Acrylonitrile is manufactured by using propylene and ammonia as raw materials, through oxidation reaction and refining process. It is an organic compound with the chemical formula C3H3N, a colorless liquid with irritating odor, flammable, its vapor and air can form an explosive mixture, and it is easy to cause combustion when exposed to open flame and high heat, and emits toxic gas, and reacts violently with oxidizers, strong acids, strong bases, amines and bromine.

It is mainly used as raw material for acrylic and ABS/SAN resin, and is also widely used in the production of acrylamide, paste and adiponitrile, synthetic rubber, Latex, etc.

Acrylonitrile Market Applications

Acrylonitrile is an important raw material for three major synthetic materials (plastics, synthetic rubber and synthetic fibers), and the downstream consumption of acrylonitrile in China is concentrated in ABS, acrylic and acrylamide, which account for more than 80% of the total consumption of acrylonitrile. In recent years, China has become one of the fastest growing countries in the global acrylonitrile market with the development of home appliance and automobile industries. The downstream products are widely used in various fields of the national economy, such as home appliances, garments, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.

Acrylonitrile is manufactured from propylene and ammonia by oxidation reaction and refining process, and is widely used in resin, acrylic industrial production, and carbon fiber are the application areas with fast growing demand in the future.

Carbon fiber, as one of the important uses downstream of acrylonitrile, is a new material currently being focused on research and development and production in China. Carbon fiber has become an important member of lightweight materials, and gradually take the previous metal materials, and has become the core application material in civil and military fields.

As China’s economy continues to develop at a rapid pace, the demand for carbon fiber and its composite materials continues to surge. According to relevant statistics, the demand for carbon fiber in China reaches 48,800 tons in 2020, an increase of 29% over 2019.

With the continuous development of science and technology, the acrylonitrile market shows great development trends.
First, the route of acrylonitrile production using propane as feedstock is gradually being promoted.
Second, the research of new catalysts continues to be a research topic for domestic and foreign scholars.
Thirdly, the large scale of the plant.
Fourth, energy saving and emission reduction, process optimization is increasingly important.
Fifth, wastewater treatment has become an important research content.

Acrylonitrile Major Capacity Production

China’s domestic acrylonitrile production facilities are mainly concentrated in enterprises owned by China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Among them, the total production capacity of Sinopec (including joint ventures) is 860,000 tons, accounting for 34.8% of the total production capacity; the production capacity of PetroChina is 700,000 tons, accounting for 28.3% of the total production capacity; the production capacity of private enterprises Jiangsu Searborn Petrochemical, Shandong Haijiang Chemical Co. Ltd. with acrylonitrile production capacity of 520,000 tons, 130,000 tons and 260,000 tons respectively, accounting for a combined total production capacity of about 36.8%.

Since the second half of 2021, the second phase of ZPMC with 260,000 tons/year, the second phase of Kruel with 130,000 tons/year, the second phase of Lihua Yi with 260,000 tons/year and the third phase of Srbang with 260,000 tons/year of acrylonitrile have been put into operation one after another, and the new capacity has reached 910,000 tons/year, and the total domestic acrylonitrile capacity has reached 3.419 million tons/year.

The expansion of acrylonitrile capacity does not stop here. It is understood that in 2022, a new 260,000 tons/year acrylonitrile plant will be put into operation in East China, a 130,000 tons/year plant in Guangdong and a 200,000 tons/year plant in Hainan. The new domestic production capacity is no longer limited to East China, but will be distributed in several regions in China, especially the new plant in Hainan will be put into operation so that the products are close to South China and Southeast Asia markets, and it is also very convenient to export by sea.

The greatly increased production capacity brings about a climb in production. Jinlian statistics show that China’s acrylonitrile production continued to set new highs in 2021. By the end of December 2021, the total domestic acrylonitrile production exceeded 2.317 million tons, up 19% year-on-year, while the annual consumption was around 2.6 million tons, with the first signs of overcapacity in the industry.

Future development direction of acrylonitrile

In the year 2021 just past, acrylonitrile exports exceeded imports for the first time. The total import of acrylonitrile products last year was 203,800 tons, down 33.55% from the previous year, while the export reached 210,200 tons, an increase of 188.69% from the previous year.

This is inseparable from the concentrated release of new production capacity in China and the industry is in a state of transition from tight balance to surplus. In addition, a number of European and American units stopped in the first and second quarters, resulting in a sudden drop in supply, while Asian units were in the planned maintenance cycle, and Chinese prices were lower than Asian, European and American prices, which helped China’s acrylonitrile exports to expand, including Taiwan Province of China, near Korea, India and Turkey.

The increase in export volume was accompanied by an upward trend in the number of exporting countries. Previously, China’s acrylonitrile export products were mainly sent to South Korea and India. 2021, with the shrinking of overseas supply, acrylonitrile export volume increased and sporadically sent to the European market, involving seven countries and regions such as Turkey and Belgium.

It is predicted that the growth rate of acrylonitrile production capacity in China in the next 5 years is greater than the growth rate of downstream demand, imports will further decline, while exports will continue to increase, and the future exports of acrylonitrile in China are expected to touch a high of 300,000 tons in 2022, thus reducing the pressure on the Chinese market operation.

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