Review of the process package for the gasification unit in Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd.’s 2.4 million tons per year project for producing high-quality fiber-grade ethylene glycol from coal

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From April 9 to 11, 20026, a review meeting for the process package of Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd.’s 2.4 million tons per year coal-based ethylene glycol project for high-quality fibers was successfully held at Guizhou Aerospace Maiwei Technology Co., Ltd. The project utilizes 5 aerospace Maiwei 3,500-ton class semi-waste boiler gasification units, and the participants agreed that the design of the process package is comprehensive, the process technology is advanced, and the process flow is reasonable and reliable. The successful completion of the gasification unit process package review meeting has laid a solid foundation for the subsequent engineering design of the project. On December 16, 2025, the Department of Ecology and Environment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region planned to publish a notice regarding its decision to approve the environmental impact assessment document for Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd.’s project for producing 2.4 million tons per year of high-quality ethylene glycol from coal. Project Name: Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd.’s 2.4 million tons per year coal-based ethylene glycol project for high-quality fibers
Location: The project is situated in the Coal-Based New Materials Circular Industry Park of Turpan Economic Development Zone; the coordinates of the site’s center are 89°5’8.868” east longitude and 42°39’58.415” north latitude.
Developer: Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd.
Project Overview: This is a new construction project aimed at producing 2.4 million tons per year of polyester-grade ethylene glycol. As by-products, the project will generate 52,120 tons of ethanol, 76,000 tons of dimethyl carbonate, 32,485 tons of sulfur, 28,404 tons of liquid ammonia, and 24,500 tons of nitric acid (50% wt). The main components of the project include: (1) The core facilities consist of 10 units, such as a gasification unit, a shift unit, a low-temperature methanol washing unit, a sulfur recovery unit, a hydrogen and carbon monoxide separation unit, a dimethyl oxalate unit, an ethylene glycol unit, an ammonia synthesis unit, a nitric acid unit, and an air separation unit. (2) Auxiliary engineering includes water supply, circulating water stations, drainage and recycled water systems, desalination stations, power supply, heating, air compression stations, fire protection, maintenance, flare systems, heating and ventilation, office and living facilities, a central laboratory, as well as telecommunications facilities. (3) Storage and transportation engineering mainly includes the storage and transportation of solid materials, the storage and transportation of liquid materials, coal storage and transportation, as well as internal roads. (4) Environmental protection projects include supporting measures for air pollution control, water pollution control, noise control, environmental risk prevention, as well as facilities for the temporary storage of solid waste. The project covers an area of 253.75 hectares, with a total investment of 2,570,180.85 million yuan, of which 1,550,000 million yuan is allocated to environmental protection measures, accounting for 6.03% of the total investment. The project utilizes Pu Jing Chemical’s complete ethylene glycol process technology and proprietary catalysts, with China Chengda responsible for the engineering design. Hengyi Energy Technology’s 2.4 million tons per year production facility for high-quality fiber-grade ethylene glycol using coal in Turpan uses lignite from the Aidinghu mining area as raw material. Through gasification, syngas is produced; this syngas is then transformed and purified to separate carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Carbon monoxide, along with externally purchased methanol and domestically produced nitric acid, is used to produce dimethyl oxalate, which is subsequently combined with hydrogen to yield ethylene glycol. The project is equipped with a synthetic ammonia plant, and the synthetic ammonia produced serves as raw material for the nitric acid plant. The overall process flow: Hengyi Energy Technology’s 2.4 million tons per year production facility for high-quality fiber-grade ethylene glycol from coal in Turpan uses lignite from the Aiding Lake mining area as raw material. Through gasification, syngas is produced; part of this syngas undergoes heat recovery before entering a low-temperature methanol washing unit to remove sulfur and carbon dioxide therefrom. Subsequently, deep cryogenic separation is carried out to separate hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with the carbon monoxide obtained being sent to the DMO unit as feed gas. Another portion of the syngas undergoes isothermal shift to adjust the hydrogen-to-carbon ratio, and after methanol washing, most of it is sent to the 1# PSA pressure swing adsorption unit for hydrogen extraction. Hydrogen and dimethyl oxalate produced by the DMO unit are used to produce ethylene glycol. Another small portion is sent to 2#PSA to produce hydrogen, which is then fed to the ammonia synthesis unit. Liquid ammonia is sent to downstream facilities to produce nitric acid. Vaporization: 4 sets of 3,000 t/d Spaceway furnaces, 4 in operation with 1 as standby. Transformation: Set up a 2-series transformation system and a 2-series untransformed system. Purification: Series 2. Dalian University of Technology Low-temperature Methanol Wash. Sulfur recovery: Series 2. Domestic third-stage conventional Claus sulfur recovery technology. H2/CO separation: Series 4. Including cryogenic and PSA hydrogen extraction. Dimethyl oxalate: Series 4. Ethylene glycol: Series 4. The production capacity for a single series is 600,000 tons. Synthetic ammonia: single train. 40,000 tons per year. Nitric acid: single series. Single compression method. 30,000 tons per year. Air separation: Series 3. One set of oxygen at 105,000 m3/h. This project is currently the largest coal-based ethylene glycol project in the world. It is also the second large-scale coal-based ethylene glycol project undertaken by Shanghai Pujing Chemical Technology Co., Ltd. for a leading polyester company, following the 1.2 million tons per year (600,000 tons per year in the first phase) ethylene glycol project developed by Zhejiang Zhengkai Group and Sichuan Zhengdakai New Materials Co., Ltd. Hengyi Energy Technology (Turpan) Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhejiang Hengyi Group Co., Ltd. Hengyi Group is one of the largest fiber manufacturing companies in the world, with its headquarters located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. It currently has a production capacity of 8 million tons of refining products, 23.2 million tons of PTA, 13.5 million tons of polyester, 500,000 tons of CPL, and 520,000 tons of nylon. Hengyi’s investment in coal-based ethylene glycol production in Xinjiang not only helps to address the weaknesses in the upstream segment of the polyester industry chain and ensure self-sufficiency in raw materials, but also enables it to overcome the impact of fluctuations in crude oil prices through optimized raw material sourcing. This approach reduces costs across the entire industry chain and enhances its profitability resilience.