The demonstration project for the utilization of coal at different quality levels to produce new chemical materials at Yulin Chemical Company of Shaanxi Coal Group has commenced successfully

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The demonstration project for the utilization of coal in different grades to produce new chemical materials at Yulin Chemical Company, Shaanxi Coal Group, commenced successfully. Author/Source: Date: 2018-05-02 Clicks: 29 On April 26, the ceremony marking the start of key projects under the 16th symposium on the development of the high-end energy and chemical industry base in northern Shaanxi was held in the Qingshui Industrial Park in Yulin City. The opening ceremony was presided over by Governor Liu Guozhong, while Lu Jianjun, head of the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, read out the list of projects that are set to commence construction. The 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol production facility of Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Company was included among the key projects to be launched in the Northern Shaanxi energy base. It is reported that the Yulin Coal Quality-Based Utilization for the Production of Chemical New Materials Demonstration Project is a large-scale integrated coal utilization industrial park planned and developed by Shaanxi Coal Group, taking advantage of Yulin’s resource characteristics, with coal quality-based utilization as its foundation. Faced with the two major challenges at the initial stage of project planning: how to transform the resource advantages of northern Shaanxi into industrial advantages and attract high-end material industries to gather in the energy and chemical industry base there in order to develop regional specialty industries, the group hired internationally renowned consulting firms, research organizations, and professional agencies starting in 2013 to conduct market research. These efforts included an analysis of the region’s comparative resource advantages in Shaanxi, a global market analysis of the 116 types of chemicals involved in related industries, cost analyses of large chemical companies in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Singapore, as well as an analysis of the resources available in northern Shaanxi. By leveraging these resource advantages, the group aimed to create a complete resource chain and establish a global competitive edge. This project will be constructed in two phases. Phase 1 is further divided into two stages; the first stage involves a production facility for 1.8 million tons per year of ethylene glycol, with a total investment of 21.9 billion yuan, and it is scheduled to be completed and put into operation by the end of June 2021 ； The second phase is a 2 million tons per year olefins project, which includes 5.6 million tons per year of methanol production, 2 million tons per year of olefins production from methanol, as well as downstream processing facilities for polyethylene, polypropylene, butadiene, acrylic acid, and their esters; the total investment is approximately 50 billion. The project is scheduled to be ready for construction in 2019, and to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2023. The second phase of the project involves coal pyrolysis and advanced processing of coal tar, including 15 million tons per year of medium- and low-temperature pyrolysis, 2.4 million tons per year of coal tar hydrogenation, 1.16 million tons per year of reforming/aromatics units, 1.8 million tons per year of PTA, 300,000 tons per year of styrene, 180,000 tons per year of bisphenol A, as well as downstream processing facilities for polystyrene, polycarbonates, polyesters, etc. The total investment for this phase is approximately 30.3 billion yuan. The project is scheduled to be ready for construction by the end of 2020, and to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2025. The first phase of this project, which involves the construction of an ethylene glycol plant with a capacity of 1.8 million tons per year, will see the establishment of such a plant, along with supporting utility systems, auxiliary facilities, and off-site infrastructure. The plant processes 5.3 million tons of raw coal per year, covers an area of 6,600 mu, and produces 1.8 million tons of ethylene glycol annually; as by-products, it generates compounds such as fusel oil, dimethyl oxalate, industrial-grade dimethyl carbonate, methyl formate, and sulfur.