Chemical Profile Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN)

10 January 2005 00:01  [Source: ICB Americas]

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HYDROGEN CYANIDE

January 10, 2005

US PRODUCER	CAPACITY*
Adisseo USA, Institute, W.Va. (P)	15
BP Chemicals, Green Lake, Tex. (B)	110
BP Chemicals, Lima, Ohio (B)	45
Cyanco, Winnemucca, Nev. (P)	85
Cytec Industries, Fortier, La. (B)	75
Degussa, Theodore, Ala. (P)	75
Dow Chemical, Freeport, Tex. (P)	20
DuPont, Beaumont, Tex. (B)	60
DuPont, Memphis, Tenn. (P)	220
Invista, Orange, Tex. (P)	320
Invista, Victoria, Tex. (P)	400
Rohm and Haas, Deer Park, Tex. (P)	200
Solutia, Alvin, Tex. (B)	150
Sterling, Texas City, Tex. (B)	75
Syngenta Crop Protection, St. Gabriel, La. (P)	90
Total	1,940

*Millions of pounds per year of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) as direct production (P) and as a by-product of acrylonitrile production (B). Most product is consumed captively, usually on the production site or adjacent to it. Adisseo, a producer and distributor of animal nutrition additives, was created following the sale of Aventis's Animal Nutrition subsidiary to CVC Capital Partners. The Aventis Animal Nutrition plant in Institute, W.Va., once owned by Rhone-Poulenc, produces methionine. Invista is the former DuPont Textiles & Interiors business. It was sold to Koch Industries in May 2004 and combined with KoSa, Koch's polyester and intermediates subsidiary. In early 2002, FMC exited the sodium cyanide business and sold its commercial assets to Cyanco (Winnemucca, Nev.), a 50-50 joint venture between Degussa and Winnemucca Chemicals (Winnemucca, Nev.). This resulted in the closure of 33 million pounds of HCN capacity at FMC's plant at Green River, Wyo. Syngenta Crop Protection at St. Gabriel, La., was formerly Novartis Crop Protection. In 2000, Novartis and AstraZeneca each exited the agchem business by merging their respective agchem subsidiaries to form Syngenta. The Novartis Crop Protection plant in St. Gabriel, La., had previously been owned by Ciba-Geigy, which merged with Sandoz to form Novartis in 1997.  Canada has no production of HCN, and Mexico's HCN production totals about 55 million pounds annually as by-product from acrylonitrile plants operated by Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX). Profile last published 11/12/01; this revision, 12/20/04.

DEMAND

2002: 1,670 million pounds; 2003: 1,700 million pounds; 2007: 1,870 million pounds, projected. There is no apparent foreign trade in HCN.

PRICE

Historical (1998-2004): High, $0.60, 99.5 percent, list, tanks, works; low, $0.60, same basis. Current: $0.60, same basis. HCN is usually consumed at its point of production or sold as an “over-the-fence transfer.” A list price of $0.60 has been in effect since 1990, but the actual transfer price for large volumes is believed to be in the $0.25 to $0.30 range.

GROWTH

Historical (1998-2004): 0.9 percent per year; Future: 2.4 percent per year through 2007.

USES

Adiponitrile (for nylon 6/6), 50 percent; acetone cyanohydrin (for methyl methacrylate), 28 percent; methionine, 7 percent; sodium cyanide, 6 percent; cyanuric chloride, 3 percent; chelating agents, 2 percent; miscellaneous, including nitrilotriacetic acid and salts, 4 percent.

STRENGTH

HCN’s largest use, consuming 50 percent of its production in the US, is adiponitrile. Nearly all of the manufactured adiponitrile is hydrogenated to hexamethylenediamine (HMDA), an important intermediate in the manufacture of nylon 6/6. Demand for nylon has remained strong and is growing at 2.6 percent annually. Noteworthy is nylon’s penetration into new applications, particularly in the automobile industry, where it is replacing metal components beneath the hood. The second-largest application sector is methyl methacrylate, with 28 percent application share, used primarily for the manufacture of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) plastics, resins and surface coatings. This too is relatively strong in the recovering economy. Annual growth for HCN here is forecast at 2.5 percent.  A much smaller (7 percent share) but faster growing (9 percent per annum) application segment is methionine and methionine hydroxy analog. Methionine and its hydroxy analog comprise the largest-volume essential amino acid family in commercial production in the US. More than 90 percent of production goes into poultry feed.

WEAKNESS

The declining price of gold has led to a decline in sodium cyanide demand in the mining industry in the western US. Offsetting mining demand in the US somewhat is foreign trade. The US has been a strong net exporter of sodium cyanide since 1986. In 2003, 55 percent of production was exported. Overall, however, HCN’s consumption in sodium cyanide is declining by about 3.5 percent annually.

OUTLOOK

Aggregate demand for HCN continues to grow at slightly below the GDP rate, about 2.4 percent, chiefly because of the relatively strong performance of nylon 6/6 and methyl methacrylate going into consumer end products. Strong exports of adiponitrile and sodium cyanide continue to be key growth factors for HCN. The use of HCN in the production of cyanuric chloride is not expected to grow as triazine herbicides (such as atrazine, simazine and cyanazine), cyanuric chloride’s largest outlet, remain under EPA scrutiny. Cyanazine was discontinued by DuPont in 1999.

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