It stuck the "throat" of China's nylon industry - investigation and thinking on the localization of adiponitrile (Part 1)

The editor's press "Seeking Truth" magazine published on May 1 published an important article by General Secretary Xi Jinping, "Accelerating the Construction of a Powerful Country in Science and Technology to Achieve High-level Science and Technology Self-Reliance and Self-Reliance"
.
In the article, the general secretary emphasized that scientific and technological research must adhere to the problem orientation and focus on the most urgent and urgent problems
.
It is necessary to start from the urgent and long-term needs of the country, and make every effort to tackle key core technologies in oil and natural gas, basic raw materials and other aspects
.
This article sparked a heated discussion in the petroleum and chemical industry about the localization of key chemical raw materials
.
Adiponitrile (1,4-dicyanobutane), a product that Chinese chemical workers have been thinking about for decades, has also attracted attention again
.
What is the strategic significance of the localization of adiponitrile, what is the value of the industry, and what is the progress? "China Chemical Industry News" specially launched a series of reports for readers
.

There is a "Chinese dream" behind adiponitrile
.

It has been 92 years since DuPont first realized the industrial production of adiponitrile in 1930
.
However, for most of these 92 years, the Chinese did not produce their own adiponitrile
.
A number of industry insiders recently told the reporter of "China Chemical Industry News" that domestic adiponitrile has become a "colorful stone" for safeguarding the national economy and people's livelihood, guarding the Great Wall of industry and realizing the national dream
.

Refining this "stone" is the call of the family and the country
.

The cornerstone of national economy and people's livelihood

Many people may be unfamiliar with adiponitrile, but they must be very familiar with nylon
.
The scientific name of nylon is polyamide (PA), which is not only an important chemical fiber product, but also one of the five general engineering plastics
.
In the huge family of nylon materials, nylon 6 and nylon 66 are the two main varieties
.
And nylon 66 is getting more and more applications because of its better comprehensive performance than nylon 6
.

"Nylon 66 has an extremely wide and important application in national defense and military industry, urban construction and transportation, and household life.
It is an important strategic material related to the national economy and people's livelihood
.
" Dong Liqin, chairman of Hangzhou Dikai Industrial Cloth Co.
, Ltd.
, told reporters, "Field military uniforms, Rifle accessories, high-speed rail sleepers and cable ties all use nylon 66.

An average car uses more than ten kilograms of nylon 66.

After nylon 66 is blended with wood fiber, it is more comfortable and lighter than commonly used polyester and vinylon, and can be used for Production of high-performance combat protective clothing
.
Due to the extensive use of nylon 66 materials, the US military's individual transportation capacity and carrying weight have been greatly improved
.
"

"Adiponitrile is the key raw material for the production of nylon 66.

" Dong Liqin said that the hydrogenation of adiponitrile to synthesize hexamethylene diamine, and then the synthesis of nylon 66 salt from hexamethylene diamine, the nylon 66 material is finally prepared
.
Therefore, some people in the industry also call it "the throat of the nylon industry"
.

"Adiponitrile is one of the few key intermediates in China that has been 'stuck in the neck' and has been monopolized by multinational companies for a long time
.
" Fu Xiangsheng, vice president of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, emphasized in an interview with reporters, "Technically It is of great significance to make a breakthrough and realize the localization of adiponitrile
.
"

Meeting the needs of development and safeguarding the national economy and people's livelihood is more important than mountains and seas
.

Guarantee of industrial security

If one day, what would happen to Chinese people's lives without nylon 66? This is a seemingly absurd question
.
However, from another perspective, the answer becomes realistic and cruel: the Chinese were unable to produce adiponitrile for most of the nearly 100 years after the advent of adiponitrile
.

It is understood that for a long time, foreign countries have implemented deep monopoly and comprehensive control over adiponitrile technology and products, and adopted a rationing system for supply
.
"At least until 2020, to be precise, before Huafeng Group's 50,000-ton/year plant reaches production and runs stably, China's adiponitrile will all rely on imports
.
" An industry insider told reporters, but for the annual 40 tons In terms of the suppressed demand for adiponitrile of 10,000 tons, the annual production capacity of 50,000 tons is still far from enough, and its technical path is greatly restricted by raw materials, and China's adiponitrile is still largely dependent on imports
.

Li Wenjun, a researcher at the Petrochemical Federation, told reporters frankly: "At the national strategic level, key raw materials are controlled by others, and the safety of industrial development will be seriously affected
.
"

Gu Zongqin, former president of the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Planning Institute, once pointed out that the main development ideas of the "14th Five-Year Plan" are to ensure safety, stabilize people's livelihood, and seek long-term development
.
"China's petrochemical industry chain and supply chain are generally safe and can resist foreign blockades
.
However, there are still shortcomings in the process technology of major chemical products, such as adiponitrile
.
" He said
.

"Self-sufficiency is limited, people's lives and industrial development are controlled by others, so how can it be done!" Liang Junxiang, chairman of Tianchen Qixiang New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
, pointed out the interests in an interview with reporters
.

It is imminent to break the import monopoly and protect the safety of the industry
.

The dream of national industry

The painful lesson of "being backward will be beaten" in modern history has made Chinese people have an almost obsessive complex about localization, and Chinese national industries often regard the realization of localization as a feeling, responsibility and honor
.

The Sino-US trade friction in 2018 made the Chinese who have enjoyed peace for a long time once again experience the unease and anxiety caused by the "stuck neck" of technology
.
In that war without gunpowder smoke, Huawei became a fighter that attracted national attention
.
But what is little known is that in the Sino-US trade list at that time, adiponitrile was the only chemical raw material that was 100% dependent on imports
.

In fact, the localization of adiponitrile has always received much attention
.
The reporter learned that the National Development and Reform Commission's 2011, 2013 and 2019 editions of the "Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalog" listed the 10,000-ton adiponitrile production plant as a key encouraged project
.
The Petrochemical Federation is also very concerned about the localization process of adiponitrile
.
In recent years, Fu Xiangsheng, the vice president of the federation, has led the team to investigate many times, and has emphasized the importance of localization of adiponitrile in several speeches and signed articles
.

Fu Xiangsheng mentioned in the report "Thinking on Innovation and Development of New Chemical Materials Industry" in November 2019 that although foreign companies attach importance to their business in China, it is almost impossible to transfer advanced technology
.
He also said that the adiponitrile industrialization plant jointly built by China Tianchen Engineering Co.
, Ltd.
and Zibo Qixiang Tengda Chemical Co.
, Ltd.
is expected
.

"The localization of adiponitrile has become the 'Chinese dream' of the national industry
.
" Yuan Xuemin, chairman of China Tianchen, said that the road of independent research and development and domestic replacement, even if it is difficult to reach the sky, must be taken
.

Developing independent technologies and boosting national morale is a matter of responsibility
.