CHINAPLAS 2024, the 36th International Exhibition on Plastics and Rubber Industries, grandly opens today at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Hongqiao, Shanghai, China. It marks the leading trade fair’s return to Shanghai after six years, meeting the cumulative expectation of the plastics and rubber industries. 

The four-day trade fair (April 23-26) occupies all 15 exhibition halls of the NECC with a total exhibition area of over 380,000sqm, an increase of 12% compared with 2018 edition at the same venue. 4,420 renowned exhibitors from around the world showcase a comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge machinery technologies and material solutions. Notably, the strong international exhibitor line-up regains its pre-pandemic scale.

Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd., the organizer of CHINAPLAS, sets up 17 theme zones at the fairgrounds. There are also nine country/region pavilions, namely Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, UK, USA, and Taiwan region. 

Meanwhile, embracing the concept of “Innovated in China”, more than 800 Chinese “Shining Niche” companies, which are officially awarded on the list of “Specialization, Refinement, Distinctiveness, Novelty” small & medium enterprises by the Chinese government, also gather to shine on stage, demonstrating how China’s high-tech revolution can accelerate development of the plastics and rubber industries.

A technological feast for sustainability and circular economy 

Not only a global consensus, sustainable development has also become one of the important new drivers of global economic recovery. As a key strategy for addressing environmental challenges, circular economy revolutionizes the plastics and rubber industries’ approach to production and consumption with transformative solutions for promoting resource efficiency, waste reduction, and recycling.

A wide spectrum of new and innovative sustainable solutions is displayed at CHINAPLAS 2024, especially in the Bioplastics Zone, Recycled Plastics Zone, and Recycling Technology Zone.

New bioplastics for uncompromising performance 

In the Bioplastics Zone, visitors can check out the bio-based offerings from exhibitors. For example, Beijing Phabuilder Biotechnology (Booth: 1.2H72) debuts its pure PHA material and trimer PHA aqueous latex at the trade fair. These bio-based products do not contain other polymers and feature biodegradation rate of more than 98%.

The pure PHA showcased is suitable for straw, tableware and coating, and the trimer PHA has properties of high transparency (T ≥ 95%), high elongation (breaking elongation ≥ 500%) and high barrier properties (water oxygen barrier < 5/m2 24h).

Meanwhile, Shanghai Huahao Chemical (Booth: 1.2J71) introduces the industry-first recycled PTT polyester chip which contains 37% bio-based content and 63% recycled content. The material provides the same spinning performance as virgin PTT slice, demonstrating the soft, anti-wrinkle, elastic and shape preservation characteristics.

High-quality recycled plastics for broad spectrum of applications 

In the Recycled Plastics Zone, Veolia Huafei Polymer Technology (Booth: 1.2F43) launches two food-grade recycled polyesters, which are made from high quality post-consumer PET drinking bottles with recycled handling. The recycled materials are used in drinking water bottles, cosmetic boxes, storage boxes, and high-end plush toys etc.

Visitors can also find plenty of recycled materials in the Chemicals & Raw Materials Zone. ECOTRIA CR is the Circular Recycle copolyesters from SK Chemicals (Booth: 8.2F16) that adopts chemical recycling technology. Circular Recycle provides high-quality recycled plastics with high clarity and performance, and ECOTRIA can cover all existing PETG/PCTG applications.

Application of high-performance recycled plastics in automotive parts brings the benefits of weight saving and sustainability. The new PC/PET resin alloy grade from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (Booth: 7.2C72) is made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials, and it was designed for exterior parts of automobiles.

Advanced technologies for enhanced recycling efficiency

In addition to green materials, CHINAPLAS 2024 also showcases an assortment of recycling machines and systems in the Recycling Technology Zone. When it comes to advancing recycling technology, there is a continuous effort to enhance processing efficiency and product quality.  

The EnMa FR series film online and offline recycling solution was newly developed for giving industrial film waste a “new life” by ENMA Granulator (Booth: 2.1C12). The online granulating recycling can reach 600m per minute, and the offline granulating recycling can crush large sized lumps and rollers of film waste and transport them to an extruder up to 150m away for reproduction.

By unveiling the ES Process PET bottle washing line, Zhejiang BoReTech Environmental Engineering (Booth: NF07) offers a solution for producing high-quality rPET flakes. The washing is equipped with many enhanced features and the integrated functionality of a turnkey recycling system maximizes equipment performance. 

The pyrolysis reactor of Next Generation Group (Booth: 2.1F31), T:CRACKER Industrial Pyrolysis, features continuous operation supported by latest automation solution. The modular design provides a compact and flexible system layout with throughput of up to 1.0 t/h per T:CRACKER module. 

Deep dive into digitalization and smart manufacturing 

Digitalization contributes massively to the transformation in manufacturing. Introducing smart manufacturing brings enormous benefits, including enhanced operational efficiency, improved product quality, and streamlined supply chain management.

By harnessing the power of digitalization, the plastics and rubber industries can quickly address changing market demands and customer requirements, ultimately maintaining a competitive edge in an increasingly digitalized world.

In view of this, CHINAPLAS 2024 introduces the latest smart manufacturing machinery and solutions in Injection Molding Machinery & Smart Manufacturing Tech Zone with about 60,000sqm. International big names and leading Chinese suppliers demonstrate how digitalization can help plastics converters to stay ahead of the keen competition.