Aniline production continues to increase, making my country the world’s largest producer and exporter

Aniline, also known as aminobenzene, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C6H7N. It appears as a colorless oily liquid, is slightly soluble in water, and is easily soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol and ether. There are various methods for producing aniline, mainly including nitrobenzene catalytic hydrogenation method, nitrobenzene iron powder reduction method, phenol ammoniation method, benzene direct ammoniation method, etc. Aniline is an important organic chemical raw material and can be used in dyes, medicines, spices, resins, polyurethane products, rubber vulcanization accelerators and other fields.

MDI (diphenylmethane diisocyanate) is the largest application field of aniline in my country. MDI is an organic compound made from aniline as raw material through formaldehyde reaction, acid-base neutralization, distillation, phosgene reaction, etc. It is an important raw material for polyurethane (PU) coatings, polyurethane foams, polyurethane elastic fibers, etc., and is used in automobiles, It is widely used in construction, shipbuilding, aviation, thermal insulation and other fields. Therefore, driven by the rapid development of the terminal product polyurethane market, the market demand for aniline continues to increase and the output continues to grow. According to the “China Aniline Industry Operation Data Monitoring and Development Prospects Analysis Report in 2022” released by the Industrial Research Center Shows that my country’s aniline production in 2021 will be approximately 2.6431 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%.

Currently, MDI companies are the main customer group in the aniline market. As domestic MDI companies continue to extend the industrial chain and improve their market competitiveness, the number of MDI companies with aniline supporting facilities continues to increase. Therefore, MDI companies currently dominate the aniline market in my country. status, in 2021 the aniline output of MDI companies accounted for 65% of the total domestic output. At the same time, as downstream MDI companies gradually acquire self-sufficient aniline capabilities, the aniline market for non-MDI companies gradually shrinks, resulting in a continuous decline in their output. In 2021, the aniline production of non-MDI companies accounted for only 35% of the total domestic production.

In the domestic aniline market, local MDI companies mainly include Wanhua Chemical, Shanghai Lianheng, etc.; local non-MDI companies mainly include Jinling Chemical, Nanjing Chemical, Cornell Chemical, Huatai Fine Chemicals, Tianji Coal Chemical, etc.; foreign-funded companies mainly include There are Basque, Covestro, etc. At present, my country has become the largest producer of aniline in the world. From the perspective of global competition, the production capacity of local enterprise Wanhua Chemical accounts for 20% of the total global production capacity, ranking first in the world in terms of production capacity; followed by Germany’s BASF, with a production capacity ratio of 15%; Germany’s Covestro ranks third in production capacity, accounting for 12%.

In addition, my country is also one of the major exporters of aniline in the world, and the scale of domestic aniline exports continues to expand. According to data from the General Administration of Customs, China’s aniline export volume in 2021 was 269,800 tons, an increase of 111,700 tons compared with 2020; the export value was US$347 million, an increase of US$236 million compared with 2020. Industrial analysis personnel said that my country has become one of the largest producers and exporters of aniline in the world. Driven by the rapid development of domestic aniline domestic sales and export markets, its market size is expected to continue to expand, and the industry has broad prospects for development.