1. Product Description: Polyvinyl chloride mostly known by its abbreviated name PVC is a product produced as a result of polymerization of vinyl chloride. PVC is a very useful thermoplastic resin having extremely good characteristics. In Ethiopia PVC is used in plastic factories to produce hoses, pipes and boots. In the recent past, its application has extended to shoe sole manufacturing. PVC has the potential of having wide application to produce high pressure pipes for water distribution and for making a wide variety of furniture thus saving wood.
2. Market Potential: In 1996 consumption of PVC resin by different plastic industries was estimated to be about 7000 tons per year. Since then many small and medium plastic factories have been established in the country. This has increased the consumption of PVC resin. In the late 1990’s, a plant which was planned to produce PVC resin was established in Addis Ababa. However, the capacity of the new plant is only 200 tons per year. This is a small capacity which leaves a big gap between demand and supply for PVC resin. More than 95 percent of the country’s needs for PVC resin has been meet by imports. Assuming an annual growth rate of 5 percent, the demand for PVC resin is projected to reach 16,000 tons in 2013. This projected demand can absorb the production of a number of PVC resin producing plants, and one or two of these potential plants can be established in the Amhara Region.
3. Source of Raw materials: The major raw materials are vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and catalyst chemicals. Both of these raw materials will be imported.
4. Process and Technology: The production process to be employed in the envisaged plant is a simple polymerization of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) which would be imported. The upstream process which would normally involve production and subsequent chlorinating of ethanol to produce vinyl chloride is not included here for it requires a higher economies of scale which needs a much larger market size. At the initial stage of PVC resin production, VCM, demineralized water and suspending agents are added into the polymerizer. The contents are heated up to 560C before adding the initiator emulsion. The polymerization takes place in a water phase inside a reactor (polymerized). The reaction proceeds for about 8 hours with a continuous recovery of non-reacted monomer. In the next step, the product is introduced in to a centrifuge to dewater it and the cake from the centrifuge is let into a fluid bed dryer to get dried. The final product is sieved and bagged in sacks of 25kg. machinery required include reactor (polymerizer), centrifuge, fluid bed dryer and others.
5. Estimated Investment: For a plant which will have a production capacity of 5000 tons of PVC resin per year, the estimated investment will be:-
Building/shade 1000m2 at Birr 1500/m2 = Birr 1,500,000
Machinery …………………………………….. = Birr 10,300,000
Working capital …………………………….. = Birr 1,000,000
Total = Birr 12,800,000
6. Benefits: similar to other projects.
7. Location: Bahir Dar, Combolcha, Debre Birhan.