The Special Relationship Between The Titanium Industry And The PTA Industry
Aug 13, 2025
PTA, also known as purified terephthalic acid, is the most widely used basic chemical raw material. It is primarily used in the production of polyester products. Polyester can be categorized into two main types: fiber and non-fiber. Fiber is primarily used in the textile industry, while non-fiber is primarily used in industries such as film, containers, insulation, and engineering plastics. Its applications are quite diverse. my country is the world's largest producer and consumer of PTA, accounting for approximately 56% of global production. Amidst the severe global pandemic, my country's reliance on foreign PTA has further decreased in recent years. This has led to a boom in the domestic PTA industry and a rapid increase in the use of titanium materials and equipment.
Due to the corrosive environment of PTA plants and the excellent corrosion resistance of titanium alloys, titanium alloys have become the preferred material for PTA plants. They can withstand corrosion in a variety of corrosive environments. Titanium is used in PTA plants in two main protective forms: titanium-lined and all-titanium equipment. Titanium-lined equipment uses an outer layer of carbon steel to withstand the pressure of the medium and an inner titanium lining to resist corrosion. All-titanium components are entirely titanium-based, absorbing the corrosion and pressure of the medium.
Titanium is primarily used in the PTA system in the oxidation unit, crystallization unit, and solvent recovery unit. In the oxidation unit, the most corrosive environments are found in the oxidation reactor and the top three-stage condenser. Therefore, all equipment in contact with the process medium is made of titanium. In the crystallization unit, the most corrosive environments are found in the crystallizer and top condenser, and all equipment in these areas is constructed of titanium alloys that meet performance requirements. The reboiler tubes and trays in the dehydration tower in the solvent recovery unit, which operates at temperatures exceeding 120°C, are all constructed of titanium alloys of the relevant grades.
It can be seen that titanium has numerous applications in PTA equipment and is used in significant quantities. Therefore, even during the severe domestic epidemic in the past two years, the titanium industry maintained rapid growth, which is closely related to the rapid development of the domestic PTA industry.
The company boasts leading domestic titanium processing production lines, including:
German-imported precision titanium tube production line (annual production capacity: 30,000 tons);
Japanese-technology titanium foil rolling line (thinnest to 6μm);
Fully automated titanium rod continuous extrusion line;
Intelligent titanium plate and strip finishing mill;
The MES system enables digital control and management of the entire production process, achieving product dimensional accuracy of ±0.01μm.
