The “Thirteen Bodyguards” from the 1970s (current condition of the installation)

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In August 2017, the ammonia/sulfuric acid and urea production facilities of Cangzhou Dahua Co., Ltd. were shut down completely. Before the shutdown, the urea production capacity of Cangzhou Dahuahua’s plant was 550,000 tons. The Liaohe Fertilizer plant’s 300,000 tons per year ammonia synthesis and 480,000 tons per year urea production facilities were shut down in 2016. After the expansion and renovation of Daqing Petrochemical’s 300,000-ton synthetic ammonia/480,000-ton urea plant in 2005, its urea production capacity was increased to 2,300 tons per day. The facility is shut down in winter. Jinling Petrochemical’s 300,000-ton synthetic ammonia/520,000-ton urea production facility was relocated to Luntai, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, to Xinjiang Tianyun Chemical Co., Ltd., where technical upgrades were carried out on the facility; its capacity remained unchanged, and natural gas is used as the raw material. Commissioned in 2013. Currently, in winter, due to natural gas shortages, it is generally shut down. In 2006, the fertilizer plant of Sinopec Anqing Branch adopted Shell’s technology to switch from oil to coal as a fuel source. The urea plant equipment was transferred in 2016. The ammonia synthesis plant is operating normally. The Second Fertilizer Plant of the Qilu Branch produces 300,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 480,000 tons of urea. In 2001, the urea plant was shut down, and the ammonia synthesis plant was converted into a hydrogen production plant to supply hydrogen to the refinery. The 1,100 tons/day ammonia synthesis plant at Hubei Fertilizer adopted Shell’s powder coal gasification technology for the conversion from oil to coal as a fuel source, and it came online in 2006. In 2014, some of the syngas from Shell’s gasification unit was used to produce 200,000 tons of ethylene glycol employing Sinopec’s ethylene glycol technology. In this way, both synthetic ammonia and ethylene glycol are produced. In 2014, Hubei Fertilizer withdrew from its urea business. CNPC Balin Branch carried out a coal-to-oil conversion project in 2006. After upgrading the existing synthesis circuit, a production capacity of 1,320 tons of synthetic ammonia per day was achieved. The urea plant was shut down in 2017. After the synthesis ammonia and urea production unit at Guangzhou Fertilizer Factory was shut down, it was donated to Xinjiang Aksu Huajin Fertilizer Co., Ltd. Aksu Huajin utilized the first and second stages of natural gas conversion units that were upgraded as part of the technological reforms at Liaohe Fertilizer Plant of Huajin Chemical Group to build a facility in Kuqa County, Xinjiang, capable of producing 300,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 520,000 tons of urea per year; this facility came online in 2006. After implementing technical upgrades to increase production by 50%, the urea output rose to 2,610 tons per day. Commissioned in 2015. Aksu Huajin Fertilizer is the largest fertilizer plant in southern Xinjiang. It is working well currently. After several renovations to its large fertilizer production facility, Chuanhua’s ammonia synthesis capacity is 1,200 tons per day. The urea production capacity reaches 720,000 tons. The production of ammonia and urea came to a complete halt in 2014. After the expansion of its ammonia synthesis capacity, Lutianhua Company can now produce 1,500 tons per day. The urea production capacity is 2,000 tons per day. Currently, the device is still operating. In 2019, the urea production plant of Lutianhua also set a record by operating for 100 days in a continuous period. Chitianhua ceased production of 300,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 500,000 tons of urea in November 2015. In March 2019, the demolition of the urea and synthetic ammonia plants was announced. After renovation, Yuntianhua is capable of producing 500,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 800,000 tons of urea per year. On June 5, 2020, the ammonia synthesis unit at Yuntianhua’s Shuifu facility achieved 500 days of safe, stable, and continuous operation.