Xinjiang Yuanrui Shenghu Energy Co., Ltd. 1.2 million tons/year lignite upgrading and modification technology improvement project

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Recently, MCC Coking & Refractory officially signed the design contract for the \"1.2 million tons per year lignite upgrading and modification technology improvement project\" of Xinjiang Yuanrui Shenghu Energy Co., Ltd. The project utilizes the externally heated low-rank tail coal pyrolysis furnace technology (referred to as the “JNSH furnace”), which was jointly developed by MCC Coking & Refractory and Yuanrui Shenghu and features independent intellectual property rights. This technology is at the leading level in the domestic industry, paving the way for an innovative industrial approach to the clean and efficient utilization of low-grade coal in China. Overcoming technical challenges to break through bottlenecks and lead the way in low-grade coal utilization: For a long time, pulverized coal and fine coal within low-grade coal have faced significant problems such as low utilization rates and low added value. The JNSH furnace technology addresses the key pain points in this industry. Through over a decade of research and development, and through close collaboration between MCC Coking Refractories and Yuanrui Shenghu, it has successfully made the critical progress from the construction of pilot-scale units, repeated optimizations, to the finalization of an industrial-scale solution. This technology boasts seven key advantages: 1. A single furnace can process up to 500,000 tons per year of low-grade coking coal with 20% moisture content. 2. The coking coal is fed directly into the furnace, resulting in a raw material utilization rate of over 95%. 3. The calorific value of the gas produced through external heating dry distillation is 3,500+kcal/Nm³, offering great potential for high-value utilization. 4. Dry quenching is employed, and the quality of the water-free upgraded coal meets or exceeds the standards required for use in blast furnaces. 5. The waste heat generated during quenching is recovered efficiently. 6. No water is needed for quenching, thus saving significant amounts of water resources. 7. The tar yield can reach 80%~85% of that obtained from conventional dry distillation. These advantages mean that the JNSH furnace technology is suitable not only for new projects but also for the upgrading of existing facilities designed for processing low-grade coal, providing a systematic solution to the long-standing problems in this industry related to the difficulty of utilizing pulverized coal and the low prices at which low-grade coal is sold. The Naomao Lake area in Hami, Xinjiang, is rich in low-grade coal resources, but it has long faced the problems of a low rate of on-site conversion and a short industrial chain. The industrial application of JNSH furnace technology provides a viable pathway for transforming low-grade coal resources in this region from a single fuel source into materials of different quality levels. It also sets a benchmark for the green, low-carbon, and high-value utilization of similar resources in China. The implementation of this project will strongly promote the transition of the graded utilization of low-grade coal from a conceptual idea to large-scale practical applications, helping the coal chemical industry to reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency. It holds significant demonstrative value and promotional importance for enhancing the comprehensive utilization level of low-grade coal resources in China. With over seven decades of profound experience and innovation driving improvements in efficiency, MCC Coking & Refractory’s technical expertise in the field of low-grade coal pyrolysis dates back to the 1950s. After years of research and development, by introducing, digesting, and adapting relevant technologies while taking into account China’s national conditions, the company has successfully developed the JN series of externally heated vertical furnaces. In the 1980s and 1990s, this furnace type was one of the key models used in China’s efforts to develop urban gas supply; it provided urban gas to more than a dozen provincial capitals and large and medium-sized cities such as Shanghai, Taiyuan, Fuzhou, Datong, and Yantai. It operated stably and continuously for around 20 years on average. Since 2013, MCC Jiaonai has developed and demonstrated a 50,000-ton/year JNWFG low-rank coal dry distillation furnace in Fugu, constructing an industrial demonstration plant. Over the years, this plant has been used for continuous dry distillation of low-rank coal from northern Shaanxi and Naomaohu, successfully solving key technical problems that have proven difficult to address in other low-rank coal dry distillation processes, such as high dust content in the hot gas produced, high tar ash content, and poor quality of the gas. To date, MCC Coking & Refractory has successfully implemented low-grade coal projects for multiple clients, including Gansu Jiugang Group Honghui Energy, Xinjiang Zhongxi, and Shaanxi Coal Group Shenmu Fuyou Energy Technology. In 2022, MCC Coking & Refractory carried out a comprehensive optimization and upgrade of the internally heated vertical furnace technology, which is widely used in China. It applied technologies such as dry quenching of coke and oxygen-enriched combustion to address the industry’s challenges, and introduced the mature technologies and successful experiences from the coking sector into low-grade coal pyrolysis projects. At the same time, through a strategic partnership with Fugu Dongfang Rui Group, the company successfully developed and tested an air furnace for zero-recycle coal gas, which effectively improved product quality. By 2025, MCC Coking & Refractory, leveraging its strong design and R&D capabilities as well as extensive engineering experience in the fields of coal pyrolysis and large-scale rotary kilns, and drawing on the successful outcomes of the Gansu Honghui project, managed to develop a pyrolysis technology for large-scale low-rank coal using external heating rotary furnaces. The team independently overcame key technologies such as the theory of coal powder pyrolysis, large-scale core equipment, and efficient oil-dust separation, successfully established a complete process route, achieved comprehensive waste heat recovery and optimal energy efficiency, and ensured the long-term stable operation of the facility. This technology can increase the tar yield to over 90% of that achieved in the Gekin carbonization process; the calorific value of the produced gas reaches 5300 kcal/Nm³, and the moisture content in the fully quenched semi-coke is kept below 2%. Currently, the rotary furnace business team from MCC Coking & Refractory has been invited to Ordos to attend the \"2026 Coal Mine and Coal Chemicals Environmental Protection Industry Conference\" hosted by the China Coal Processing and Utilization Association. The team will engage in in-depth discussions with the main regions producing semi-coke as well as key enterprises, in order to accurately assess the current state of the industry’s development and the enterprises’ needs for technological upgrades. At the conference, MCC Coking & Refractory will deliver a keynote speech titled \"MCC Coking & Refractory’s Technology for Pyrolysis of Low-Rank Coal Using External-Heating Rotary Kilns,\" offering systematic solutions to industry challenges such as the pyrolysis of low-rank coal and pulverized coal, oil dust separation, and dry quenching of coke. The signing of the engineering design contract for the JNSH furnace is not an end, but a new beginning. Taking this project as an opportunity, and with technology as its driving force and industrial needs as its guide, MCC Coking & Refractory will continue to increase its investment in research and development as well as in the practical application of such technologies. It aims to promote the wider industrial use of technologies for the selective utilization of lower-grade coal, thereby contributing its expertise and efforts to energy security and the clean and efficient use of coal.