Production and Consumption of Cyanuric Chloride in China   

By Bai Haidan, Research Institute of Industrial Economics of CNCIC

Production grows steadily

Cyanuric chloride has a stable six-member ring, and its three active chlorine atoms can be replaced by -ON,-NH,-SN,-NHR and other functional groups and generate a large number of derivatives, so it has a wide range of applications in pesticides, dyes, fluorescent brighteners, pharmaceuticals, rubber additives, UV stabilizers, antioxidants, lubricants, paper processing agents and textile auxiliaries.
   The global capacity to make cyanuric chloride is now about 300 000 t/a, mainly located in Germany, the United States, China, Japan and India. China has already overtaken Germany to become the world's largest producer of cyanuric chloride, hosting 47% of the world's total cyanuric chloride capacity . Evonik and Syngenta are two major global manufacturers of cyanuric chloride.
   China has seven major cyanuric chloride producers. Evonik Sanzheng (Yingkou) Fine Chemical Co Ltd is the largest of these and is also Asia's largest, having a capacity of 45 000 t/a in 2010. The total capacity of cyanuric chloride in China in 2010 was about 141 500 t/a, and actual output was about 90 000 tons. Here, cyanuric chloride makers are concentrated in Northeast China and North China (see Table 1). In the past two years, there were few projects in China for new or expanded cyanuric chloride capacity. Hebei Lingang Chemical Co Ltd is building a 80 000 t/a cyanuric chloride project, and its first-phase 20 000 t/a cyanuric chloride unit has been completed but not yet put into production; the second phase is underway.
Table 1 Major producers of cyanuric chloride in China
Producer    Capacity (kt/a)
Evonik Sanzheng (Yingkou) Fine Chemical Co Ltd    45.0
Yingkou Sanzheng Organic Chemical Co Ltd     40.0
Hebei Chengxin Co Ltd    25.0
Zaoyang Jinlu Chemicals and Industries Co Ltd    18.0
Hebei Lingang Chemical Co Ltd    5.0
Tianjin Yueguo Chemical Co Ltd    4.0
Tianjin Haiyang Chemical Co Ltd    2.5
Others    2.0
Total    141.5


Exports increase fast, but imports sharply reduce

In recent years, China's cyanuric chloride capacity has increased rapidly. As domestic producers have constantly expanded their capacity and improved their production technology, they have developed a competitive edge in product quality and price. In addition, because the raw materials for the synthesis of cyanuric chloride are toxic, developed countries and regions are cautious about expanding cyanuric chloride production. This provides a good chance for Chinese cyanuric chloride products to enter international markets. So in recent years, the import of cyanuric chloride in China has been decreasing, while its export has increased year by year.
   In 2006, China's import of cyanuric chloride reached 14 200 tons. But then it began to decline in 2007. After 2008, China has imported nearly no cyanuric chloride. But the export of cyanuric chloride has kept increasing. In 2010, it reached 34 800 tons, having an average annual growth rate of 11.3%. China's exports of cyanuric chloride from 2006 to 2010 are listed in Table 2.
Table 2  Export of cyanuric chloride in China from 2006 to 2010
Year    2006    2007    2008    2009    2010
Import  (ton)    14233    11972    628    2    0.7
Export  (ton)    20568    20816    31829    34925    34857
Import price (FOB) (US$/t)    1051    1112    1169    9815    10324
Export price (CIF)  (US$/t)    1312    1384    2681    1469    1590

Consumption is mainly concentrated in pesticides, dyes and brighteners

In China, the largest consumer of cyanuric chloride is the pesticide industry, where it is mainly used for the synthesis of triazine herbicides. Cyanuric chloride can also be used for dye production. In addition, it is also used in fluorescent brighteners, pharmaceuticals, rubber additives, UV stabilizers, antioxidants, lubricants, paper processing agents and textile auxiliaries. Its consumption structure is: 43.8% is for the production of pesticides, 24.3% for dyes, 20.5% for fluorescent brightener, 3.2% for pharmaceuticals, 1.1% for synthetic polymers, 0.8% for rubber and plastic additives, and 6.3% for others (see Figure 1). In the United States and Western Europe, cyanuric chloride has basically the same consumption structure as in China: about 30% is used for the production of triazine pesticides, 25% for fluorescent brighteners, and about 20% for dyes.

1) Pesticides

In the pesticide industry, cyanuric chloride is mainly used for the synthesis of s-triazine herbicides. Because the three chlorine atoms in cyanuric chloride have different activity, they can be gradually replaced with different substituents to prepare different types of s-triazine herbicides, mainly including simazin and prometryn. Such herbicides feature good weed control, high selectivity, broad herbicide spectrum, low toxicity and low persistence and can be used for the removal of annual weeds and broadleaf weeds in croplands, orchards and tea plantations, algae in ponds, and various weeds in railways, highways, oil fields, warehouses and other places. In addition, cyanuric chloride can also be used to synthesize triazine series fungicides and insecticides.

2) Dyes

Cyanuric chloride is a major raw material of the dye industry and can be used to produce active dyes, direct dyes, metal complex dyes, acid dyes and disperse dyes, such as Direct Yellow L-5R, Direct Fast Green BLL, Direct Fast Green 5GLL, and copper complex direct dyes with a cyanuric chloride-type structure. In addition, cyanuric chloride can also be used to produce acid dyes, such as neutral bright yellow SGC, and can also be combined with aminoanthraquinone to form vat dyes (such as Vat Yellow FG) and disperse dyes, etc.

3) Fluorescent brighteners

Cyanuric chloride can be used as the main raw material for the synthesis of fluorescent brightener VBL, which is mainly used for the whitening of cellulose fibers, paper, detergents and light-colored cellulose fabrics. VBL has similar dyeing performance with anionic dyes and can be used to dye edible salt and sulfuric acid.

4) Pharmaceuticals

In the pharmaceutical industry, cyanuric chloride can be used to synthesize a variety of pharmaceutical intermediates for many drugs, including central nervous system suppression drugs, antihypertensive drugs, hypoglycemic agents and anticancer drugs for leukemia and lymphosarcoma.

5) Synthetic polymers

Cyanuric chloride can react with allyl alcohol to form a glass-like polymer which can be used either as a copolymer component or as a rubber elastomer cross-linking agent. It can react with acrylic acid or potassium methacrylate to form triacryloyl s-triazine, which can be used as a copolymer component. Cyanuric chloride can be used as a crosslinking agent for natural polymers, such as gelatin. After synthetic fibers (such as acrylic fiber 6) are cross-linked with cyanuric chloride, their mechanical properties and low temperature resis