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The nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries have identified key areas for innovative development. Author/Source: Sinochem News. Date: August 7, 2020. Page views: 4. On August 6, the 2020 China Nitrogen Fertilizer and Methanol Technology Conference was held in Weifang, Shandong Province. The conference outlined six key areas for technological innovation in the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries going forward. Gu Zongqin, Chairman of the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, pointed out that in the post-pandemic era, the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries should always aim for high-quality development. They should take technological innovation and market orientation as their fundamental driving forces, while vigorously promoting the spirit of fighting the pandemic. “We must foster new opportunities amid crises and create new prospects amidst changing circumstances.” Gu Zongqin emphasized that over the past half century, China’s nitrogen fertilizer industry has grown alongside the People’s Republic of China, undergoing tremendous changes and achieving a series of accomplishments. While recognizing these achievements, we must also be fully aware of the difficulties and challenges we face at present; numerous factors such as mounting downward pressure on the economy and the profound impacts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overlooked. Gu Zongqin pointed out that currently, there are six main aspects focusing on and guiding the innovative development of the entire industry. First, we must make great efforts to adjust the industrial structure. In 2019, the utilization rates of effective production capacity for urea and methanol in China were both above 82%, which helped to alleviate the situation of overcapacity. However, around 4 million tons of urea production capacity and 5.5 million tons of methanol production capacity remained idle for extended periods, indicating that there is still a long way to go in reducing excess capacity in this industry. Promoting the orderly withdrawal of underutilized production capacity, as well as advancing the upgrading and transformation of existing capacity and improving the quality of new capacity, has become one of the key tasks for the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries to achieve high-quality development. The upgrading and optimization of the industrial structure require not only the expansion and transformation of traditional nitrogen-based fertilizer products – such as the active development of value-added fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and other new types of fertilizers – but also efforts to break through key core technologies. It is necessary to seek vertical links and horizontal integration with other industries in the supply chain, in order to continuously enhance a company’s profitability and resilience to risks. It is understood that at present, synthetic ammonia and methanol account for over 80% of the downstream consumption of syngas in China. The nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries have clear advantages in the utilization of syngas; enterprises that meet the requirements are encouraged to make full use of these advantages, develop downstream industries based on market demands, and enhance their flexibility in making adjustments and switches. While expanding the industrial chain, attention should also be paid to its horizontal integration. Enterprises are encouraged to make full use of their production resources and to venture into fields such as environmental protection, new energy, fine chemicals, biological products, and livelihood projects, pursuing a path of product diversification in order to enhance their ability to cope with market risks. Second, accelerate the development of independent innovation capabilities. It is reported that in 2019, China’s investment in research and development exceeded 2 trillion yuan, accounting for 2.19% of its GDP. The contribution of scientific and technological progress reached 59.5%, and China’s innovation index ranked 14th in the world (according to assessments by the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO), indicating a significant improvement in its overall innovation capacity. Technological innovation serves as a “catalyst” for the high-quality development of the industry. As a major producer and consumer of nitrogen fertilizers and methanol, improving the innovation system, reforming innovation mechanisms, and cultivating innovative talents are crucial steps toward becoming a leading country in these fields. At the current stage, the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries still face numerous challenges in terms of the larger scale, higher efficiency, greener practices, and greater intelligence of their technologies and equipment, and breakthroughs are urgently needed. For example, the ultra-large pulverized coal gasifier project with a capacity of 3,500 tons per unit, capable of producing 800,000 tons of synthetic ammonia per year, has not yet been put into operation; the technology for large-scale gasifiers with a daily coal input of 3,000 tons and full heat recovery (the fourth-generation Jinhua furnace 4.0) is still under development. Technological innovation is the key to driving high-quality development in the industry. The entire sector must accelerate the establishment of a technological innovation framework, increase efforts in talent development, clarify the priorities and directions for innovation, address weaknesses, tap into potential, and strengthen existing advantages. It is also necessary to seek collaborative and integrated development with other industries, seize the opportunities presented by digital transformation, and enhance core competitiveness. Third, establish and improve the system of group standards. Group standards, together with standards formulated under the leadership of **standards, industry standards, etc.,**, constitute the **standard system**. “Since the 13th Five-Year Plan, a series of policies and regulations have been issued to further standardize the formulation, supervision, management, and role of group standards. It is understood that as of June 2020, a total of 3,449 social organizations were registered on the group standard information platform, with 15,355 group standards published in total. Group standards fully serve as industry benchmarks; they are able to reflect the development characteristics of the industry in a timely and accurate manner, and hold strategic significance for promoting technological