Acrylonitrile Market - Forecasts from 2025 to 2030

Acrylonitrile Market Size:

The Acrylonitrile Market is expected to grow from USD 13.343 billion in 2025 to USD 16.133 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 3.87%.

Acrylonitrile (CH2CHCN) is a colorless volatile organic liquid that may appear yellow due to impurities in commercial samples. The compound exhibits a characteristic strong garlic or onion odor and features a molecular structure comprising a vinyl group coupled to a nitrile. This chemical intermediate serves as a critical building block in manufacturing diverse compounds including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylic fibers, acrylamide, nitrile rubber, adiponitrile, and carbon fibers.

Acrylonitrile and its derivatives demonstrate widespread utilization across automotive and construction sectors due to their excellent properties including chemical and thermal stability, high mechanical strength, and exceptional durability. Acrylic fibers derived from acrylonitrile find extensive applications in textile and packaging industries, contributing to the compound's broad market appeal.

Market Growth Drivers

Expanding Plastics Demand Across End-Use Industries

The primary market driver for acrylonitrile stems from growing plastic applications across various end-use industries. Acrylonitrile serves as a fundamental component in manufacturing critical plastic materials including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile styrene acrylate, and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers. These engineering plastics demonstrate exceptional performance characteristics that drive substantial demand from automotive, construction, and other industrial sectors.

According to Plastics Europe data, global plastics production has approached 370 million tonnes, with European production exceeding 58 million tonnes. The European plastics industry ranks seventh in terms of industrial value-added contribution within the region. This substantial production volume and continued growth trajectory across various end-use sectors directly correlates with increased acrylonitrile demand, as these plastics require acrylonitrile as a key raw material component.

The automotive industry particularly drives demand for ABS plastics due to their superior impact resistance, dimensional stability, and processability characteristics. Construction applications utilize these materials for their weather resistance, durability, and aesthetic properties. Consumer electronics, appliances, and packaging applications further expand market demand through their requirements for lightweight, durable plastic components.

Market Applications and Derivatives

Acrylonitrile serves multiple industrial applications beyond traditional plastics manufacturing. The compound is essential in producing acrylic and modacrylic fibers used extensively in textile applications. These synthetic fibers offer advantages including moisture resistance, chemical stability, and colorfastness, making them valuable for clothing, carpeting, and industrial textile applications.

Additional applications include adiponitrile production for nylon manufacturing, acrylamide synthesis for various industrial processes, nitrile rubber production for automotive and industrial applications, and barrier resin manufacturing for packaging applications. Carbon fiber production represents another growing application area where acrylonitrile serves as a precursor material, supporting aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy industries.

Market Restraints

Toxicity and Safety Concerns

Acrylonitrile's inherent toxicity represents the primary market restraint limiting its broader adoption and handling. The compound poses significant health and safety risks through multiple exposure pathways including inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact. Acute or short-term exposure to acrylonitrile has been documented to cause mucous membrane irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea among industrial workers.

The chemical's highly combustible nature presents additional safety challenges, as it can emit deadly fumes including nitrogen oxide and hydrogen cyanide during combustion or thermal decomposition. These safety characteristics necessitate stringent handling protocols, specialized storage facilities, and comprehensive worker protection measures, increasing operational costs and complexity for manufacturers and end-users.

Regulatory oversight continues intensifying due to health and environmental concerns, potentially impacting production, transportation, and usage patterns. Occupational safety standards require extensive ventilation systems, personal protective equipment, and exposure monitoring programs, adding to operational expenses and limiting market accessibility for smaller operations.

Market Outlook

The acrylonitrile market faces a complex dynamic between growing demand from expanding plastic applications and persistent safety and regulatory challenges. The continued growth of automotive production, construction activities, and consumer electronics manufacturing supports sustained demand for acrylonitrile-based plastics and derivatives.

However, increasing environmental regulations and workplace safety requirements may influence market development patterns. Manufacturers are investing in safer production processes, improved handling systems, and alternative chemical pathways to address these concerns while maintaining market growth.

The market's future trajectory depends on balancing industrial demand growth with evolving regulatory requirements and safety standards. Technological advances in production processes and safety systems may help address current limitations while supporting continued market expansion across key end-use industries.

Innovation in recycling technologies and circular economy approaches may create additional opportunities for acrylonitrile-based materials, particularly in automotive and construction applications where material recovery and reuse are becoming increasingly important considerations for manufacturers and end-users.

Key Benefits of this Report:

• Insightful Analysis: Gain detailed market insights covering major as well as emerging geographical regions, focusing on customer segments, government policies and socio-economic factors, consumer preferences, industry verticals, and other sub-segments.
• Competitive Landscape: Understand the strategic maneuvers employed by key players globally to understand possible market penetration with the correct strategy.
• Market Drivers & Future Trends: Explore the dynamic factors and pivotal market trends and how they will shape future market developments.
• Actionable Recommendations: Utilize the insights to exercise strategic decisions to uncover new business streams and revenues in a dynamic environment.
• Caters to a Wide Audience: Beneficial and cost-effective for startups, research institutions, consultants, SMEs, and large enterprises.

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Industry and Market Insights, Opportunity Assessment, Product Demand Forecasting, Market Entry Strategy, Geographical Expansion, Capital Investment Decisions, Regulatory Framework & Implications, New Product Development, Competitive Intelligence

Report Coverage:

• Historical data from 2022 to 2024 & forecast data from 2025 to 2030
• Growth Opportunities, Challenges, Supply Chain Outlook, Regulatory Framework, and Trend Analysis
• Competitive Positioning, Strategies, and Market Share Analysis
• Revenue Growth and Forecast Assessment of segments and regions including countries
• Company Profiling (Strategies, Products, Financial Information, and Key Developments among others.

Acrylonitrile Market Segments:

By Application

• Synthetic fibres
• Plastics
• Carbon Fibres
• Resins and Elastomers

By Industry Vertical

• Aerospace and Defense
• Automotive
• Construction
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• USA
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Others
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• United Kingdom
• Spain
• Others
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Others
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• Others