China has completed construction of the country's largest single-site production base for high-end polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), strengthening supply support for industries including new energy and optoelectronics.

The 50,000-tonne-per-year specialty PVA resin facility of Sinopec Chongqing SVW Chemical Co., Ltd., located in Chongqing Municipality, southwest China, brings the company's total annual PVA production capacity to 210,000 tonnes, making it the world's largest single-site high-end PVA production base, according to Sinopec.

Known as a "universal auxiliary material" in the fine chemical industry, PVA features high strength, high transparency, strong barrier properties and complete biodegradability. It is widely used in textiles, construction, pharmaceuticals, new energy, electronics and other sectors.

The newly commissioned facility was built using a full set of independently developed core technologies. It enables large-scale and stable production of high-end specialty products, while also driving technological upgrades and capacity optimization of the company's existing 160,000-tonne production facilities, forming an overall high-end PVA production capacity of 210,000 tonnes.

"We have innovatively optimized the polymerization process and adopted self-developed alcoholysis and precision purification technologies, increasing overall production efficiency by 40% and enabling intelligent, green and high-end operation throughout the entire production process," said Yang Kun, manager of the dispatch center at Sinopec Chongqing SVW Chemical Co., Ltd.

As one of the most widely used water-soluble polymer materials, PVA supports applications ranging from daily consumption to advanced manufacturing.

In consumer sectors, it can be used as a moisturizing ingredient in cosmetics, pharmaceutical excipients for controlled-release drugs, and biodegradable water-soluble films for personal care products and environmentally friendly packaging.

In industrial applications, PVA helps improve the strength and toughness of safety glass used in automobiles and rail transit, serving as an important supporting material for various basic industries.

In recent years, demand from traditional sectors such as textiles and construction has remained stable, while emerging applications including photovoltaic encapsulation films, optical polarizing films, electronic-grade high-purity materials and biodegradable green packaging have grown rapidly.

As demand rises for high-purity and customized high-end PVA products, supply shortages in these areas have become increasingly prominent.

China has established the world's largest PVA industrial system, accounting for more than 60% of global production capacity. The completion and operation of the Chongqing high-end production base is expected to further strengthen upstream material support for strategic emerging industries, including new energy and optoelectronic displays.