Nylon 66, constantly emerging

"Localization stimulates demand, the golden age is expected to open"

nylon, also known as polyamide or nylon, is an important synthetic fiber and the world's first synthetic fiber. Nylon material has extremely high wear resistance and mechanical strength, light weight, easy dyeing, and good moisture absorption ability. In the industrial field, it is mainly used for ropes, fishing nets, tire cords, parachutes and engineering plastics; In the field of clothing, it is mainly used for stockings, swimwear, hiking clothes, etc.

However, although nylon is the first synthetic fiber used by humans, the scale of application is quickly surpassed by rising stars, which is particularly obvious in China. For example, at present, China's polyurethane production capacity is 1500 million tons, polyethylene production capacity is 2800 million tons, and polypropylene production capacity is 3600 million tons, but China's nylon production capacity is only a few million tons, and the production capacity of nylon 66, the core product of nylon, is only 55,<> tons. On the one hand, the scope of application of different materials is different, and the application field of other materials may indeed be more extensive; On the other hand, China's nylon industry still has the problem of congenital deficiency, which is always subject to people, so the price is expensive, which also restricts the development of nylon.

First, nylon 66, the development is not "six"

The nylon industry family is huge and has a wide range of products, mainly including nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 610, nylon 11, nylon 12 five varieties and several small varieties. Among them, nylon 6 and nylon 66 are the largest used, accounting for about 90% of the total consumption of nylon.

Nylon 66 is basically superior to nylon 6 in all performances. In the field of textile and clothing, compared with nylon 6, nylon 66 has better performance in wear resistance and skin-friendliness, and is widely used in outerwear, underwear, yoga pants and other aspects. The table below shows the performance comparison of nylon (nylon) 66 and nylon (nylon) 6.

In the field of engineering, nylon 6 is not comparable to nylon 66. Nylon 66 can be used as various mechanical parts, such as bearings, gears, pulley pump impellers, vanes, high-pressure seals, bushings, oil pipelines, ropes, transmission belts, cable joints, etc. In addition, nylon 66 has a particularly significant advantage in the automotive industry, which can replace metal materials to greatly reduce the weight of the car, thereby saving energy and reducing costs.

Of course, you get what you pay for, and the price of nylon 66 is much higher than that of nylon 6. The chart below shows the price and spread between the two. In the long run, nylon 66 is on average one times more expensive than nylon 6, in addition to the difference in the production process between the two, more from the "stuck neck" of the key raw material of nylon 66.

China's nylon 6 technology is mature and has sufficient production capacity, but nylon 66 has not been able to complete domestic replacement. In 2020, the ratio of overseas (excluding China) nylon 6/nylon 66 production is about 1.40, while China's ratio is as high as 11.67. Of course, it is expensive if it can't be done, and it is naturally impossible to use it if it is expensive.

Second, stuck on adiponitrile

The intermediates of nylon 66 include hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid, of which adipic acid technology is mature, overcapacity and strong periodicity, which do not need to be repeated here. The upstream raw material of hexamethylene diamine is adiponitrile, which has been 100% dependent on imports for a long time in China. The "stuck neck" of adiponitrile has become a big problem for the localization of nylon 66.

In fact, China has not made efforts to localize adiponitrile. However, due to the high technical barriers of adiponitrile, many technical routes, complex processes, and very difficult product separation and purification, China's industrialization process has remained in the pilot stage for a long time. In addition, hazardous chemical raw materials are involved in production, and the safety risk is high. Previously, the closest to industrialization in China was the 2012,10 ton/a industrial unit of Shandong Runxing Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. that started construction in <>, but the device had a serious explosion accident not long after trial production, and production has not resumed since it was stopped.

In recent years, the situation has changed dramatically. In July 2019, Chongqing Huafeng Chemical built a 7,5-ton adiponitrile large-scale production plant and successfully put into operation, and achieved stable operation in 2020, up to now, Chongqing Huafeng Chemical has 10,<> tons of adipic acid adiponitrile production capacity, breaking the foreign technology blockade and monopoly of adiponitrile in China, filling the domestic technology and industrial gap.

Compared with foreign adiponitrile industrial production, INVISTA and other companies have upgraded their adiponitrile production technology for many times, and the industrial supporting advantages are strong, China's adiponitrile industrial production is still in the early stage, need to continuously optimize the process flow, whether you can get lower price raw materials and electricity, reduce raw material unit consumption, improve catalyst performance, optimize plant operation efficiency, etc. will become the key factors for the profitability of the project. It is expected that there will be some distance from the start of production to full production.

In addition, 2023 is a key stage for the release of domestic adionitrile. Once famous in the world, the current domestic companies have planned millions of tons of adiponitrile production capacity, the following table shows the current built, under construction and planned adiponitrile production capacity. It should be known that at the end of 2022, the global production capacity of adiponitrile was only 231million tons. After solving the localization of adiponitrile, we may start to pay attention to the possible surplus of adiponitrile. But in any case, this is a "sweet trouble" that belongs to the future.

Third, it is expected to open a golden age

The figure below shows the current downstream application of nylon 66, which is greatly limited due to its high price, and is mainly used in engineering plastics and other fields that cannot be replaced by other materials. In the field of textile and clothing, the market space originally belonging to nylon 66 is occupied by fibers with poor mechanical and wear resistance such as nylon 6, spandex, and polyester.

The military uniform industry is a good example. Internationally, more than 70% of the military equipment of developed countries in Europe and the United States is equipped with nylon, of which the training uniform is nylon 66 material, and the combat uniform is prepared from aramid, flame retardant viscose fiber and nylon 66 blended materials. Due to the congenital shortage of nylon 66 in China, China's military clothing equipment mostly uses nylon 6, polyester and other materials, and there is a gap between performance and developed countries. With the acceleration of nylon 66 localization, it is imperative to update China's military clothing. In the long run, nylon 66 is expected to replace polyester, nylon 6 to become a widely used fabric in the military.

With the localization of adiponitrile and the cost reduction of nylon 66, the downstream application scale of nylon 66 is expected to continue to expand, and the industry may suddenly emerge a lot of nylon 66 "ten-year old fans", which in turn will promote the development of the industrial chain. We can refer to the development path of carbon fiber, the development of large tow carbon fiber reduces the cost of carbon fiber, allows carbon fiber from temples to rivers and lakes, and brings prosperity to the whole industrial chain.

Nylon 66, probably next.