Yongrong Holdings’ 30,000 tons/year caprolactam-based adipic acid production project comes online

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On May 20, the 30,000-ton/year caprolactam-to-adipamide production project operated by Yongrong Technology, a subsidiary of Yongrong Holding Group, was completed in its entirety. The plant started up successfully on the first attempt, producing high-quality adipamide products; this marks a crucial step in breaking foreign restrictions in the field of key raw materials for nylon 66 and ensuring the security of China’s nylon industry chain. 　　Hexamethylenediamine is the key intermediate in the production of nylon 66. For a long time, the production technology for adiponitrile, a key raw material in its supply chain, has been strictly monopolized by foreign companies. The current global mainstream process involves producing adiponitrile via the butadiene route and then using it to manufacture adipamide. This approach is not only highly sensitive to fluctuations in raw material prices, but also faces significant challenges in terms of overcoming key patents and technical barriers. 　　Against this backdrop, Yongrong Holding Group adopted the innovative process of \"direct production of hexamethylenediamine from caprolactam,\" thereby breaking free from its traditional reliance on hexanitrene and achieving a technological shift from a \"single source\" to \"multiple independent sources.\" This process boasts significant advantages such as simplified operations, low investment costs, high safety levels, and a high conversion rate of raw materials. The production cost per ton is significantly lower compared to the butadiene method, thereby providing new impetus with high cost-effectiveness and strong autonomy for the development of China’s nylon 66 industry. 　　The design and construction of this project officially commenced in 2025. Completion was achieved in February 2026; the aminocapronitrile unit began trial operations at the end of April, the hexamethylenediamine unit started receiving feed on May 14, and pure hexamethylenediamine was successfully produced by May 19. Second, it produces top-quality products as soon as it is driven. The hexamethylenediamine produced in the first batch of production from this project meets all international standards in terms of its various specifications, thus fully satisfying the requirements of high-end polymerization applications downstream. During the commissioning of the project, each process on the single line quickly reached its operating capacity right after the initial feeding, and it operated at the designed load within a short time. All process parameters remained stable and normal, enabling a seamless transition from simply getting the system up and running to operating it efficiently and at full capacity. 　　A relevant official from Yongrong Holding Group said that by building on its strong upstream industrial foundation, which spans from pure benzene to caprolactam, the group has expanded into downstream areas such as hexamethylenediamine and nylon chips for high-end applications. This effort aims to accelerate the development of a dual-chain industrial cluster for \"nylon 6 + nylon 66\", consisting of upstream raw materials, midstream monomers, and downstream products. It has also filled the gap in hexamethylenediamine production in the East and South China regions, thereby enhancing the resilience and security of China’s nylon industry chain. In the future, Yongrong Holdings will continue to enhance cost reduction through coordinated efforts in research and development as well as production, expand the scale of its adipic acid and nylon 66 operations, and make every effort to achieve domestic substitution for key materials such as nylon 66.