"stuck neck" puzzle crack! Tianchen Qixiang 200000 Tons/Year Adiponitrile Plant Fully Produced

On December 5, 2025, the 200000-ton/year adiponitrile plant of China Chemical Engineering Tianchen Qixiang New Materials Co., Ltd. reached full production, marking a breakthrough in China's first set of butadiene-based adiponitrile industrial production project. In the 72-hour full-load performance assessment completed a few days ago, the key technical and economic indicators of the device have reached or exceeded the design values, the product quality is stable and controllable, the system runs smoothly and efficiently, and officially enters a new stage of efficient and stable operation.

Industrial significance interpretation: as the "life gate" grade raw material of nylon 66 industrial chain, its production technology has been monopolized by a few foreign enterprises for a long time. This localization breakthrough not only solves the problem that the supply of raw materials is controlled by people, but more importantly, it has established a complete technical system and industrialization experience. For high-end manufacturing fields such as downstream automobiles, rail transit, and aerospace, a stable supply of raw materials will significantly reduce supply chain risks and provide a solid foundation for industrial upgrading.

2.1 Butadiene Direct Cyanation Technology Advance

Tianchen Qixiang used butadiene direct cyanation method, is currently the world's most mainstream process route, developed by DuPont in the 1970 s, accounting for 65% to 70% of the world's production capacity share. The process has the advantages of low raw material cost, low energy consumption, short route, excellent product quality and high yield.

Process core process:

The first step

• :
  Butadiene and hydrocyanic acid at high temperature, catalyst under the formation of 3-pentenenenitrile and 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile, unreacted butadiene by decompression recovery recycling, product by distillation separation

Second step:

• Isomerization of 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile to 3-pentenenitrile to maximize target intermediate yield

Third step:

• 3-pentenenitrile again cyanidation to produce adiponitrile, refined to obtain qualified products

2.2 Technology Tackling Process

Tianchen Company started research and development in 2011 and developed the direct hydrocyanation of butadiene to synthesize adiponitrile technology with independent intellectual property rights. On September 28, 2015, it passed the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements of China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, and its technical level reached the domestic leading position. Subsequently, 50 tons/year pilot test and 2000 tons/year full-process pilot test were completed, laying the foundation for industrialization. Since the project was put into operation in July 2022, through more than 100 technical transformations, the bottleneck of the whole process has been systematically combed, focusing on key links such as reactor efficiency improvement and distillation separation, and realizing technological innovation and process optimization.

3.1 Investment Scale and Construction Progress

Tianchen Qixiang 1 million tons/year nylon 66 new material industrial base laid the foundation in August 2019, with a total investment of 22.7 billion billion yuan, and both phases were listed as major provincial projects.

The first phase of the project (with an investment of 10.4 billion yuan and an area of 1800 mu): the main construction of 200000 tons/year adiponitrile, 200000 tons/year nylon 66 salt formation and slicing devices has been completed. Key time nodes include: May 2020, July 2022, July 2022, Nilong 66 device a successful start-up to produce superior products.

The second phase of the project (with an investment of 12.3 billion yuan and an area of 1300 mu): plans to build 300000 tons of adiponitrile and 300000 tons of hexamethylene diamine.

Overall planning: 1 million tons of new nylon material, 500000 tons of hexamethylene diamine, 500000 tons of adiponitrile and 500000 tons of acrylonitrile per year.

3.2 product performance and application value

Nylon 66, as a high-performance polymer, has amazing performance: rice-sized particles can stretch for 2 kilometers without breaking, glass fiber reinforced products the size of fingernail covers can withstand 1 ton of pressure without plastic deformation, and flame-retardant products can self-extinguish within 10 seconds when exposed to open flame. These characteristics determine its irreplaceability in the field of high-end manufacturing.

4.1 supply and demand pattern change

By the end of 2023, China's nylon 6 production capacity of about 5 million tons, the output of about 4 million tons, and nylon 66 and nylon 6 accounted for only 1:10, far below the level of 1:1 developed countries in Europe and the United States. For a long time, the production technology of adiponitrile has been monopolized by foreign countries, and the products are supplied by ration system, which seriously restricts the development of China's high-end polyamide industry. Tianchen Qi Xiang device full production, means that the domestic nylon industry downstream can finally get a stable, high-quality raw material supply.

4.2 price system remodeling

The project filled the gaps in domestic technology and industry, and the price of adiponitrile quickly dropped from more than 80000 yuan/ton to 20000 yuan/ton, a drop of 75%. This cost-leading advantage not only benefits the domestic industrial chain, but also enhances the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises in the international market. In May 2024, Tianchen International Trade and Tianchen Qi Xiang successfully exported hexamethylene diamine based on their own technology, marking that the technology has been highly recognized by the international market. In April 2024, the hexanedinitrile project was selected into the Product Manual of Scientific and Technological Innovation Achievements of Central Enterprises (2023 Edition).

4.3 Industry Chain Synergy Outlook

With the breakthrough of raw material supply bottleneck, China's high-end polyamide industry chain security line officially built. The application scenarios of downstream nylon 66 in the field of high-end manufacturing will be further broadened, and the collaborative innovation of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain will usher in new opportunities, which means a more stable supply system and a broader market space for traders and producers.