Currently, the nylon industry has broad development prospects. Industry insiders predict that global production capacity will exceed 10 million tons by 2025, with the main production capacity concentrated in China.
Facing the nylon industry that is in a period of great development, how can companies seize the opportunity? Perhaps we can find the answer from this Caprolactam and Nylon Forum, which attracted more than 400 industry professionals from more than 30 countries and regions around the world.
From December 4th to 6th, the 17th China International Caprolactam and Nylon Forum (2019) was held in Shanghai. This forum is hosted by the Nylon Branch of the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association and China Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., and hosted by Hengtian Lanxiu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (China Fiber Network) and Taikerong Global Chemical Co., Ltd. It is also the joint venture between China Fiber Network and Taikerong Joining hands again based on the successful holding of the 16th China International Caprolactam and Nylon Forum. Well-known companies in the industry such as Shenyuan New Materials, Japan Ube, Kuibyshev, Japan Sumitomo, Hengyi Petrochemical, Xinhui Meida, Sinopec, Nanjing Oriental, Huafeng Spandex, Shenma Industrial and other companies, as well as related industry associations, governments Industry professionals from institutions and universities attended the meeting.
The nylon industry is ushering in a period of great development
Nylon is nylon. It is the first synthetic fiber product developed in the world. It has excellent hygroscopicity, good dyeability, high strength, abrasion resistance, corrosion resistance and other excellent properties. It is widely used in clothing, bags, cords, transmission belts, soft Pipes, ropes, fishing nets and other fields, and can also be used as engineering plastics in machinery, home appliances, automobiles and other industrial fields. At this stage, nylon has become the second largest synthetic fiber product in the textile field after polyester.
Over the years, the development of the nylon industry has slowed down due to factors such as insufficient supply of upstream caprolactam, high cost prices, and imperfect development of downstream textile supporting industries. Since 2012, the output of my country’s caprolactam industry has increased significantly, prices have continued to fall, and the nylon industry’s dependence on imported caprolactam has been significantly reduced. As the cost of caprolactam has dropped significantly, the profitability of the nylon industry has begun to increase. Strong leading companies in the industry have gradually expanded into upstream and downstream areas. The process of caprolactam-polyamide integration has accelerated, and the cost control capabilities of the nylon industry have been further strengthened. At the same time, the rapid expansion of production capacity in the nylon industry has also led to the expansion of downstream industries in new product development and application fields, and the nylon industry has ushered in a new development cycle.
How to position the current nylon industry situation? Deng Jun, secretary-general of the Nylon Branch of the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, summarized it this way: In recent years, China’s nylon industry has developed rapidly. Among them, the upstream and downstream industrial chains of nylon 6 have been connected, the industrial layout is becoming increasingly perfect, and the market structure has basically taken shape. Wang Songlin, executive vice president of Hengyi Petrochemical Co., Ltd., believes that the nylon industry has broad prospects for development. It is expected that global production capacity will exceed 10 million tons by 2025, with the main production capacity concentrated in China.
While developing rapidly, the problems faced by the nylon industry are still prominent. The pressure of resource shortage, product research and development needs to be improved, and intensified market competition have become the main factors restricting the development of the industry.
Specifically, the overall operating trend of the caprolactam-nylon chips-nylon spinning link in the nylon industry in 2019 fluctuated and fell to near historical lows. The operating efficiency of various links in the industrial chain has mostly declined. Within a year, the mainstream upstream caprolactam and civilian spinning, industrial cord fabrics have declined, but they can still maintain capital and achieve small profits. However, the nylon chip market has deteriorated and many have suffered losses. The staple fiber industry continues Downturn and losses.
In addition, the “continuous intensification” of the Sino-US trade war has had a considerable impact on the industry. Song Manjun, deputy general manager of Fujian Shenyuan New Materials Co., Ltd., said that the Sino-US trade war, the transfer of textile production capacity, and the decline in automobile production have led to a reduction in terminal consumption and a decline in operating rates. Lin Jun, editor-in-chief of Hengtian Lanxiu Network Technology Co., Ltd. (China Fiber Network), said that the protracted Sino-US trade war and the recession of the global economy may continue for a long time, and the prices of related products will still decline in the first quarter of 2020. space.
Against the backdrop of a volatile economic environment and intensified industrial competition, can nylon companies achieve a breakthrough? Deng Jun believes that the nylon industry should establish a sustainable development system based on technological innovation. “From the perspective of each link in the industrial chain, the technological innovation of caprolactam, the technological upgrading of nylon polymerization, and the improvement of nylon spinning technology are the key to achieving sustainable development. Important means, from the perspective of industrial development, the progress of energy-saving and emission-reducing clean production technology and the application of intelligent manufacturing technology will promote the development and growth of the industry.” Deng Jun said.
