Sinopec PBST fully biodegradable mulch film was successfully applied in Yingkou rice fields

On October 13, reporters learned from the Sinopec Information Office that the results conference of the Yingkou 10,000-acre rice film fertilizer machine integration project with the theme of "Central land empowers fertile farmland, technology protects food security" was held in Yingkou, Liaoning. Sinopec's PBST fully biodegradable mulch film with completely independent intellectual property rights has been successfully applied in the project. Compared with the traditional planting model, it has achieved water savings of more than 30%, fertilizer savings of more than 20%, zero herbicides, improved fertilizer utilization, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions such as methane in rice fields. The average rice yield per mu has increased by more than 10%, and the average comprehensive income of farmers per mu has increased by more than 200 yuan, achieving a win-win situation for both ecology and efficiency.

PBST (polybutylene succinate/terephthalate) is a fully biodegradable material with completely independent intellectual property rights developed by the Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry, a subsidiary of Sinopec, and has applied for more than 100 patents. PBST mulch film has high mechanical strength and is superior to other fully biodegradable materials in terms of UV resistance and water vapor barrier. It can be completely degraded into harmless substances such as water, carbon dioxide and trace minerals within 1 to 3 years. It can adapt to the needs of different scenarios. The degradation cycle is flexible and adjustable. It has been used in mulch films, film bags, foam packaging and other fields.

In the Yingkou project, PBST mulch film mainly plays the role of increasing accumulation and suppressing weeds during the rice growth period. After completing the above functions, it gradually enters the biodegradation process under suitable field environmental conditions. The project innovates a "new material + new agronomy + new agricultural machinery" technology system through close collaboration between research, production and marketing. The supporting film-covering and transplanting all-in-one machine realizes the mechanized integration of film spreading, laminating and transplanting, making PBST mulching an integral part of the complete rice production method.

Sinopec has accelerated the research and development and application of PBST materials, and in March 2025, the world's first PBST industrial unit was built and put into production in Hainan Refinery. In 2025, PBST was successfully applied in 10,000 acres of cotton fields in Wusu, Xinjiang, and 4,000 acres of corn fields in Yuepu Lake. The output was equivalent to that of ordinary mulch films, providing a feasible way to eradicate residual pollution from polyethylene mulch films. In 2026, PBST mulch film will be used in large-scale demonstration applications totaling approximately 180,000 acres in northern and southern Xinjiang, Dongxiang in Gansu, Yingshang in Anhui, Leizhou in Guangdong, and Changjiang in Hainan, with good results.

In the next step, Sinopec's production, marketing and research team will further carry out multi-regional, multi-variety, large-scale, multi-year continuous test demonstrations of rice mulching planting, improve technical standards and operating specifications, and gradually form a "Yingkou model" for green planting of cold-land rice that is ecological, environmentally friendly, and income-increasing, providing a reference for improving the quality and income of green rice production in Northeast China and even across the country.