innovation within the industry and driving industrial upgrading. At the current stage, compared with developed countries in Europe and the United States, China’s group standards still need improvement in terms of organization for formulation and revision, implementation, and supervision. Actively drawing on successful foreign experiences, improving the training of innovative talents, fostering enterprises that lead in standard-setting, exploring the development of standards urgently needed by the industry, and addressing the shortcomings in standardization within industrial development are the key priorities for the strategic development of standardization in the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries at this stage. As one of the key priorities of the Nitrogen Fertilizer Association, the association has done a lot of work on group standards since last year. The first batch of group standard projects for 2020 are currently in progress; it is hoped that all relevant parties will actively participate in the development and revision of these group standards to contribute to the standardization of the industry. Fourthly, efforts should be made to further strengthen safety and environmental protection measures. Green production and intrinsically safe design are important elements in promoting the high-quality development of the industry. “Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries have thoroughly implemented green development strategies, actively carrying out pollution control and mitigation measures such as emission reduction at the source, proactive treatment, and comprehensive utilization, thereby steadily improving the level of green development in these industries. “During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, an upgraded campaign against pollution will be launched, with a focus on precise, scientific, and law-based pollution control. The successive implementation of regulations and standards such as the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste (Revised in 2020), the Work Plan for Piloting the Development of \"Waste-Free Cities\", and the Control Standards for Unorganized Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (GB 37822-2019) has set higher requirements for green production in this industry. At present, the effective treatment of phenol-cyanide-containing waste gases in the circulating cooling water system for fixed-bed batch gasification, as well as ammonia emissions from urea granulation towers, has become the two most important factors restricting green production in this industry; we must pay close attention to these issues. Environmental protection and safety have always been two major challenges for chemical enterprises; at present, the overall level of safety in production in China is still in a phase of gradual improvement. From April this year to December 2022, the country carried out a three-year action plan for special rectification of work safety, with chemical enterprises being among the key targets for such rectification. The entire industry is required to actively implement work safety responsibility systems, establish and improve work safety norms and standard systems, and enhance the professional skills of employees, in order to fundamentally raise the overall work safety standards across the industry and provide a safe environment for the high-quality development of the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries. Fifth, strive to promote the integrated development of industries and information technology. The experience gained from the phased successes in COVID-19 prevention and control has shown us the important role of information and digital technologies in production and daily life. According to incomplete statistics, since 2015, ministries and commissions such as the State Council and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology have successively issued over 20 relevant policies and guidelines to guide and regulate the development of the industrial Internet. As a product of the deep integration between next-generation information technologies and the manufacturing industry, “Internet + Manufacturing” and “5G + Industrial Internet” are bound to become major trends in future development. Entering a new phase of transformation and upgrading, the rapid development of the industrial Internet will have a comprehensive and profound impact on chemical enterprises that produce nitrogen fertilizers, methanol, and other products, bringing new opportunities and impetus for the green and high-quality development of this industry. At the current stage, the industrial Internet still needs further improvement and strengthening in areas such as infrastructure construction, security measures, and standard development. It will take time to determine how to achieve \"interconnection of all things\" and to further promote the deep integration of Internet of Things, big data, and 5G technologies with various aspects such as production, transportation, and management. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is carrying out \"5G+industrial internet\" pilot projects at Sinopec Hainan Gas Head Large-scale Fertilizer and Xinlianxin Coal Head. Once these projects are successful, the approach will be rolled out across the entire industry. Sixth, actively provide good services to industry associations. The China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association has always adhered to the principle of serving the industry, focusing on domestic and international developments in this sector from various perspectives, providing comprehensive services, and acting as a \"bridge\" between enterprises and **. In the future, efforts will continue to be made to enhance the atmosphere and level of innovation in this industry. Work will continue on recognizing, promoting, and recommending advanced and applicable technologies; platforms will be established for exchanging experiences related to technological upgrades, development, and innovative solutions. Technical consulting services such as technology appraisal, performance evaluation, project assessment, and design review will also be provided. Active cooperation will be maintained with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment to carry out the classification of coal-based nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers during the 2020–2021 period when severe air pollution occurs. Special research projects, standard formulation/revision, and industrial policy studies will also be completed. Additionally, efforts will be made to develop plans for the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.