Synthetic Leather Industry: Not To Promote Environmental Protection Technology Will Be Eliminated Sooner Or Later.

Innovation figures: the general manager of synthetic leather enterprises

Innovation location: Lishui Economic Development Zone

Innovative sentiment: when waterborne PU resin is applied to any enterprise in Lishui Economic Development Zone, you will be eliminated if you do not innovate your technology.

Expert on synthetic leather

China is a large country of synthetic leather production, which accounts for more than 70% of the world's total output.

The synthetic leather industry in Wenzhou is developing rapidly. Now there are more than 90 synthetic leather enterprises. The annual output of synthetic leather is 280 thousand tons, accounting for about 50% of the total output.

In 2002, Wenzhou became the "capital of China's synthetic leather".

Since 2005, the synthetic leather industry of Wenzhou has been developing rapidly. The city has introduced 27 synthetic leather enterprises and 110 production lines in Wenzhou.

Synthetic leather has become a pillar industry in Lishui.

For a long time, synthetic leather production contains chemicals containing a large number of organic solvents. 70% of them belong to toxic and harmful solvents, which not only cause a lot of waste of organic solvents, but also seriously pollute the environment, cause great harm to the workers' bodies, and cause safety accidents.

Fan Haojun, an expert in synthetic leather, told reporters: "if the synthetic leather made of waterborne PU resin is not only highly simulated leather, non-toxic, environment-friendly and high physical and chemical properties, but also in the production process can achieve no toxic and harmful gas emissions, fully realize clean production and safe production, save a lot of organic solvents, save a lot of valuable resources for the country."

"I used to do the study of genuine leather. Like real leather and synthetic leather, the pungent smell in the production process is unbearable.

I stayed in the lab, and I had to go out in half a day. "

Fan Haojun said with emotion, "how can employees and technicians endure in such an environment?"

The pungent odour comes from traditional organic solvents.

In addition to the direct emission of serious pollution to the environment, it is also very easy to cause fire.

Dr Fan Haojun said: "there must be a substitute technology for safety and environmental protection.

This technology is waterborne PU resin.

It is this belief that supports Dr Fan Haojun for more than 3 years from the real leather industry to the synthetic leather industry, and to research and promote waterborne PU resin.

It is precisely because of this belief that he will advance 3 years of scientific research time. On behalf of the scientific research team of Sichuan University, he formally signed a cooperation agreement with the Lishui Economic Development Zone Management Committee and Lishui Qili leather decoration Co., Ltd. in August 2007, and vowed to help enterprises successfully apply the technology.

However, after the success of research and development, the application of this technology is not smooth sailing.

From worry to success

There are many difficulties in the application of waterborne resins in synthetic leather.

On the one hand, the difficulty comes from the inherent problems of water-borne resins, such as the use of water instead of organic solvents.

Because of the high surface tension and high surface energy, the inclusion and wetting ability of polymers, auxiliaries, inorganic fillers, pigments and so on are poor.

For example, wear resistance, scratch resistance, aging resistance and UV resistance of waterborne resins must be broken through in order to apply to synthetic leather.

In short, the technical application problems from the application of waterborne resins must be solved. Only in this way can we truly say that the products are mature.

There is a story circulating among synthetic leather entrepreneurs in Wenzhou: in 2003, a group of 3 tons of "waterborne resin" from Jiangsu to a synthetic leather company in Wenzhou had just been applied in the synthetic leather industry, but there were major problems.

That enterprise uses the "waterborne resin" which is not technically mature, processing synthetic leather clothing, and exporting abroad.

The outfits came to foreign countries and all stuck together.

The Wenzhou boss, who was the first to eat crab, lost all his money.

For a time, a lot of Wenzhou synthetic leather enterprises talked about "water color change". After that, few people mentioned the topic of technological innovation again.

"It is not easy for enterprises to believe in our technology."

Dr. Fan Haojun has so much controversy over the Lishui municipal government that the technology is still fresh in his mind.

In August 2007, at the invitation of Lishui economic and Technological Development Zone, Dr. Fan Haojun of Sichuan University made a demonstration report on the feasibility of environment-friendly PU leather finishing technology.

At that time, the chief executives of synthetic leather enterprises in the economic and Technological Development Zone had neither agreed nor had any obvious objections.

But in the efforts of various government departments including the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the economic development zone and the administrative committee, people of insight still give full support to this technology.

Lishui Qili leather decoration Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Wuzhou Industrial Co., Ltd. are one of them.

Environmentally friendly products usually mean longer R & D time and a high degree of corporate social responsibility.

As an environmentally friendly technology used in synthetic leather industry, waterborne resins inevitably encounter problems of feasibility in the process of application.

Faced with these problems, Zhang Feng, chairman of Zhejiang Wuzhou Industrial Co., told reporters: "with waterborne resins, environmental protection problems can be completely solved, and we are worth a try."

"There's no need to put up with the bad smell anymore."

Compared with the traditional synthetic leather produced by solvent processing, the synthetic leather produced by waterborne PU resin has not only improved general physical properties, but also has the characteristics of innocuity, environmental protection, breathability, moisture permeability and better handle.

Zhang Cai, chairman of Zhejiang Wuzhou industry, said excitedly, "synthetic leather made from water-based materials is expected to win the EU's" eco synthetic leather "qualification, laying the foundation for the successful development of foreign markets and internationalization.

From the long-term objective of the market, the use of water-based resins is sooner or later.

Coincidentally, Wang Minghai, the office director of Qili leather decoration Co., Ltd. also believes that no enterprise is market-oriented.

When waterborne PU resin is applied to any enterprise in Lishui Economic Development Zone, you will be lagging behind if you want to innovate your technology.

The most basic employees in the enterprise are the beneficiaries of the reform of waterborne PU resin.

As the first enterprise to apply the technology in Lishui Economic Development Zone, the staff of Qili Leather Co., Ltd. is full of strong sense of happiness.

Wang Minghai, director of Qili leather decorating office, reported two data to reporters. In the synthetic leather enterprise of the Development Zone, Qili PI decoration was one of the few enterprises that reached 100% after the Spring Festival in 2008.

Not only that, one of the 10 employees came to the factory to sign up.

This not only reflects the loyalty of employees, but also is the recognition of the improvement of the enterprise environment after the promotion of waterborne PU resin technology.

Zhang Rui, a young boy who works in a synthetic leather enterprise in Lishui Economic Development Zone, is full of hope. "Soon after that, our company can also apply the technology, so we no longer need to endure that awful exhaust gas," said Zhang Rui.