Meta-xylylenediamine has a wide range of application fields and domestic companies have large room for improvement.

Meta-xylylenediamine (MXDA), also known as 1,3-phenylenediamine, is a type of aliphatic amine compound containing an aromatic ring. It is produced from m-xylene as raw material through ammonia oxidation and hydrogenation. Meta-xylylenediamine is a colorless and transparent liquid at room temperature, with an almond smell, and turns yellow when exposed to air for a long time. It is soluble in water and organic solvents.

Meta-xylylenediamine is a fine chemical with high added value. It has the characteristics of low-temperature curing, low viscosity, heat resistance, water resistance, etc. It can be used as curing agent, rubber additive, synthetic intermediate, lubricant, etc. Applications In the fields of rubber, resin, coatings, papermaking, pesticides, electronic chemicals and other fields.

According to the “2022-2026 China Metaxylylenediamine Industry Market Monitoring and Future Development Prospects Research Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》 shows that m-xylylenediamine has a wide range of application fields, market demand has grown steadily, and the industry scale has expanded accordingly. By 2021, the global m-xylylenediamine market size has grown to US$400 million. It is expected that from 2022 to 2027, the global The m-xylylenediamine market will maintain a compound annual growth rate of more than 5.0%.

In terms of downstream applications, nylon MXD6 is the main application scenario of m-xylylenediamine. In 2021, the consumption of m-xylylenediamine in the nylon MXD6 field will be approximately 46,000 tons, accounting for more than 70%. Nylon MXD6 is a crystalline nylon resin. Due to limitations of raw materials, the global nylon MXD6 market is highly concentrated. The main suppliers include Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Solvay, Toyo Textile Company, Tahoe Group, etc.

In the international market, m-xylylenediamine production companies include Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals, BASF of Germany, etc. Among them, Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals is the main production company of m-xylylenediamine. In the domestic market, m-xylylenediamine manufacturers include Qicai Chemical, Henan Unite, Jiangsu Xinyi Tahoe Chemical, etc. Compared with international companies, there is still a certain gap between Chinese companies in terms of scale, technology, catalysts, and brand building.

In terms of production technology, m-xylylenediamine production processes include kettle-type intermittent hydrogenation processes, fixed-bed continuous hydrogenation processes, etc. Domestic m-xylylenediamine companies mainly use kettle-type intermittent hydrogenation processes, and international companies use fixed-bed hydrogenation processes. Continuous hydrogenation process is the main method. The kettle-type intermittent hydrogenation process has shortcomings such as poor separation effect, high cost, poor safety, and low degree of automation. Affected by this, the production and application of m-phenylenediamine in my country are greatly restricted. In the future, Chinese companies still need to speed up the production of m-phenylenediamine. Develop new production processes for methylamine to improve product quality and production scale, thereby enhancing its competitiveness.

Industry analysts said that as a fine chemical, m-xylylenediamine has a wide range of applications. With the development of downstream industries , the m-xylylenediamine industry has broad development space. Due to technical limitations, my country’s m-xylylenediamine industry still lags behind international companies in terms of product performance, catalysts, process technology, etc. In the future, domestic companies will still need to increase investment in technology and product research and development, improve product quality, and compete for more market share.