What other high-value downstream products are available in the syngas oxalate route besides ethylene glycol?

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What are the other high-value downstream products of the syngas oxalate route besides ethylene glycol? Author/Source: Date: 11-16-2017 Clicks: 4 Coal-based ethylene glycol has become an important part of China’s ethylene glycol production capacity. According to Yahuazhengxin’s \"2017 Annual Report on Coal-Based Ethylene Glycol in China,\" as of August 2017, China had an installed capacity for coal-based ethylene glycol that had been successfully put into operation at 2.34 million tons per year. Together with 26 projects under construction or in the planning stage, this results in a total capacity of around 9 million tons per year. By 2020, China might achieve a balance between supply and demand for ethylene glycol. The successful industrial demonstration of the complete technology for synthesizing ethylene glycol from coal via oxalate esters provides strong technical support for the development of downstream products derived from coal-based syngas and oxalate esters. Developing downstream product routes with high added value based on mature coal-based dimethyl oxalate (DMO) technology has become an important direction for the advancement of coal chemical technology in China. Research by Yahuazheng Consulting shows that downstream products with high added value derived from syngas oxalate esters, such as polyglycolic acid (PGA), polycarbonate (PC), ethanol, and oxamide, have broad market prospects, and research and development or project construction in these areas is currently in full swing. http://img.yf116.cn/image/img/20171116/175256152540.jpg Polyglycolic acid (PGA): On August 25, 2017, Danhua Technology announced that it would invest 84 million yuan to jointly establish a PGA production project with relevant parties. Using glycolic acid, a downstream derivative of ethylene glycol produced from coal, a PGA production line with an annual capacity of 3,000 tons will be built in the first phase; completion is expected by the end of 2017. A production line with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons will be constructed in 2018 depending on circumstances, with a long-term goal of having a production line with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons. The project has currently completed the development of the laboratory cell, as well as the pilot-scale and industrialization technical solutions. Polyglycolic acid (PGA) is a novel polymer material with excellent biocompatibility, gas barrier properties, and machinability, which can bring innovation to packaging and various industrial applications. It can also serve as a substitute for expensive biodegradable materials such as PLA and PBS. Being the most direct downstream product derived from glycolic acid (esters), it has promising application prospects and a favorable market potential. Glycolic acid is the main raw material for the biodegradable material polyglycolic acid (PGA). In 1995, Wu Yu Corporation was the first in the world to develop industrial production technology for PGA, and in 2002 it built an industrial pilot plant for PGA with an annual production capacity of 100 tons in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. In 2008, Wu Yu partnered with DuPont to invest $100 million in DuPont’s plant in West Virginia, USA, which produces glycolic acid, in order to build a PGA production facility with an annual capacity of 4,000 tons. This initiative established a complete production system ranging from the raw material glycolic acid to PGA resin, and enabled the development of resin products for various applications and grades. Polycarbonate (PC): The rapid growth of polycarbonate (PC) production capacity in China has driven an increase in the demand for diphenyl carbonate (DPC). When ester exchange synthesis is carried out using oxalate esters and phenol, the azeotrope formed between methanol and dimethyl carbonate that occurs during carbonate ester exchange does not form, resulting in simpler separation and lower energy consumption. Currently, pilot-scale studies are being conducted on the DPC production process using the oxalate route; subsequent pilot plant trials and further industrial-scale production will follow. Yahua Consulting believes that if diphenyl carbonate (DPC) produced via the oxalate route can meet the requirements for polycarbonate (PC) production, PC will become a highly competitive downstream product option for syngas oxalates. Ethanol: Microbial fermentation using coal-based syngas ； Dimethyl ether is carbonylated to produce methyl acetate, which is then hydrogenated to yield ethanol ； Direct hydrogenation of acetic acid ； Acetate hydrogenation ； In addition to the five routes for the direct catalytic synthesis of ethanol from syngas using coal as a feedstock, another route that can be industrialized is the production of dimethyl oxalate (DMO) from coal-based syngas, followed by the hydrogenation of DMO to produce ethanol. On September 13, 2017, fifteen departments including the **Development and Reform Commission** and the **Energy Bureau** jointly issued the \"Implementation Plan for Expanding the Production of Biofuel Ethanol and Promoting the Use of Ethanol-Based Gasoline in Vehicles\", which stipulated that by 2020, ethanol-based gasoline should be widely used across the country, achieving near-full coverage. Based on 2016 data, China’s apparent gasoline consumption that year was 120 million tons, of which approximately 100 million tons was used for vehicles. With a blending ratio of 10%, the demand for fuel ethanol was around 10 million tons. In 2016, China’s production of fuel ethanol was 2.6 million tons, resulting in a deficit of 7.4 million tons in fuel ethanol supply. Furthermore, if vehicle gasoline consumption continues to rise or the proportion of ethanol added increases in the future, the demand gap for ethanol will widen further. Oxamide: The nitrogen content of oxamide is 31.79%; the nitrogen content in 1 ton of oxamide is roughly equivalent to that in 1.8 tons of ammonium bicarbonate or 0.68 tons of urea. The nitrogen utilization rate of oxamide is as high as 65–80%, which is twice that of urea. Oxalate has very low solubility in water, at only 0.016%, so it is not easily carried away by water currents after fertilization and lost. Using oxamide instead of urea or ammonium carbonate as a nitrogen fertilizer can **reduce the loss and waste of nitrogen fertilizers. Oxalate is degraded in the soil by microorganisms, with carbon dioxide and ammonia as the final products; the degradation is complete, and the resulting substances are non-toxic and harmless. Coupling the production of synthetic ammonia from coal-based syngas with the gas-phase catalytic synthesis of oxalate from CO, and then using ammonia and oxalate to produce oxamide, can optimize the material balance and reduce investment; this represents a valuable direction for advancements in coal chemical technology.