The 1 million-ton coal-to-methanol project in Inner Mongolia has passed the pre-commissioning inspection, and the gasification unit has successfully completed its trial operation

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The 1 million-ton coal-to-methanol project in Inner Mongolia passed the pre-commissioning inspection; the gasification unit successfully underwent a simulated operation. Author/Source: Gasification World. Date: 2021-04-01. Clicks: 4. From March 22 to March 26, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Petrochemical Supervision and Inspection Institute conducted a one-week preliminary inspection to assess the conditions prior to starting up the second-phase project of China Coal Ordos Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. (referred to as “China Coal Ordos Energy Chemical”), which involves upgrading the facility to produce 1 million tons of methanol per year from syngas. Upon inspection, it was finally confirmed that the comprehensive conditions of Enerchemical Company’s methanol project meet the regulatory requirements, and trial operation is approved. This marks the completion of a key administrative review step necessary for the company’s methanol project to begin trial operations, and it also lays an important foundation for the subsequent start of trial operations and the acquisition of a trial production license for this project. It is reported that the main scope of this acceptance inspection covers the physical facilities and engineering documents related to the methanol synthesis section, gasification and purification section, air separation section, utility systems section, as well as the long-distance pipelines associated with the methanol project. The purpose of this inspection is to thoroughly assess whether the trial operation of the methanol project meets the requirements regarding design, equipment manufacturing, construction quality, and preparatory work for production. By conducting such inspections, it is possible to ensure better project quality and avoid any potential issues ； Ensure that the main project and its supporting facilities are completed simultaneously, without any unfinished tasks ； Ensure that all preparations for the trial operation and safety measures are in place to prevent any accidents. A successful simulated startup of the phenol-amine recovery unit at the gasification center was carried out on March 25; in this test, production water was used in place of gasification wastewater. Simulating actual driving involves adjusting all the process parameters of the system to values close to those in real operation. Through these simulated runs, construction defects, leaks, and instrument inaccuracies in the system can be identified in advance, allowing for corrective actions to be taken. This prevents leaks of gas and water during actual operation, which could otherwise cause pollution to the surrounding environment and equipment. The official commissioning date for the phenol-amine recovery unit has been set for April 1st. In order to complete the equipment startup task in accordance with the node objectives, the gasification center requires process engineers to master the startup procedures and relevant precautions in advance. Simulations of the startup plan are also carried out to identify various potential risks during the startup process, enabling early prediction and the formulation of appropriate countermeasures in advance. All the data generated during this simulated operation are accurate and reliable, achieving the intended objectives of such simulations. It not only helped the operators become familiar with the system’s operating conditions and enabled them to address any identified issues, thus preparing for actual operation ahead of time, but it also laid a solid foundation for the successful commissioning of the phenol-amine recovery unit from the very beginning.