spot indicators.
Supported by reliable product quality and one-stop customized technical services, Qilu’s low-density metallocene polyethylene has gained full recognition from downstream manufacturers. The material has entered batch procurement and large-scale practical application across multiple film subdivisions. In line with Sinopec’s overall layout for the national 14th Five-Year Plan, the breakthrough accelerates domestic technical localization of high-performance polyolefin resins. It will further promote full-scale import substitution of metallocene film materials and drive the transformation and upgrading of China’s plastic upstream industry.
