【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Equipment】The 3171-2026 framework has established a complete technology pathway for ethanol production from coal; a pilot-scale plant capable of producing 10,000 tons per year of methyl acetate through dimethyl ether carbonylation has completed its performance tests

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Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical technology and equipment sector; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Recently, good news came from the Southwest Chemical Research and Design Institute: the pilot-scale production facility for the synthesis of methyl acetate via dimethyl ether carbonylation, with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons, which was developed jointly by this institute and Shaanxi Weihua Group, successfully passed the 72-hour on-site assessment organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, with all performance indicators meeting the required standards. This pilot project is planned and constructed based on Weihua Group’s existing production infrastructure, making full use of the plant’s capacity and material resources. Using the excess syngas from the methanol washing process in the second-phase expansion of the dimethyl methyl ether production facility, as well as the products produced by the two existing 50,000-ton/year dimethyl ether plants, as raw materials, the project includes units for raw material preprocessing, synthesis, and distillation, thereby establishing a pilot production line for methyl acetate on a scale of 10,000 tons per year. The project began formal trial operation with material feeding on May 28, 2025, and it managed to complete the entire production process in just over ten days, on June 8; the initial trial operation phase progressed smoothly. Verified through long-term continuous operation, the results of this 72-hour on-site assessment were outstanding. The expert group’s on-site assessment showed that the entire system operated stably, with an excellent level of automated control, and remained in full production capacity throughout the process ； The methyl acetate product produced has a high purity and stable quality, with various quality indicators significantly exceeding the industry standards. At the same time, the project strictly adheres to the requirements regarding safety production, ecological protection, and occupational health management; during the assessment period, there were zero safety incidents, and the emission levels of waste gas and wastewater met all environmental protection standards, with all occupational health parameters in the work areas also being within acceptable limits. Furthermore, the core catalyst exhibits good activity and stability, and the entire process is mature and reliable, providing solid foundations for large-scale industrial implementation and scale-up applications; it thus holds great potential for market development. As an important chemical intermediate, methyl acetate is a key intermediate in the production of ethanol via the hydrogenation of dimethyl ether. The successful implementation of this pilot project has effectively addressed the shortcomings in terms of autonomous technology for the entire process from syngas to dimethyl ether, methyl acetate, and ethanol, thereby establishing a complete technology pathway for producing ethanol from coal. This process route overcomes the material limitations associated with traditional grain fermentation for ethanol production; it not only expands the range of modern coal chemical products but also holds significant practical importance for ensuring **energy security and food security**.