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Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html *****************According to information from the Southwest Research Institute, from May 28th to 31st, 2026, the pilot-scale production facility for the synthesis of methyl acetate through the carbonylation of dimethyl ether, developed in collaboration between the Southwest Research Institute and Shaanxi Weihua Group, successfully passed a 72-hour on-site assessment conducted by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The pilot project for producing methyl acetate from Weihe utilizes technology from the Southwest Institute of Chemical Engineering. It makes use of the syngas surplus from the methanol washing process in the second-phase expansion project for dimethyl ether production, as well as dimethyl ether produced by the existing 2×50,000 tons/year dimethyl ether plant, as raw materials to build a pilot plant capable of producing 10,000 tons/year of methyl acetate through the carbonylation of dimethyl ether. Pilot scale testing mainly includes raw material pretreatment and the distillation unit for methyl acetate synthesis. The evaluation committee deemed that the pilot plant operates stably, features a high level of automation, and achieves full capacity ； Methyl acetate has good product quality and stable performance ； The facility operates without any safety incidents, meets environmental emission standards, and adheres to occupational health limits; the catalyst performs stably, the process technology has the foundation for large-scale industrial application, and it holds broad prospects for use. The pilot plant began trial operation with feed on May 28, 2025, and the entire process was successfully completed in one go on June 8. To date, the pilot plant has achieved stable full-load operation over long periods in a safe and environmentally friendly manner, producing methyl acetate whose product quality is far superior to that of the industry standard. Methyl acetate is an intermediate obtained by hydrogenating dimethyl ether with methyl acetate to produce ethanol; this pilot project completes the self-sufficient technology chain of \"syngas → dimethyl ether → methyl acetate → ethanol\", reducing reliance on the grain fermentation method and contributing to energy and food security.