Solvay, a nylon manufacturing giant, officially announced that its important raw material for the synthesis of nylon: hexamethylene diamine (HMD) equipment has encountered force majeure and is implementing sales rationing to its existing customers. The specific sales ratio was not disclosed.
Solvay claims that the force majeure was caused by a severe shortage of adiponitrile (ADN) required for its installations. The plant where the shortage occurred was located in France and is a 50% joint venture between Solvay and INVISTA, although The specific cause of the fault is not disclosed at present, but it is certainly a serious technical fault and cannot be resolved in the short term.
In fact, Butachimie has been operating at a low level since the restart since its regular three-year parking inspection this summer, which has also put its supply to Solvay in a tight state. This time the force majeure of Solvay Diamine was also caused by the inability to effectively solve the persistent shortage of adiponitrile. In addition, INVISTA's Victoria Harbor plant in Texas, USA, announced at the end of June this year that the adiponitrile and hexamethylene diamine units had encountered force majeure and the operating rate had remained low. As of now (October 13), the force majeure has not been lifted, and Aggravated the tight supply of adiponitrile. It is reported that the combined production capacity of adiponitrile in Butachimie and Victoria Harbour accounts for 51% of global production capacity.
Note: HMD is the most important raw material for the synthesis of nylon 66, and ADN is an important intermediate for the production of hexamethylene diamine. Global ADN manufacturing and sales are highly monopolized by INVISTA and Solvay.