Henan Zhonghe Weirun Energy’s 200,000-ton sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project was signed and will be implemented in Mengzhou

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On June 6, the 200,000-ton sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project of Henan Zhonghe Weirun Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (abbreviated as Zhonghe Weirun Energy) was signed and established in the Mengzhou High-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Zhou Xinqiang, director of the Management Committee of Mengzhou High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, said at the signing ceremony that Mengzhou has developed four major industrial clusters: equipment manufacturing, leather manufacturing, green chemicals, and electronic information. The signing of the project to produce 200,000 tons of SAF per year at Zhonghe Weirun Energy represents a strong recognition of Mengzhou’s industrial foundation. It is an important milestone in the development of Mengzhou’s industry, and it also constitutes a key step in achieving the \"dual carbon\" goals and advancing green transformation. Mengzhou will establish a dedicated task force to oversee the process throughout, providing \"one-stop\" services in areas such as land allocation, approvals, and policies, to ensure that the project starts construction, goes into operation, and begins to yield results as soon as possible. According to Xie Wei, chairman of Zhonghe Weirun Energy, the company’s project with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of SAF uses industrial-grade mixed oils (UCO), palm acidified oil, cottonseed acidified oil, and processed animal and plant waste oils as raw materials. Through processes such as hydrogenation refining, hydrogenation modification, and distillation separation, sustainable aviation fuel is produced, with light biodiesel and hydrocarbon-based biodiesel as by-products. The total investment for this project is 2 billion yuan, with a planned land area of around 200 mu. The construction period will be 18 months, and completion and operation are expected by December 2026. According to Xie Wei, the advantage of this technology lies in its use of a new type of fluidized-bed hydrogenation technique, which overcomes the limitations of conventional fixed-bed hydrogenation techniques when processing biomass oils with high oxygen content. This technology boasts advantages such as a wide range of applicable raw materials, a long service life for the catalyst, high reaction conversion rates, efficient utilization of thermal energy, and low investment costs. In terms of energy consumption for the project, compared to biomass energy produced from oils such as palm oil, soybean oil, and canola oil, using waste gutter oil as a raw material for biomass energy production allows for a doubling of the calculated reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. Taking the biodiesel exported from our country to Europe as an example, according to industry test data, 1 ton of biodiesel can result in a carbon reduction of 2.83 tons. Xie Wei said that in order to make full use of energy and reduce consumption, this project has adopted a variety of practical energy-saving measures, with the goal of creating China’s first fully green, zero-carbon SAF industrial park.