Progress of 15 coal (syngas)-based ethanol projects in China in 2017 (operational and under construction)

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Progress of 15 coal (syngas)-based ethanol production projects in China in 2017 (already in operation and under construction). On September 13, 2017, 15 departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the \"Implementation Plan for Expanding the Production of Biofuel Ethanol and Promoting the Use of Ethanol-blended Gasoline in Vehicles\", stipulating that by 2020, ethanol-blended gasoline should be widely used across the country, achieving near-full coverage. Based on 2016 data, China’s apparent gasoline consumption that year was 120 million tons, of which approximately 100 million tons was used for vehicles. With a blending ratio of 10%, the demand for fuel ethanol was around 10 million tons. In 2016, China’s production of fuel ethanol was 2.6 million tons, resulting in a deficit of 7.4 million tons in fuel ethanol supply. Furthermore, if vehicle gasoline consumption continues to rise or the proportion of ethanol added increases in the future, the demand gap for ethanol will widen further. At present, most fuel ethanol produced industrially is derived from biomass. However, since 2015, **policies supporting grain-based ethanol have weakened; subsidies for biomass fuel ethanol have been gradually phased out, and consumption taxes have been reinstated year by year**. This has enhanced the competitiveness of ethanol produced from coal to some extent. Coupled with the successful commissioning of industrial demonstration projects for ethanol production from coal (syngas), coal-based fuel ethanol is likely to see opportunities for development. Under the new circumstances, the production of ethanol from coal (syngas) has attracted considerable attention from coal chemical enterprises. According to YZ Consulting’s “China Coal-to-Ethanol Annual Report 2017,” there are various routes available for converting coal into ethanol: 1. Microbial fermentation using coal-based syngas; 2. Carbonylation of dimethyl ether to produce methyl acetate, followed by hydrogenation of methyl acetate to yield ethanol; 3. Direct hydrogenation of acetic acid; 4. Hydrogenation of acetic esters; 5. Direct catalytic synthesis of ethanol from syngas. http://image.izacholsm.com/fkImages/18892/image/1(13).png The report also shows that as of October 2017, seven companies—Sellens, Tangshan Zhongrong Technology, Kailing Chemical, Thor Chemical Group, Henan Shunda Chemical, Tangshan Zhongrong Technology, and Yanchang Xinghua—had already established industrial demonstration projects for producing ethanol using coal (syngas) or coke oven gas as raw materials. Additionally, eight more projects were in the preliminary stages or under planning. http://image.izacholsm.com/fkImages/18892/image/2(10).png Progress of coal (syngas)-based ethanol production projects planned in China in 2017: 1. The 45,000 tons per year project for producing fuel ethanol through biological fermentation of gas from the steel industry, carried out by Hebei Shoulang New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., is located within the premises of Shougang Jingtang Steel Joint Co., Ltd. in the Caofeidian Industrial Zone. This project was approved for construction by the Hebei Provincial Development and Reform Commission in March 2016, and it is currently in the preliminary stages. 2. Henan Shunda Chemical has built a new project for the direct hydrogenation of acetic acid to produce ethanol, with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons. This project is located within the premises of Henan Shunda Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. in the industrial cluster area of Zhumadian City. The second environmental impact assessment for this project was made public in September 2017. 3. The 1 million tons per year ethanol production project of Puyang Zhonghong New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. uses coke and acetic acid as raw materials; hydrogen is produced through the gasification of coke, while ethanol is manufactured via the hydrogenation of acetic acid. The production capacity is 1 million tons per year of ethanol, with the first phase enabling production of 400,000 tons per year. The first environmental impact assessment for this project was made public in December 2016. 4. The 100,000 tons per year acetic acid hydrogenation to ethanol project at Yima Gasification Plant of Henan Gas Group utilizes the process technology developed by Shanxi Coal Chemistry Research Institute; this project is currently in the preliminary stage. 5. Tangshan Zhongrong Technology Co., Ltd.’s project for producing 300,000 tons per year of anhydrous ethanol utilizes acetic acid and coke oven gas as raw materials to manufacture ethanol. The first phase of this project, capable of producing 100,000 tons per year of anhydrous ethanol, came online in June 2017; the second phase, with a production capacity of 200,000 tons per year, is under planning. 6. The 100,000 tons per year acetic acid to ethanol project by Lunan Chemical of Yuncheng Mining is under planning. 7. The 200,000 tons per year project for producing ethanol via acetic acid hydrogenation at Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yulin Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. is under planning. 8. Shaanxi Yanchang Xinghua Company has planned a new project to produce ethanol by acetylation and hydrogenation of 500,000 tons per year of syngas; previously, its 100,000 tons per year syngas-to-ethanol project was successfully put into operation in July 2017. Compared with traditional food-based fuel ethanol, ethanol produced from coal (syngas) has a significant cost advantage. What are the technical characteristics and development prospects of the five existing major technology routes for producing ethanol from coal (syngas)? http://image.izacholsm.com/fkImages/18892/image/CSA%e5%b9%bf%e5%91%8a-600.jpg The 2017 Forum on Coal-based Oil and Gas and Advanced Coal Chemical Engineering Technologies will be held in Zhuhai on December 20th. The conference will discuss the current status and production capacity prospects of coal-to-oil and coal-to-gas projects, the development of high-value-added products derived from coal-to-oil and coal chemical processes, advanced coal gasification, coal pyrolysis, and coal-to-acetylene technologies, innovative downstream products using syngas oxalates, advanced technologies for producing downstream products from syngas – such as ethanol, methanol, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, and olefins produced in a single step from syngas – as well as the high-value utilization of carbon dioxide through methane reforming, hydrogenation to produce methanol, and hydrogenation to produce gasoline. It will also cover technologies for producing high-value fine chemicals from coal via methanol. 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