Technological advancements in DMMnj

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Progress in technology development for producing polydimethyl methoxide (DMMn) from methanol. Exhaust gases from diesel vehicles that do not meet emission standards are widely considered to be one of the main causes of smog. Since January 1, 2015, China has implemented the National IV emission standards for diesel vehicles, making it imperative to upgrade the quality of diesel fuel. Polymethoxymethane (DMMn, n=3-8) is an excellent component for diesel blending; it increases the oxygen content of the fuel. Adding 10% to 20% of it to diesel can significantly reduce emissions of solid particulates, NOx, and CO in exhaust gases. DMMn has a cetane number of 76, a flash point of 65.5°C, and a boiling point of 160°C. Due to its properties being similar to those of diesel, using DMMn blended into diesel requires no modifications to existing vehicles. The main raw materials for DMMn synthesis are methanol and formaldehyde, and the synthetic routes include liquid acid catalysis, solid acid catalysis, ionic liquid catalysis, and metal oxide catalysis. Domestic research institutions and enterprises have actively promoted the research and development as well as industrial demonstration of DMMn production from methanol, achieving a series of results. The 100-ton DMMn pilot plant installed at the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was successfully commissioned in August 2012 at the pilot plant site in Baiyin, Gansu, and completed its pilot tests. In July 2013, the 10,000-ton/year full-process industrial plant for DMMn produced by Shandong Chenxin New Energy Co., Ltd., which utilized the ion liquid catalysis synthesis process developed by the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, was successfully commissioned after being fed with raw materials. The facility is located in Heze, Shandong, with an investment of 200 million yuan. Currently, this technology has entered the stage of industrial-scale demonstration. The Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics has filed more than 30 international and domestic invention patents, and has been granted 4 international invention patents and 3 Chinese invention patents. Dongying Runcheng Carbon Materials Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Bike Clean Energy Technology Co., Ltd., Qingdao Pute Chemical Technology Service Co., Ltd. have entered into a licensing agreement for the industrial-scale technology related to 100,000 tons per year of polymethoxymethane production with Shandong Binzhou Xintianyang Chemical Co., Ltd. In November 2014, the 30,000-ton/year demonstration plant for producing polydimethyl ether from methanol, operated by Runcheng Carbon Materials in Guangrao County, Dongying City, Shandong Province, was successfully commissioned. The “10,000-ton industrial production technology for polymethoxymethane” developed through a collaboration between Tsinghua University and Yuhuang Chemical Co., Ltd. has passed the evaluation for scientific and technological achievements. This technology is based on the solid acid catalyst specifically designed for polymethoxymethane at Tsinghua University, as well as the gas-liquid-solid three-phase fluidized bed multi-stage reactor technology. The 10,000-ton/year DMMn industrial demonstration plant built by Yuhuang Chemical in collaboration with Tsinghua University in Heze, Shandong, was completed and its production process put into operation in the first quarter of 2014, with high-quality products being produced in June. Yuhuang Chemical is constructing a 300,000-ton/year industrial scale-up facility. Beijing Xuyang Technology Co., Ltd. has independently developed a process for the synthesis of DMMn from methanol. (Mr. Liu from Xuyang Technology’s promotion team, phone: 15603195019, QQ: 381289205 – feel free to contact us for inquiries and potential cooperation!) ~This process involves the polymerization of paraformaldehyde and methyl acetal under acidic conditions; the resulting DMM1-8 material is separated and refined to yield the product DMM3-8, while the unreacted material and DMM2 are recycled. This process has completed pilot tests on a scale of thousands of tons, producing over 100 tons of high-quality products that are sold throughout the country. A process package for 60,000 tons has been prepared so far. In October 2014, the feasibility study for Sichuan Daxing Energy Co., Ltd.’s 100,000 tons per year methanol-to-polydimethyl methoxide (DMMn) production project was approved. In December 2013, Daxing Energy’s kiloton-scale DMMn industrial test facility passed a 72-hour continuous operation test. The expert group believes that the device operates safely and stably, the product quality is satisfactory, and the relevant process data can serve as a basis for industrial scale-up. The core technology of this project utilizes patented technologies from the Beijing Dongfanghongsheng New Energy Application Technology Research Institute and China University of Petroleum (East China). In 2014, China’s diesel consumption was 173 million tons; if all of it were blended at a 15% ratio, the annual consumption of DMMn would amount to 25.95 million tons. DMMn, which uses methanol as a raw material, holds promise as a new direction for the development of coal-based alternative fuels. However, whether it can gain recognition from major oil and fuel producers such as CNPC and Sinopec is key to its widespread use as a diesel additive.