China's Acrylonitrile Supply Increase Significantly in 2021

From 2017 to 2021, China's acrylonitrile production showed an overall growth trend, while the operating rate declined, with a compound growth rate of 8.4% in the past five years. Among them, the output grew more rapidly in 2019-2020, with the annual growth rate reaching 14.4% and 11.9% respectively. The main factor supporting production growth is the year-on-year increase in downstream demand. In 2018, the production performance decreased, mainly in the same year, domestic acrylonitrile manufacturers concentrated overhaul, national output decreased at the same time import growth year on year. In addition, the operating rate of acrylonitrile industry remained around 85% from 2017 to 2020, but fell to 82.3% in 2021, as new capacity was mainly added in the fourth quarter of the year.

By the end of 2021, the annual production capacity of acrylonitrile products in China reached 2.899 million tons, up 15.5% compared with 2020. The new production capacity of Lihua Yi and Sierbang Phase III is not included in the total capacity of 2021, because the output and delivery of qualified products will be in 2022. In 2021, the capacity of 2 will be expanded, with a total increase of 390,000 tons.

Acrylonitrile production trend chart

In 2021, the domestic acrylonitrile output was 2.548 million tons, of which the output was less than 200,000 tons in Both June and July. During this period, jilin Petrochemical overhauled the 452,000 tons/year plant, and some of the production lines in Sierbon were scheduled for out-of-service maintenance, resulting in a decrease in both the output and the average operating rate. In the second half of the year, new devices were put into production, but in the fourth quarter, the operation of Both Sirbon and Shanghai Secco was halved, so there was no significant increase in production compared with the first half of the year, and the opening probability dropped to around 85%. The highest output was in December and the lowest in June, with the average monthly output of 212,000 tons.