Cyclohexanone production capacity in China increased by 11% in 2019

Cyclohexanone is an important chemical raw material and the main intermediate for the manufacture of nylon, caprolactam and adipic acid. It is also an important industrial solvent, such as paints, especially those containing nitrocellulose, vinyl chloride polymer and its copolymer or methacrylate polymer paint. In the 1980s, Japan's Asahi Kasei developed a process for preparing cyclohexanol by hydration of cyclohexene.

China's cyclohexanone industry mainly developed along with the development of caprolactam industry. In 2019, China's cyclohexanone production capacity increased by 11.0% year-on-year, and production increased by 6.3% year-on-year. The operating rate decreased from the previous year to 69.1%.

As of the end of 2019, there were 27 cyclohexanone manufacturers in China. Dafeng Haili, Shandong Haili, Hengyi Petrochemical, Luxi Chemical, Fujian Shenyuan and other cyclohexanone plants have large production capacity. Most cyclohexanone production enterprises provide raw materials or intermediate products for their internal caprolactam or adipic acid production facilities. For example, Liaoyang Petrochemical, Hualu Hengsheng, Yangmei Fengxi, etc. are mainly used to produce adipic acid. Ling Hengyi, Yangmei Taihua New Material, Lanhua Science and Technology, Shanxi Lubao, etc. are mainly used to produce caprolactam, both of which are Shandong Haili. Cyclohexanone is mainly used as an intermediate product, and only part of the cyclohexanone is sold as a commodity when downstream equipment is overhauled or market demand is weak. The main exporters of cyclohexanone that are not equipped with downstream equipment are Shijiazhuang Coking Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Zhonglian Chemical Co., Ltd., and China Petrochemical Group Nanjing Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

In terms of apparent consumption, the production and export of cyclohexanone increased significantly in 2019, and the apparent consumption increased by 3.9% year-on-year. The cyclohexanone self-sufficiency rate increased to 100%.

In terms of imports and exports, China's total imports and exports of cyclohexanone decreased by 49.3% year-on-year in 2019. The annual import and export value decreased by 55.4% year-on-year.

According to trade statistics, in 2019 China's cyclohexanone import trade is dominated by general trade, with imports accounting for 98.7% of the annual imports. According to the source of import statistics, China's imports of cyclohexanone in 2019 mainly come from Taiwan, Japan and Belgium. Among them, the total source of imports from Taiwan, China accounted for 50.7% of the total imports; cyclohexanone imported from Japan accounted for 44.1% of the total imports; cyclohexanone imported from Belgium accounted for 2.1% of the total imports.

According to trade statistics, in 2019 China's cyclohexanone export trade is dominated by general trade, with exports accounting for nearly 100% of the annual export volume. According to export destination statistics, cyclohexanone exported by China in 2019 mainly goes to India, Indonesia and Japan. Among them, the total supply of goods exported to India accounted for 15.3% of the total exports; the amount of cyclohexanone exported to Indonesia accounted for 12.4% of the total exports; cyclohexanone exported to Japan accounted for 11.9% of the total exports.

Cyclohexanone is an important organic chemical raw material and the main intermediate for the manufacture of caprolactam and adipic acid.It is mainly used for the synthesis of nylon 6 and nylon 66 and other resins.In addition, it is a high-end solvent with excellent performance in coatings, inks, pharmaceuticals , Pesticides, adhesives, photosensitive materials and other industries are also widely used. Judging from the current market structure, adipic acid and caprolactam are the most important downstream, and the two together account for about 86% of China's cyclohexanone consumption, followed by the solvent field, accounting for about 9%.

In the near future, a 400,000-ton / year cyclohexanone plant in Jinjiang, Fujian, a 300,000-ton / year cyclohexanone plant in Luxi Chemicals, and a 200,000-ton / year cyclohexanone plant in Shenma, Henan will be put into production, but the downstream caprolactam is in the future. In a short period of time, there is no production plan, or plans to put into operation, the solvent market demand is gradually shrinking. It is expected that cyclohexanone will be in an oversupply situation in the near future.

The high profit period of cyclohexanone in the past two or three years may become history. The spot market competition is becoming more and more fierce. The factory may interpret the situation of raw material supply, production process, industrial chain integration, enterprise competitiveness, etc., competing with each other.