Only by promoting technological innovation can we seize the opportunities
In this forum , some insiders pointed out that with the development of China’s economy and the improvement of the overall cost performance of nylon, a considerable part of the mid-to-high-end polyester market will be replaced by nylon with better performance and better cost performance.generation. Advances in caprolactam, nylon polymerization and spinning technology are the main driving forces for the increase in nylon production capacity.
In recent years, my country’s caprolactam self-sufficiency rate has increased significantly. At the end of 2018, the total production capacity reached 3.69 million tons, and the self-sufficiency rate increased from approximately 35.6% in 2009. rose to 94.6%. Wang Songlin pointed out that the domestic caprolactam industry will continue to develop rapidly in the next few years. It is expected that by 2025, my country’s total caprolactam production capacity will be close to 10 million t/a.
The increase in the self-sufficiency rate of caprolactam has reduced the production costs of my country’s nylon industry, and the technological progress of caprolactam will also support the development of the entire industry chain upstream and downstream. Wang Songlin believes that the development trend of caprolactam preparation technology mainly involves three aspects, including: cyclohexanone preparation, hydrogen peroxide preparation and caprolactam preparation. For example, in the preparation of cyclohexanone, the existing process has high material consumption and energy consumption in the non-catalytic oxidation process, and great pressure on environmental protection; the overall conversion rate of the partial hydrogenation process is low, the energy consumption is high, and the production capacity of a single unit is limited; the phenol process is mainly There are problems such as the limited use of by-product acetone, and the development of new technologies needs to solve problems including high material consumption, energy consumption and the production capacity of a single unit.
Professor Yi Chunwang of Hunan Normal University introduced the green preparation method of caprolactam-based copolyamide. He pointed out that during the preparation process, appropriate dibasic acids and diamines should be selected. In combination, caprolactam serves as a raw material and a good solvent for high melting point monomers. Due to the presence of free protons and amino groups in the system, the caprolactam ring-opening reaction can be initiated without adding water and aminocaproic acid, thereby preparing a series of functional caprolactams with different unit structures. Based on copolyamide, it can avoid the salt formation process and subsequent water removal.
Sustainable development has become the focus of the entire industry chain
Currently, The development of the world’s chemical fiber industry is facing resource constraints and environmental pressure. Synthetic fibers use petroleum as the basic raw material, and petroleum is a non-renewable resource; synthetic fibers are not degradable, and the carbon emissions during the production process are large; currently, most of the waste textiles are landfilled or incinerated; research by foreign third-party institutions believes that, Most of the global “marine microplastic pollution” comes from textiles. These factors mentioned above have seriously restricted the sustainable development of synthetic fibers. To solve these problems, companies need to work hard in four aspects: biological sources, recycling, biodegradation, and green manufacturing.
At this forum, many participants mentioned the issue of sustainable development and gave great attention to the development of environmentally friendly products and the application of technology. has attracted great attention, such as the use of liquid coloring technology to manufacture nylon fibers, the development of bio-based nylon 56 products, and the preparation of chemical fibers through recycling methods. Through the above measures, we jointly promote the green process of the nylon industry.
In 2019, the nylon industry experienced a difficult year of recovery. What is the trend of the industry in 2020? Some analysts pointed out that the production capacity of the caprolactam product chain will continue to grow in 2020, with the upstream and downstream industries continuing to show an olive shape, and the growth rate of terminal production capacity will be significantly slower. Due to the impact of the international market and industrial transformation, terminal demand is expected to grow only slightly and cannot absorb the increase in upstream production capacity. It is expected that the operating rate of the caprolactam product chain will still show a downward trend. Facing the expansion of caprolactam production capacity, competition in the nylon industry will further intensify.
Market opportunities always come with challenges. The future is here, and such a forum pointed out the development trend of the nylon industry. Only by applying cutting-edge technology, gaining insights into market trends, and practicing sustainable development can we fly further in the industry.
Tomorrow morning, the meeting will further discuss the following topics: discussion of technological development trends of polyamide modified products; exploration of sustainable and circular development paths; bio-based polyamide: Research-Industrialization-Application Development; Can the expansion of adiponitrile production capacity revitalize the nylon 66 industry? A difficult 2019, a recovering 2020 – Review and outlook of the nylon 6 industry. </p
