Acrylonitrile has wide application fields and my country’s self-sufficiency capacity continues to improve

Acrylonitrile, also known as vinyl cyanide, has a chemical formula of C3H3N and is an organic compound. Acrylonitrile appears as a colorless and transparent liquid, easily soluble in carbon tetrachloride, ether, acetone, ethanol, benzene, and slightly soluble in water. Acrylonitrile is flammable, volatile, highly toxic, oil-resistant, wear-resistant, and cold-resistant, and is widely used in synthetic resins, synthetic rubber, synthetic fibers, medicine and other fields.

The main raw material of acrylonitrile is propylene. Propylene, as one of the important petrochemical products, has experienced rapid expansion in production capacity driven by downstream demand. In 2021, my country’s propylene production capacity will be 51.263 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%. In terms of price, due to the impact of production costs, the price of propylene in my country continues to rise. In 2021, the price of propylene in my country reached 7612.6 yuan/ton, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. The rapid development of the upstream industry has driven the continuous increase in my country’s acrylonitrile production. According to the “2022-2027 Acrylonitrile Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report released by the Industrial Research Center, in 2021 my country’s acrylonitrile output reached 2.756 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 17.9%.

Synthetic resin, synthetic rubber and synthetic fiber are the largest demand ends for acrylonitrile, accounting for 70.0% of the demand. In the field of synthetic resin, acrylonitrile can be used to produce ABS resin, which has the advantages of good toughness, easy processing, and high strength. Automobile manufacturing, household appliances, and consumer electronics are its end markets; in the field of synthetic rubber, acrylonitrile is mainly used to produce nitrile. Rubber, my country’s nitrile rubber output has maintained a steady growth trend in recent years; in the field of synthetic fibers, polyacrylonitrile fiber (acrylic fiber) is the main market for acrylonitrile, accounting for 20.0% of the demand.

In terms of import and export, before 2021, my country will rely on imports of acrylonitrile for a long time, and the industry trade deficit will be large. As local enterprises continue to expand their production capacity, my country’s acrylonitrile self-sufficiency rate continues to increase, exceeding 90.0% in 2021. Against this background, my country’s acrylonitrile exports continue to grow. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, my country’s acrylonitrile import volume reached 204,000 tons in 2021; its export volume reached 210,000 tons. my country’s acrylonitrile exports are mainly concentrated in Asia, including South Korea, India, Turkey and other countries.

The global acrylonitrile market is mainly concentrated in Europe, America and the Asia-Pacific region. Ineos of Switzerland, Asahi Kasei of Japan and China Petrochemical Corporation are the world’s leading acrylonitrile companies. my country is the world’s largest producer of acrylonitrile, accounting for nearly 40% of the world’s production capacity. Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, CNOOC Dongfang Petrochemical, and Lianyungang Petrochemical are the main acrylonitrile manufacturers in my country.

Industry analysts said that acrylonitrile has a wide range of applications. As market demand is gradually released, the future development prospects of the industry will be broader. my country is the world’s largest producer of acrylonitrile. In 2021, my country’s acrylonitrile exports exceeded imports for the first time, and the industry achieved a trade surplus. Driven by leading enterprises, my country’s acrylonitrile industry will develop in a high-quality direction.