Domestic production capacity of bio-based pentanediamine is limited, but there is ample room for future development

Pentylenediamine, also known as 1,5 diaminopentane, is an important carbon five platform compound, mainly used in the production of polyamide (nylon), such as nylon 56, nylon 510, etc. At the same time, pentamethylenediamine is also used to synthesize pentamethylene diisocyanate, or as a curing agent and organic cross-linking agent for urea-formaldehyde resin, epoxy resin, etc. Currently, pentanediamine is mainly produced by chemical methods, but this method has a complicated process and high cost. Compared with chemical methods, the production of bio-based pentanediamine by biological fermentation or lysine decarboxylation is green, environmentally friendly, and can reduce production costs.

The“China Bio-based Pentylenediamine Market Feasibility Research Report 2023-2027” issued by the Industrial Research Center shows that abroad, Japan’s Toray Corporation and Japan’s Ajinomoto Corporation have tried to cooperate in the development of bio-based pentanediamine, while South Korea’s CJ has announced its entry into the bio-based pentanediamine market. In China, there are currently very limited companies with bio-based pentanediamine production capabilities, mainly including Shanghai Cathay Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and Heilongjiang Yipin New Materials Co., Ltd.

From the perspective of development history, in 2014, Shanghai Cathay Biotechnology Co., Ltd. completed a pilot trial of bio-based pentanediamine; in the first half of 2021, Shanghai Cathay Biotechnology Co., Ltd.’s Wusu factory will produce 50,000 tons/year of bio-based pentanediamine. The diamine project was officially put into production. In October 2022, the bio-based pentanediamine product of Heilongjiang Yipin New Materials Co., Ltd. successfully rolled off the production line. In addition, Shanghai Cathay Biotechnology Co., Ltd.’s annual output of 500,000 tons of bio-based pentanediamine and 900,000 tons of bio-based polyamide projects are expected to be put into production by the end of 2023.

From the perspective of raw material supply, Shanghai Cathay Biotechnology Co., Ltd. uses corn as raw material to produce bio-based pentanediamine, which has a significant cost advantage and sufficient supply of raw materials. Heilongjiang Yipin New Materials Co., Ltd. uses lysine as raw material to produce bio-based pentanediamine, and my country has become the world’s largest producer of lysine, which can ensure the stability of the supply of bio-based pentanediamine raw materials.

From the perspective of the development space of bio-based pentanediamine, on the one hand, polypentamethylene adipate (polyamide 56) can be obtained by condensation polymerization of pentanediamine and adipic acid, and polyamide 56 has great application in the fields of engineering plastics and textile chemical fibers. It has important application potential and can participate in the polyamide 100 billion market together with polyamide 66. On the other hand, bio-based pentanediamine can replace hexamethylenediamine and solve the “stuck” problem of adiponitrile. In addition, there is a large space for domestic substitution in the downstream polyamide industry of bio-based pentanediamine. In the future, as the degree of localization of polyamide increases, the demand for bio-based pentanediamine in the polyamide field will also grow.

Industrial analysts said that as the upstream polyamide industry, bio-based pentanediamine’s future development space is closely related to downstream polyamide. The polyamide industry is extremely favored by capital, and China will become the world’s largest polyamide market in the future. Driven by the polyamide industry, the market potential of bio-based pentanediamine will gradually be released.