The methanol-to-olefins technology won the **First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, helping to reduce China’s dependence on oil**

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The methanol-to-olefins technology won the **First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress, helping to reduce China’s dependence on oil. Author/Source: Date: 2018-01-08 Clicks: 5 Ethylene and propylene are the cornerstone of the chemical industry, with petroleum being their main raw material. Our country is rich in coal but short of oil – is it possible to produce ethylene and propylene using coal as a raw material? Over the past 17 years, the Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology has led the development of the \"full-process technology for efficient methanol-to-olefins production\", progressing from laboratory research to industrial application. This project received the **First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress this morning. Mastering this internationally leading technology enables our country to effectively reduce its reliance on oil resources, which holds great strategic significance for energy security. Seizing the opportunity of accidentally discovering a catalyst, China ranks fourth in the world in terms of coal reserves, while it is highly dependent on imports for oil; therefore, there is an urgent need to develop coal chemical technology. In the chemical industry chain that converts coal into methanol and then into polyolefins, \"converting methanol into olefins\" is a very important step. In 2000, Liu Hongxing, who was working on his doctoral thesis and is now a professor-level engineer at the Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology, began research on the reaction engineering kinetics of methanol-to-olefins production. Highly selective catalysts are one of the key elements for achieving efficient methanol-to-olefins conversion. In the laboratory, Liu Hongxing accidentally discovered that a certain nanocatalytic material performed exceptionally well. What is the reason for this? He did not overlook this \"coincidence\"; instead, he conducted an in-depth analysis of the synthesis parameters of this material to explore the reasons for its excellent properties. After that, he conducted a series of synthesis studies involving thousands of parameters, in an effort to select the best options from among them. Hard work pays off, and Liu Hongxing and his colleagues ultimately developed nanosheet SAPO-34 molecular sieves with excellent diffusion properties, thereby creating highly efficient fluidized-bed catalysts. Yang Weimin, director of the Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemicals, explained that the institute adopts a \"gate-based management\" approach; for each stage of technological innovation – laboratory research, pilot-scale testing, and scale-up testing – there are strict evaluation criteria as well as corresponding incentive mechanisms. The research team can move on to the next stage only by passing one gate checkpoint. “A world first with significant economic benefits: In 2007, research results obtained through laboratory studies and pilot tests presented an opportunity. To reduce China’s dependence on oil imports, Sinopec has decided to develop a new type of coal chemical industry in order to commercialize the technology for producing olefins from methanol. Following a very rigorous expert review, the construction of Yanshan Petrochemical’s 36,000 tons per year full-process industrial test facility began, and pilot-scale research was launched. After completing the pilot-scale studies, renowned domestic experts gave an evaluation stating that indicators such as the average selectivity for ethylene and propylene, as well as the methanol conversion rate, were \"at the international leading level\". With breakthroughs in industrialization technology, industrial applications follow naturally. In 2011, Zhongyuan Petrochemical’s 600,000 tons per year production facility was built and brought into stable operation. In 2016, the world’s largest methanol-to-olefins plant, Zhongtian Hechuang’s 3.6 million tons per year facility, was built and put into operation in Inner Mongolia. To date, it has generated an additional output value of 5.94 billion yuan and additional profits of 1.30 billion yuan. Practice has shown that the large-scale industrial plants in China that utilize independently developed, designed, manufactured, constructed, and operated high-efficiency full-process technologies for methanol-to-olefins production are a \"world first,\" with significant economic benefits. This project won the **First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress**, and it may also offer insights for the development of Shanghai as a science and technology innovation hub. Yang Weimin said that Shanghai possesses strong capabilities in chemical technology research and development; institutions such as the Sinopec Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology, East China University of Science and Technology, and the Shanghai Research Institute of Chemical Industry have achieved many innovative results. Therefore, the construction of a science and innovation center can cover the field of chemical innovation. Although Shanghai cannot develop its chemical industry on a large scale, it can become a globally influential center for chemical innovation, using its technological advantages to boost the development of the chemical industries in other provinces and countries.