On June 27, 2026, with technology support from the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIAC, CAS), the Dushanzi Petrochemical 100,000 tons/year rare earth cis-butadiene rubber (BR) production facility was successfully commissioned. The entire production line produced premium-grade rare earth BR products with performance meeting standards and consistent quality, marking a major breakthrough in China's original rare earth catalytic synthetic rubber technology — achieving full industrialization and complete independent control of core technology.

The core technology for this industrialization is the original achievement of more than 60 years of rare earth catalytic synthetic rubber research at CIAC, the fruit of relay efforts across five generations of CIAC researchers. In 1964, Ouyang Jun and Shen Zhiqian et al. published "Catalytic Activity of Rare Earth Compounds in Directed Polymerization" in the Chinese Science Bulletin, publicly reporting for the first time in the world the research results on synthetic cis-butadiene rubber using rare earth catalysts, making China the first country in the world to invent rare earth catalyst-based synthesis of cis-butadiene rubber. In 1982, the CIAC research achievement in "Rare Earth Coordinated Catalytic Directed Polymerization" received the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, laying the theoretical and industrialization foundation for rare earth catalytic synthetic rubber. Jiang Liansheng, Zhang Xuequan, Bi Jifu, and other researchers led their teams through thousands of scale-up experiments and dozens of pilot verifications, forming a complete set of process packages with fully domesticated independent intellectual property rights, achieving industrialization breakthroughs. Five generations of CIAC researchers have continued to work tirelessly, ultimately achieving the leap from laboratory original achievements to 10,000-ton-scale production of rare earth catalytic synthetic rubber.

The second-generation rare earth BR industrialization technology, developed by Bi Jifu's research team, has broken through key core technologies including precise catalyst structure regulation, full-process one-key operation and automated production, and 100% domesticated technology and equipment manufacturing. The team has resolved a series of technical challenges including the preparation of homogeneous single-active-center catalysts, catalyst tolerance and feedstock adaptability, efficient chain transfer and chain shuttling polymerization, and the integration of long-chain branching and functionalization. For the first time, fully Mencini-brand rare earth BR (new national standard grades BR1260 and BR1240) has been produced using independent technology, effectively meeting the market's urgent demand for high-end grades of rare earth BR and providing strong support for promoting the high-quality development of the domestic petrochemical new materials industry and ensuring supply chain security.

Compared with traditional nickel-based BR, rare earth BR exhibits outstanding advantages in core performance metrics including high abrasion resistance, high strength, fatigue resistance, tear resistance, low-temperature resistance, low heat generation, and low rolling resistance. It is particularly well suited for new energy vehicle and engineering heavy-duty vehicle tires, with extremely broad industrial application prospects.

The successful commissioning of the 100,000 tons/year rare earth BR facility is a landmark achievement for CIAC in bringing laboratory original innovation to large-scale production and industrial application, and a typical example of deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation. Since the two sides commenced comprehensive cooperation in 2006, CIAC researchers have been stationed at the site for joint research. Facing challenges such as multi-unit cascading and complex continuous polymerization conditions during project construction and startup, CIAC researchers relied on decades of accumulated experience in industrial scale-up to effectively ensure smooth and stable commissioning of the facility, achieving integration across basic research and application development, research teams and enterprise teams, and technological breakthroughs and industrial implementation.

CIAC is the originator and leader of synthetic rubber technology in China. From the birth of China's first synthetic rubber to the world's first rare earth catalytic synthetic rubber; from the "New Technology for Industrial Production of cis-Butadiene Rubber" receiving the Special Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award to the development of the first domestic composite solid propellant binder — liquid polysulfide rubber — supporting the "Two Bombs, One Satellite" project; from meeting the urgent needs of national economic production to strongly supporting national defense modernization; from original innovation in key core technologies to large-scale industrial application — over more than 70 years, CIAC has produced remarkable achievements in synthetic rubber R&D, receiving the Special Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Second Prize of the National Natural Science Award, and a series of other honors. CIAC has left an indelible mark at multiple critical milestones in China's synthetic rubber endeavor, building the most weighty technical monument.