my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber output continues to decline, and product homogeneity is serious

Polyacrylonitrile fiber, also known as acrylic fiber, refers to synthetic fibers made of polyacrylonitrile or acrylonitrile copolymer with an acrylonitrile content greater than 85.0% (mass percentage). Polyacrylonitrile fiber was first put into research and development in the 1930s, and it was not until 1950 that large-scale production was achieved. Polyacrylonitrile fiber has the advantages of cheap price, good quality, radiation resistance, and biodegradation resistance, and is widely used in the field of textile materials.

According to the “2022-2027 Polyacrylonitrile Fiber Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report released by the Industrial Research Center, my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber production ranks fourth in the synthetic fiber industry after polyamide fiber, polypropylene fiber and polyester fiber. In recent years, with the continuous improvement of the prosperity of polyester fiber, polyamide fiber and other industries, it has had a greater impact on the development of the polyacrylonitrile fiber industry. Its market demand has gradually slowed down, and its output has been declining year by year. According to statistics from the China Chemical Fiber Industry Association, my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber output reached 485,000 tons in 2021, down 11.9% year-on-year.

The main raw material of polyacrylonitrile fiber is acrylonitrile, which accounts for nearly 70.0% of its production cost. In recent years, thanks to the accelerated expansion of enterprise production capacity, my country’s acrylonitrile production has shown a year-by-year growth trend, which can fully meet the production demand for polyacrylonitrile fiber. In the production process of polyacrylonitrile fiber, propylene and ammonia need to be mixed first to synthesize acrylonitrile, and then an initiator is used to cause a chain reaction of acrylonitrile to generate polyacrylonitrile. The finished product is obtained through processes such as heating and spinning. Polyacrylonitrile fiber requires extremely high purity of acrylonitrile. The presence of a small amount of impurities will have a great impact on the polymerization reaction and the quality of the finished product. Therefore, the production process must be strictly controlled.

In recent years, due to factors such as increased labor costs and stricter environmental protection policies, my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber exports have gradually declined. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber export volume reached 23,000 tons in 2021, a year-on-year decrease of 27.0%. Turkey, Bangladesh, Italy, etc. are my country’s main exporters of polyacrylonitrile fiber.

my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber products have a serious homogeneity problem, resulting in weak industry competitiveness. Qilu Petrochemical, Shanghai Petrochemical, Jilin Chemical Fiber, etc. are the leading polyacrylonitrile fiber companies in my country. Shanghai Petrochemical’s polyacrylonitrile fiber output ranks first in the country. According to Shanghai Petrochemical’s financial report, the company’s acrylic and polyester business’s cumulative output reached 54,000 tons in the first half of 2021.

Industry analysts said that polyacrylonitrile fiber has excellent performance and is widely used in the field of textile materials. However, in recent years, due to factors such as the deepening of supply-side structural reforms and the squeeze of substitutes, my country’s polyacrylonitrile fiber production capacity has continued to shrink and output has gradually declined. In terms of market competition, there are many polyacrylonitrile fiber manufacturers in my country, but the product types are relatively single and the differentiated production capabilities are weak. This is the main challenge facing the development of the industry.