Yihua in Hubei plans to invest a total of 4.8 billion yuan in building an integrated carbonate solvent project

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This post was last edited by HaiChuanLaoYu on 2026-4-2 08:46. Hubei Yihua plans to acquire new land in Area B of the Yaojiagang Chemical Park in Yichang City to build production facilities capable of producing 200,000 tons of ethanol, 300,000 tons of dimethyl carbonate, 100,000 tons of ethyl carbonate/diethyl carbonate, and 30,000 tons of ethylamine per year. These facilities will be accompanied by equipment for H2/CO separation as well as other auxiliary production systems. The main products are dimethyl carbonate, ethanol, methyl ethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, and ethylamine. Process technology: Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) is produced by the low-pressure gas-phase oxidation carbonylation of methanol. Dimethyl carbonate was synthesized from CO and methanol via a low-pressure one-step process using a fixed-bed catalyst. The catalyst is a solid PdCl2 catalyst. The reaction temperature is 110–130°C, and the pressure is 0.2–0.5 MPa. The design capacity is 300,000 tons per year of electronic-grade dimethyl carbonate (DMC). Ethyl methyl carbonate/diethyl carbonate (EMC/DEC) are produced by transesterification of dimethyl carbonate and ethanol to yield diethyl carbonate and ethyl methyl carbonate. A heterogeneous process using acid-base solid catalysts is employed, with the reaction pressure at atmospheric pressure and the reaction temperature ranging from 60 to 110°C. This reaction is a second-order reversible transesterification reaction that occurs in two steps: the first step involves the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate with ethanol to produce methyl ethyl carbonate and methanol, while the second step involves the transesterification of methyl ethyl carbonate with ethanol to produce diethyl carbonate and methanol. The design capacity is 16,700 tons per year for electronic-grade diethyl carbonate (DEC) and 83,300 tons per year for electronic-grade ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC). Ethanol is produced by the hydrogenation of dimethyl ether. The DMTE technology consists of units for dimethyl ether synthesis, carbonylation, hydrogenation, and product separation. It is designed to produce 200,000 tons of ethanol per year. Ethylamine is produced from ethanol and ammonia through an amination reaction to yield monoethylamine and triethylamine. In the ethanol-catalyzed amination system, monoethylamine and triethylamine are obtained in the same setup and under the same reaction mechanism by adjusting the raw material ratios and process parameters. The design capacity is 7,500 tons per year for monoethylamine and 22,500 tons per year for triethylamine. For CO/H2 separation, deep cryogenic separation and pressure swing adsorption (PSA) are used to separate CO and hydrogen from syngas, which are then used as raw materials for other devices. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2026. The construction period is 24 months, with completion and commissioning expected in May 2028. The total investment for the project is 4,887.71 million yuan. The Yichang Ecology and Environment Bureau announced the project in March 2026.