Acrylonitrile Essay

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ACRYLONITRILE AND ACRYLONITRILE POLYMERS Introduction Acrylonitrile (also called acrylic acid nitrile, propylene nitrile, vinyl cyanide, propenoic acid nitrile) is a versatile and reactive monomer (1) which can be polymerized under a wide variety of conditions (2) and copolymerized with an extensive range of other vinyl monomers (3). Since its U.S. commercial debut in 1940, acrylonitrile has been one of the most important building blocks of the polymer industry. This has been demonstrated by the steady production growth of acrylonitrile to more than 4,000,000 t produced worldwide each year. Today, over 90% of the worldwide acrylonitrile production each year uses the Sohio-developed propylene ammoxidation process. Acrylonitrile is among the top 50 chemicals produced in the United States, as a result of the tremendous growth in its use as a starting material for a wide range of chemicals and polymer products. Acrylic fibers remain the largest user of acrylonitrile. Other significant uses are in styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN) and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) resins and nitrile elastomers, and as an intermediate in the production of adiponitrile and acrylamide. 1.0. Introduction 1.1. Overview Acrylonitrile (AN), also known as vinyl cyanide (CH2=CH-C≡N), is a high volume commodity chemical with worldwide production of more than 10 billion pounds per year. Acrylonitrile is used as a monomer in the production of acrylic and modacrylic fibers, which accounts for approximately 50% of its global use. Acrylic fiber is used for clothing, carpeting and other fabrics and in the production of rugged plastics for automotive components, computers, appliances. Acrylic fiber is also used in the manufacture of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-base carbon fibers; which are increasingly important materials for lightweight, high-strength applications in aeronautics, automotive, engineering,

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