The localization of adiponitrile is accelerating, and technical routes are blooming.

Nylon 66 is polymerized from adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine. The production of adiponitrile, the key intermediate for the synthesis of hexamethylenediamine, has high technical barriers and has long been monopolized by four overseas companies: Invista, Ascend, Solvay and Asahi Kasei. Due to the monopoly nature of raw materials, these four companies have long occupied more than 50% of the global supply of nylon 66 products, and only some domestic companies have certain production capacity.

According to China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, adiponitrile production includes three process routes: butadiene process, adipic acid process and acrylonitrile process. The butadiene process has become the mainstream production process in the world due to its good product quality and superior economy. However, The disadvantages are that the raw material hydrocyanic acid is highly toxic, the production process is long, and the catalyst recovery is difficult; the adipic acid method has less safety risks, but the process route is long, the production cost is high, and the economy is average; the acrylonitrile method has higher investment The low process is shorter, but the raw materials are more expensive and highly toxic and corrosive, making it less economical.

Adiponitrile is a key raw material for the production of nylon 66. The problem of "stuck neck" of raw materials directly limits the development of my country's nylon 66 industry. Since the 1970s, many domestic companies have tried to break through the overseas monopoly barriers of adiponitrile through introduction, independent research and development, planned acquisitions and other methods, but they have failed to achieve good results. In 2015, Tianchen Engineering successfully developed adiponitrile production technology with independent intellectual property rights. After years of scientific research, Sinochem Tianchen Company has fully mastered the production parameters and process indicators from adiponitrile to nylon 66, and successfully produced it through experimental equipment Qualified products mark the dawn of the localization of independent adiponitrile technology.

Since 2015, domestic independent adiponitrile technology has accelerated breakthroughs, and technical routes have flourished. Relying on technological breakthroughs, domestic manufacturers are planning to build new adiponitrile production capacity, and overseas manufacturers Invista and Ascend have also come to China to expand production. As of July 2022, the domestic planned adiponitrile production capacity is close to 3 million tons per year. It is expected to solve the "stuck neck" problem of raw materials that the domestic nylon 66 industry has long faced.