The 200,000 tons per year (Phase I) adiponitrile project of China Pingmei Shenma Group, with a total investment of 1.874 billion yuan, has been fully completed

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The 200,000 tons per year (Phase I) adiponitrile project of China Pingmei Shenma Group, with a total investment of 1.874 billion yuan, has been fully completed. On the morning of April 3, the 200,000 tons per year (Phase 1) adiponitrile project of China Pingmei Shenma Group was completed in its entirety. The total investment in this project is 1.874 billion yuan; it utilizes processes developed independently by the group, resulting in a product purity of 99.9% and performance that is at the international leading level. This project boasts significant advantages such as low costs, low energy consumption, and high economic efficiency, which helps to achieve domestic substitution and self-sufficiency in adiponitrile products. Meanwhile, the third phase of the Aisan project is about to begin construction. The group has become the only company in the world to possess the production technology for both adiponitrile and aminocapronitrile, the two key raw materials used in the production of nylon 66. This enables it to establish a diversified supply system for these raw materials, thereby significantly enhancing the company’s ability to respond to market changes and its resilience in the face of industry-related risks. It thus creates a solid barrier for the security of the industrial chain and supply chain, and also contributes significantly to the high-quality development of China’s nylon industry and its advancement to world-class standards. Nylon 66 is widely used in strategic emerging fields such as aerospace, defense and military industry, automotive lightweighting, and high-frequency applications in electronics and electrical equipment. It is an essential key material in modern industry, particularly in the field of high-end manufacturing. Adiponitrile, known as the \"industrial chip\" of the nylon 66 industry chain, is the key monomer used in the production of nylon 66 salts, nylon 66 fibers, and high-performance engineering plastics. The level of production technology and supply capacity for adiponitrile directly determine the development level of the nylon 66 industry. For a long time, the production process of adiponitrile has been complex, characterized by extremely high technical barriers and large investment requirements; its core production technologies are firmly in the hands of a few international chemical giants. The market supply of adiponitrile relies heavily on imports, with a high degree of dependence on foreign sources. This not only reduces the profit margins for enterprises but also limits the development of China’s nylon 66 industry, posing a serious threat to the autonomy and control over the industrial chain and supply chain in the field of new materials. It constitutes a significant obstacle to China’s efforts to become a strong manufacturing nation as well as a leader in the production of new materials. Aiming to strengthen its role as the leader in the world-class nylon new materials industry chain, China Pingmei Shenma Group always keeps in mind the original aspirations and mission of state-owned enterprises. Guided by the overall strategic landscape and responding to the development plans set by the province and city, it takes on the responsibility of overcoming industry challenges and breaking through technical barriers. Li Mao, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the group, has visited the project site on multiple occasions to conduct inspections, putting forward specific requirements for the project’s development. He encouraged the research team to pursue independent innovation, to address the issue of whether such technologies actually exist, and to break free from dependence on others. Leveraging its unique advantages in coal-based resources, the group has brought together top scientific research talents and invested substantial funds in R&D. After years of dedicated efforts, it has successfully overcome a series of key technical challenges and developed a production process for adiponitrile using the direct hydrocyanation of butadiene, with complete independent intellectual property rights. The 200,000 tons per year (Phase 1) adiponitrile project, which is now fully operational, has a total investment of 1.874 billion yuan. It represents a significant milestone in the group’s efforts to advance in the field of high-end nylon materials and to implement its strategic goals. The butadiene direct hydrocyanation process used in this project offers significant advantages over traditional processes, including lower raw material costs, reduced energy consumption, higher economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability. There is almost no waste generated during the production process, which makes it fully in line with the **\"dual carbon\" goals and the strategy for sustainable chemical manufacturing. It represents the optimal technical approach for hexanitronic acid production worldwide at present. During the research and development process, the group’s R&D team successfully overcame numerous key technical challenges, including the efficient use of adiponitrile catalysts, the production of high-purity hydrocyanic acid along with proper safety controls, as well as advanced distillation techniques for separation. This enabled the team to achieve full autonomy in the entire production process, establishing a comprehensive system of proprietary intellectual property. Moreover, they developed replicable and scalable models for industrial implementation, providing a model for the localization of core technologies related to nylon 66 in China. Tests have shown that the adiponitrile product produced by this project has a purity of up to 99.9%, with all performance indicators reaching international advanced levels. The consumption rates of key materials are among the best in China, enabling it to fully replace foreign counterparts and thus achieving true ‘domestic substitution and self-sufficiency’. At the same time, the group focuses on the value-added utilization of by-products, and has built facilities for 3-methylpyridine to convert low-value by-products such as methylglutaronitrile into high-value fine chemical intermediates. This approach creates a green circular industrial chain that combines the improvement of the quality of main products with the value enhancement of by-products. It not only increases the overall efficiency of resource utilization and reduces solid waste emissions, but also extends the industrial chain and broadens profit opportunities, thereby achieving an organic integration of economic, social, and environmental benefits. A breakthrough in a key technology, or the commissioning of a major project, can drive rapid development across the entire industry, demonstrating the **solid foundation for the secure development of the nylon industry**. From a **strategic perspective, the commissioning of this project represents a practical example of implementing the strategies to build a strong manufacturing nation and a leader in new materials, as well as of promoting the development of the central region. It has helped overcome the technical barriers to the industrial production of adiponitrile using the butadiene method in China, allowing the country’s nylon 66 industry to escape the situation where it was dependent on imported raw materials. This has significantly enhanced the competitiveness of the high-end chemical and new material industry, and it contributes greatly to ensuring autonomy and control over the country’s industrial chains and supply chains. From the perspective of regional development, this project is well aligned with Henan Province’s plan to develop a new materials industry cluster worth trillions of yuan, further strengthening Henan’s core position in China’s nylon industry. It helps Henan build a globally leading nylon industry cluster, thereby providing strong impetus for the development of the province as a leader in advanced manufacturing. At the same time, this project has completely overcome the development bottleneck of the nylon industry in Pingdingshan, characterized by a lack of key components and core technologies. It has enabled the nylon industry there to make a transition from merely expanding in scale to improving both quality and efficiency, and from having a complete industrial chain to possessing core competitive advantages. This provides a practical model that can be used as a reference for the transformation and development of resource-based cities across the country. The completion of a project is not an end, but rather a brand new beginning. In the future, China Pingmei Shennma Group will always aim to become a world-class enterprise, actively integrate itself into the broader development landscape. By leveraging technological innovation as a driving force and industrial upgrading as a key strategy, it will continue to tackle the core technologies in the field of high-end new materials, strengthen the foundations for industrial development, and accelerate the cultivation and development of new forms of productive capacity. In doing so, it will contribute more of its expertise and efforts to ensuring the security of industrial chains and supply chains, helping China’s nylon industry reach world-class standards, and accelerating the establishment of a modern industrial system.