China's production and demand for acrylonitrile continues to grow. It is estimated that the production capacity in 2005 will reach 1.09 million tons and the apparent consumption will reach 1.2 million tons.
In the 1970s, China established a number of acrylonitrile production plants in Shanghai, Daqing, Fushun and Jilin. As of 2004, China has a total of 10 sets of acrylonitrile units with a capacity of 800,000 tons. Sinopec and BP have jointly established a 260,000-ton/year acrylonitrile plant in Shanghai this year. It is expected that by the end of 2005, the total acrylonitrile production capacity in China will reach approximately 1.09 million tons; in 2006, the production capacity will reach 1.1 million tons.
In 2001, the output of acrylonitrile in China was 420,000 tons, the apparent consumption was 680,000 tons, and the net import volume was 260,000 tons; in 2002, the output of acrylonitrile in China was 518,000 tons, and the apparent consumption was 812,000. Tons, net imports of 310,000 tons; in 2003 China’s acrylonitrile production was 604,000 tons, apparent consumption was 985,000 tons, and net imports were 381,000 tons; in 2004, China’s production of acrylonitrile was 71.2 tons. Tens of thousands of tons, apparent consumption of 1.03 million tons, imports fell 16% to 318,600 tons. As China's acrylonitrile production has increased year by year, the dependence on imports has declined in recent years, from 38.7% in 2003 to 30.9% in 2004. It is expected that the apparent consumption of acrylonitrile in China will reach 1.2 million tons in 2005, and the import dependency will further drop to 26.7%.
At present, China's main consumer of acrylonitrile is acrylic fiber, accounting for about 80% of total consumption; followed by ABS/SAN resin, acrylamide and nitrile rubber. It is expected that in 2005, China's acrylic fiber production capacity and apparent consumption will reach 780,000 tons and 600,000 tons, acrylic fiber demand for acrylonitrile will reach 700,000 tons, and ABS resin production capacity will reach 1 million tons, requiring consumption of acrylonitrile. About 320,000 tons; acrylamide will consume 100,000 tons of acrylonitrile; SAN resin, nitrile rubber and other aspects will consume about 180,000 tons of acrylonitrile.
Differentiated fibers are important opportunities for the development of the acrylic fiber market. The differential rate of acrylic fiber refers to the ratio of new product development and production to total output in a given period of time. The higher the differentiation rate, the stronger the ability of the company to develop and produce new products, and the stronger the core competencies of new products. The higher the added value and technological content of chemical fiber products. In recent years, Daqing Petrochemical Acrylic Fiber Factory has strived to expand its domestic market share of acrylic fibers with differentiated fibers. As of August 2005, the fiber differential rate of the plant reached 32.4%, which is in the leading position in the same industry in the country.
In 2004, China's acrylic fibre output reached 662,000 tons, and it is expected to reach 740,000 tons in 2005. With the end of 2005, Jilin Petrochemical Company's 72,000 tons/year acrylic fiber plant will expand to 140,000 tons/year, and in 2006, Shanghai Petrochemical Company's 200,000 tons/year plant will expand to 235,000 tons/year, 2006 The annual output of acrylic fibers in China will reach 830,000 tons.