Without it, China's nylon industry will always be cut "leek" - Investigation and thinking on the localization of adiponitrile (middle)

There is an industrial dream behind adiponitrile
.

The nylon industry without adiponitrile is a river without upstream
.

"If the upstream raw materials are not guaranteed, the scale of downstream nylon 66 will be restricted, and the development of the application market will be limited everywhere
.
" Li Wenjun, a researcher at the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, summed up the industry value of adiponitrile, "There is no domestic Dinitrile, there would be no healthy development of the nylon industry
.
"

The continuous flow is the vision of the entire industry chain
.

manipulated growth

The market demand for nylon 66 polymer will continue to grow in the next few years, according to estimates by Wood Mackenzie, a well-known consulting firm
.
By 2029, the compound annual growth rate of the global nylon 66 market will be about 2%, while the Chinese market will reach 4%, which is expected to become the world's largest nylon market
.

However, behind the growing demand is a huge gap in the supply of adiponitrile, and the still fragile "sense of security" of domestic nylon 66 industry enterprises
.

"The lack of domestic adiponitrile supply has made the 'adiponitrile-hexamethylene diamine-nylon 66' industry chain highly monopolized by oligopolists
.
With technological monopoly and blockade, foreign companies can almost easily control the supply of adiponitrile The high-end extension of China's entire nylon industry chain has seriously affected the economic benefits and international competitiveness of
the industry.
" An industry expert said bluntly
.

Li Wenjun told reporters: "If raw materials are controlled by others, such as hunger marketing, the downstream market demand will not be fully satisfied
.
"

According to Dong Liqin, chairman of Hangzhou Dikai Industrial Cloth Co.
, Ltd.
, the current annual consumption of primary nylon 66 chips in China is about 800,000 tons, and the demand for adiponitrile/hexamethylene diamine is about 400,000 tons
.
"This consumption is largely suppressed by the shortage of adiponitrile/hexamethylene diamine
.
" Dong Liqin told reporters, "When the supply of adiponitrile is extremely abundant, the annual consumption of nylon 66 in China will exceed 1.
2 million tons in a very short time.
Even higher
.
When the price of adiponitrile drops to a reasonable range, China's nylon 66 should have an annual consumption capacity of no less than 2 million tons
.
"

Liang Junxiang, chairman of Tianchen Qixiang New Materials Co.
, Ltd.
, pointedly pointed out: "Without the pricing power of 'flour', we will also lose control over the pricing power of 'bread', resulting in trade risks
.
"

Improve the industrial chain, lift the shackles of development, and "break" the vassal
.

The premium being harvested

In the history of China's petroleum and chemical industry, crude oil, sulfur, some high-end silicones and electronic chemicals have been "harvested" by foreign countries for many times
.
"'Everything the Chinese want to buy is expensive, and everything the Chinese want to sell is cheap' is such a portrayal
.
" An industry expert said the same is true for adiponitrile
.

"Hexamethylene diamine obtained after hydrogenation of adiponitrile is an important raw material for the synthesis of nylon 66, accounting for about half of the material composition.
Therefore, the price fluctuation of adiponitrile has a huge impact on the cost of
nylon 66.
As a nylon 66 industry The key source of the chain, when major foreign manufacturers such as INVISTA or Ascend experience fluctuations in production and supply, the entire domestic nylon 66 industry chain will be greatly impacted
.
" Dong Liqin told reporters
.

"For example, last year, INVISTA and Ascend encountered force majeure in turn, resulting in extremely tight supply of nylon 66, and the market price more than doubled, from less than 20,000 yuan / ton to 50,000 yuan / ton in a short period of time.
Downstream related companies were at a loss for a while
.
" She said, "Most of the premiums generated were 'harvested' by foreign companies
.
"

It is understood that in recent years, foreign adiponitrile enterprises have encountered force majeure events repeatedly, resulting in repeated interruptions in the supply of adiponitrile.
In 2018 alone, it reached more than 10 times, which directly triggered the domestic adiponitrile-hexanediamine-nylon 66 industry.
Due to the domino effect of the chain, the prices of raw materials and end products have skyrocketed, and the nylon 66 industry has been severely impacted
.

"Stable supply of raw materials is the common wish of downstream enterprises
.
It is hoped that domestic adiponitrile can achieve stable production and provide long-term and reliable supply guarantees to maintain the stability of downstream enterprises' production
.
" Dong Liqin said that at this stage, domestic commercialization of adiponitrile is realized.
Huafeng Group is the only one that produces it, and it is expected that domestic adiponitrile manufacturers with more advanced technology can start production as soon as possible
.

Hope that domestic production will be implemented, and supply and demand will be stabilized
.

suppressed demand

The industry generally believes that the limited supply of adiponitrile has not only stagnated China's nylon 66 industry, but also cannot meet the growing domestic demand for downstream applications
.

You Xiaoping, chairman of the board of directors of Huafon Group, said that China will become the world's largest nylon 66 consumer market in the next few years, but the failure to achieve independent supply of adiponitrile for many years has seriously restricted the development of China's nylon industry and the improvement of product competitiveness
.
It is understood that part of the demand for nylon 66 has been suppressed for a long time, and the high price also limits its application in the field of industrial yarn and civilian yarn to a certain extent
.

What will the sufficient supply of adiponitrile bring? "Adiponitrile is not only a raw material for nylon 66, but also used to produce high-performance coatings and pharmaceutical intermediates
.
After its abundant supply, it can greatly stimulate the enthusiasm of relevant domestic downstream enterprises.
And innovation ability, greatly increase the output value contribution of the entire industry, and drive the rapid growth of the entire industry chain
.
" Dong Liqin told reporters
.

According to reports, adiponitrile is a key raw material for the production of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI)
.
In recent years, the HDI industry has developed rapidly
.
The data shows that from 2014 to 2020, the compound growth rate of global HDI monomer production capacity exceeds 10%
.
In 2020, China's total HDI monomer production capacity has reached 170,000 tons per year, ranking first in the world
.

Seeing the potential of the Chinese market, multinational giants are also constantly deploying in China
.
For example, INVISTA launched a 400,000-ton/year adiponitrile project in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park (SCIP) in June 2020, and signed a contract with SCIP in August last year, announcing that it would double the total production capacity of its SCIP nylon 66 polymer production base and expand to 400,000 tons/year
.
Dou Fangfang, director of INVISTA Intermediates Asia, said at the signing ceremony that the potential of the Chinese market may go far beyond that
.
Due to the shortage of supply, nylon 66 may not be used in many application fields such as lithium battery and solar energy, but it does not mean that there is no demand
.
She believes that in the next 5 to 10 years, China's market potential is immeasurable
.

In addition, many industry insiders believe that the continuous development of the industrial chain and the continuous opening of the consumer side will also contribute to the promotion of "six stability" and "six guarantees"
.
As Fu Xiangsheng, vice president of the Petrochemical Federation, pointed out at the 2021 annual petrochemical economic operation press conference held on February 17 this year, it is still very difficult to overcome the "stuck neck" technical battle, and it is also the key to maintaining and stabilizing growth
.

Unleash application potential, create growth opportunities, and benefit Dachuan
.