Latest Progress on Coal Chemicals Project with 5.8 Billion Yuan in Investment

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On August 4, the upper column of the distillation tower in the oxygen separation unit of Yueneng Chemical Company’s ethylene glycol project was successfully hoisted into place. The air separation distillation column consists of an upper column and a lower column; it is the core equipment of an air separation plant, and its main function is to separate components such as oxygen, nitrogen, and argon in air. The equipment is made of a special material, and it has strict requirements regarding temperature, humidity, levelness, welding quality, and cleanliness. To ensure the successful completion of this lifting operation, professionals conducted preliminary planning and discussions with the equipment manufacturer, the lifting company, and the installation team, following the lifting plan meticulously. The task was completed successfully within just over 2 hours. It is reported that this air separation unit is of 60,000 class, and upon completion it will supply oxygen, nitrogen, instrument air, and plant air to the various units of the ethylene glycol project. The first phase of the project to produce 400,000 tons per year of ethylene glycol as part of Shaanxi Yulin Energy Group Co., Ltd.’s 1.2 million tons per year coal-based ethylene glycol production capacity, is a project that marks the commencement of operations at the coal-based clean fuel base and high-end chemical materials base located in the Qingshui Industrial Park of the Yushen Industrial Zone. The total planned area for this facility is 1,711 mu. The project plans to reach the zero-meter mark for the foundation of the main unit on June 15, 2021 ； All installations were completed on June 15, 2022 ； Qualified products were produced on December 15, 2022; the total project duration was 21.5 months, and the total investment in the project remained within 5.8 billion yuan. The first phase of Yulin Energy’s 400,000 tons per year ethylene glycol production facility uses coal blended with other materials as raw material, and employs Corin powder gasification to produce crude syngas. The crude synthesis gas is divided into two streams after entering the shift reactor; one stream of crude synthesis gas, after heat recovery, is sent for low-temperature methanol washing to remove sulfur and CO2 impurities. The purified synthesis gas is then subjected to deep cryogenic separation to produce CO, which is used in the ethylene glycol production facility. The hydrogen-rich gas obtained from deep cryogenic separation is sent to a pressure swing adsorption unit for H2 extraction ； Another stream of crude syngas undergoes two stages of isothermal shift reaction, after which it is sent to a low-temperature methanol wash to remove sulfur and CO2 impurities. It then enters the PSA-H2 unit together with the hydrogen-rich gas obtained through cryogenic separation, to produce H2 for use in the ethylene glycol plant. The project construction includes a gasification unit, a purification unit, an H2/CO separation unit, an ethylene glycol unit, etc. The utility systems and supporting auxiliary facilities include: 3×350t/h high-temperature and high-pressure circulating fluidized bed boilers + 2×30MW back-pressure steam turbine generator sets, air separation units, circulating water stations, desalination stations, storage and transportation facilities, sewage treatment plants, etc. The gasification unit employs the Corin powder gasification technology and includes 2 powder gasifiers ； The ethylene glycol plant utilizes the Zhongke Yuandong ethylene glycol technology; it uses CO as a raw material to synthesize dimethyl oxalate (DMO) through an oxidation-coupling reaction, and dimethyl oxalate is then hydrogenated to produce ethylene glycol.