Acrylamide is a toxic unsaturated amide. It is an important chemical raw material and one of the by-products of the reaction during the thermal processing of food. Acrylamide can enter the environment through various routes and is widely exposed to human daily life. However, acrylamide in the environment and diet will passively diffuse into humans and other organisms, and cause oxidative damage, synaptic interference, inhibition of neurotransmitter transmission, and inhibition of protein expression in the body through metabolism, further affecting the functions of various systems and organs in the body.
Acrylic amide belongs to the fine chemical industry, and there are problems of "three wastes" discharge and comprehensive treatment in production and operation. With the transformation of the national economic growth model and the full implementation of the sustainable development strategy, people's awareness of environmental protection has gradually increased, the national environmental protection policy is becoming increasingly perfect, the environmental pollution control standards are improving day by day, and the cost of environmental protection control in the industry will continue to increase. If the state introduces stricter environmental protection standards in the future, it may lead to enterprises to further increase environmental protection investment and environmental protection expenses, thus affecting the profitability of enterprises. Relevant departments of our country have formulated a series of laws, regulations and policies to support the acrylamide industry:
Acrylamide is a water-soluble vinyl monomer. It is mainly formed by the Maillard reaction between asparagine and reducing sugars (glucose, fructose, maltose, etc.) at high temperature. When the two exist alone, acrylamide is not produced even when heated. The acrylamide industry chain mainly includes raw material supply, production and processing, downstream applications, sales and distribution, and waste treatment. The main raw materials of acrylamide are acrylonitrile and methanol. The downstream is widely used in textile, plastics, coatings, paints, adhesives, water treatment agents and other industries. The demand for downstream applications and market prices play a key role in the development of the acrylamide industry chain.
From the upstream, the acrylonitrile industry is the most important upstream of the acrylamide industry, accounting for 50% -70% of the cost of acrylamide products. The price changes caused by changes in the supply and demand relationship of acrylonitrile have an important impact on the industry. From the perspective of acrylonitrile supply, according to statistics, the production of acrylonitrile in our country will grow rapidly from 2017 to 2022. The output will increase from 1.92 million tons in 2017 to 3 million tons in 2022.
Our country is one of the main producers of acrylamide in the world, with a large production capacity, our country acrylamide production capacity is mainly distributed in Jiangsu, Jiangxi and other regions, according to statistics, in recent years, our country acrylamide production capacity has been increasing year by year, production capacity from 502,000 tons in 2013 to 855,000 tons in 2022.
Our country's acrylamide production and research and development started in the 1960s. Due to the "tertiary oil recovery", shale gas development, and the progress of domestic independent technology, the industry has entered a stage of rapid development, and the comprehensive level, capacity and competitiveness of the industry have been greatly improved. At present, there is an oversupply of low-end products in China, and the market competition is fierce. There are generally situations such as single products, unstable quality, and outstanding performance. According to statistics, the production and demand of acrylamide in our country will increase as a whole from 2013 to 2022. In 2022, the output of acrylamide in our country will be 567,000 tons, and the demand will be 574,000 tons.
As an important chemical raw material, acrylamide is mainly used in textiles, plastics, water treatment agents and other industries. Therefore, areas with high industrial development level usually have a large demand for acrylamide consumption. According to statistics, in 2022, acrylamide consumption in East China of our country was 207,800 tons, accounting for 36.20% of consumption, followed by Central, South, North, West and Northeast China.
In recent years, the size of our country's acrylamide market has a certain volatility, but the overall growth trend, according to statistics, as of 2022, the size of our country's acrylamide market reached 6.888 billion yuan, with the development of emerging industries and the improvement of environmental protection requirements, the demand for acrylamide will further increase, is expected to continue to grow in the future market size.
The price of acrylamide is affected by factors such as raw material prices, supply and demand relations, and market competition. Prices fluctuate greatly and are affected by market conditions and macroeconomic factors. In recent years, the price of acrylamide in our country has shown a trend of fluctuating and rising as a whole. According to statistics, the average price of acrylamide in our country in 2013 was 11,100 yuan/ton, and it increased to 12,000 yuan/ton by 2022.
Jiangsu Fumiao Technology joint stock company is positioned to serve water-based industries such as pulp and paper, water treatment, mineral processing, oil and gas extraction and textile printing and dyeing with first-class hydrophilic functional polymer products and technologies, and create core value for the green development of water-based industries and water ecological protection. Fumiao Technology announced on June 30, 2022 that it will acquire 100% equity of Suzhou Jingchang Technology Development Co., Ltd. in cash.
Jiangsu Changjiu Agricultural Chemical Co., Ltd., controlled by Jingchang Technology, is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of acrylamide. It has an acrylamide production capacity of 40,000 tons/year in the form of crystals and water agents. It is the first manufacturer in China to develop acrylamide high-purity crystals. According to statistics, as of 2022, Fumiao Technology's operating income was 1.697 billion yuan, of which functional monomer income was 636 million yuan, an increase of 29.64% year-on-year. In terms of sales volume, the sales volume of functional monomers in 2022 was 49,300 tons, an increase of 37.21% year-on-year. Among them, the sales volume of acrylamide monomers increased by 47.
The future development trend of China's acrylamide industry
1. Acrylamide detection technology in food, commodities and the environment continues to improve
At present, the detection standard system of acrylamide in food, commodities and the environment has been basically established in China, including national standards, industry standards, local standards and group standards. Relevant sample treatment technologies, enrichment and purification technologies and the development of new analysis and testing technologies should be further studied and improved, so that acrylamide detection technology can be developed towards low cost, high sensitivity, simple operation, easy to realize on-site analysis and rapid detection. At the same time, through the promotion of standards, the routine monitoring data of acrylamide should be strengthened, and acrylamide wastewater discharge standards in related industries should be strictly enforced. The discharge of acrylamide into the environment should be reduced as much as possible, and the ecological environment and human health should be protected.
2. The transformation and upgrading of downstream industries is accelerating
Acrylamide is an important raw material for water-soluble polymers. Under the background of increasingly tightening national environmental protection and dual-carbon policies, the downstream application field of water-soluble polymers will become wider and wider, and the market will become larger and larger. Multinational companies rely on their first-mover advantages in technology and industry, and their accumulated brand advantages, currently occupy a large share in the domestic high-end market. However, with the great changes in the global political and economic landscape in the future, China's national industry with core capabilities will attract higher and faster development space.
Domestic private enterprise players are playing an increasingly important role in the water-soluble polymer market, and are on par with multinational companies in some sub-sectors, but there is still a certain gap as a whole. With the high-quality development of the national economy and the continuous emergence of new entrants, some outstanding private enterprises have continuously enhanced their capabilities in complete industrial chain support, comprehensive product application series, and high-performance new Product Research & Development. While being close to the downstream end point app store, they can help downstream customers meet the demand for high-efficiency, green and new products.