Latest Progress on the New Generation 1,000-ton-per-year Pilot Project for Coal-based Ethylene Glycol Production in Xingren County, Guizhou

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Latest Progress on the New Generation 1,000-ton-per-year Pilot Project for Coal-based Ethylene Glycol Production in Xingren County, Guizhou Province. Author/Source: Yaha Coal Chemicals. Date: 2018-08-15. Clicks: 25. Ethylene glycol is an important bulk basic chemical product that is widely used in industries such as polyester manufacturing. China’s consumption accounts for over 50% of the world’s total, while the country’s reliance on imports is currently around 70%. In recent years, Yao Yuangen, a researcher at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has led the Key Laboratory for Coal-to-Ethylene Glycol and Related Technologies. Focusing on new generation technologies for producing ethylene glycol using coal as a substitute for petroleum ethylene, he has collaborated with enterprises in our county to achieve industrialization of the complete set of coal-to-ethylene glycol technologies, thereby continuing to shape the development direction of international coal-to-ethylene glycol technology. Building on the first-generation coal-to-ethylene glycol technology, Yao Yuangen’s laboratory has developed a new generation of this technology through years of research. In December 2016, the Fujian Institute of Physical Chemistry collaborated with Guizhou Xinchun Energy Co., Ltd. to build a pilot-scale project of 1,000 tons per year for producing next-generation ethylene glycol from coal in the Baling Heavy Industry Park in Xingren County. Currently, the developers are busy making further optimizations and conducting monitoring for the pilot-scale technology related to coal-based ethylene glycol production. To industrialize the next generation of such technology, Yao Yuangen and his team have been working on this for ten years. Zhou Zhangfeng, deputy head of the technical research team for coal-based ethylene glycol production, said, “It took us almost six years to develop the new generation of technology in our laboratory, from 2009 to 2015. In Guizhou alone, it took us over three years; during those three years we were working on pilot-scale tests and industrial applications.” ” To enable this new technology to move from the laboratory to industrial production lines, the research team led by Yao Yuangen made continuous efforts during the development of the pilot plant project, developing a technology for the large-scale production of core catalysts and increasing the catalyst production capacity of the thousand-ton pilot plant by a factor of 100. Yao Yuangen, a researcher at the Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that a laboratory tube is just one tube, while here there are hundreds of thick tubes; therefore it’s completely different. To properly simulate the reactor, the amount of heat generated is also high, and it’s necessary to address the issue of excess heat. It took one and a half years to complete this design work. Thanks to the team’s long-term experimentation and commitment to overcoming challenges, the laboratory has developed three entirely new core catalysts, optimized the production processes and product purification methods, and created an integrated set of key technologies for the next generation of coal-based ethylene glycol production. Zhou Zhangfeng said that their master’s and doctoral students work in shifts for 24 hours straight; the longest evaluation period required in one laboratory is 5,000 hours. What does 5,000 hours mean? It means the laboratory has to be operational for over six months straight, without any weekends or holidays. Everyone works in rotating shifts to tackle the challenges. The original process was improved through new and efficient catalyst preparation techniques, effectively reducing the production cost of ethylene glycol in existing process plants and enhancing their performance. Zhou Zhangfeng told reporters that the cost of precious metals used to be 8 million, but it has now dropped to 0.3%; the cost for six kilograms is 1.2 million. The cost per ton of catalyst has been reduced by 7 million. Although the cost has decreased, the performance has actually improved. From the Fujian Institute of Physical Chemistry to the production site, the pilot-scale project team trained a group of technical and managerial experts, and brought in over 100 professionals from related fields within and outside the province for technical training, enabling them to master both control-room operations and on-site tasks; this laid a solid talent foundation for advancing the construction of the 600,000-ton project. Yao Yuangen said, “On the one hand, we push technology toward industrialization; on the other hand, we bring together the personnel who have been working in research institutes and place them in factories to address technical issues in the context of actual production.” ”Zhou Zhangfeng said, “We share a common goal and work together toward it. Although the process is challenging, after putting in so much effort, we can now see some hope, and everyone is very happy.” ”Hu Qikang, the team leader of Team 1 for the pilot project on coal-based ethylene glycol production in Xingren County, said that he has learned a great deal in terms of technical skills and is now capable of handling all the tasks associated with technical positions. In his hometown, where coal chemical and fine chemical industries are developed, he feels that he is very valuable. After achieving stable operation of the pilot plant with a capacity of thousands of tons, Yao Yuangen and his team will gradually advance the implementation of the industrial project aimed at producing 600,000 tons of coal-based ethylene glycol per year, as well as the construction of an industrial R&D base for key laboratories focused on coal-based ethylene glycol and related technologies. Yao Yuangen told the reporters that their first-generation technology was the first of its kind in the world; everyone competed against each other, and if someone moved slowly or stopped moving, they would be caught up to or overtaken by others. To remain at the forefront, it is necessary to keep improving technically in order to sustain that lead. The original intention is to make the technology the most advanced in the world and lead the way globally; the mission is to industrialize this cutting-edge technology, transform laboratory techniques into production technologies, and create greater economic benefits.