The 1.7 million-ton coal-to-olefins project of Zhongan United Coal Chemical has produced qualified methanol!

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The 1.7 million-ton coal-to-olefins project of Zhongan United Coal Chemical has produced qualified methanol! Author/Source: Huahua Net Coal Chemicals Date: 2019-07-22 Clicks: 1 At 10:58 on July 20, the methanol synthesis unit of the coal-based 1.7 million tons/year methanol and converted olefins project operated by a limited liability company produced MTO-grade methanol. The commissioning of this coal chemical facility enabled the operation of the coal-based methanol production process, creating favorable conditions for the subsequent commissioning of the olefins production units. Since the methanol synthesis and purification units built by Zhongan United were completed in October 2018 and at the end of December, more than half a year of effort has been invested to carry out various preparatory tasks for production, including the \"three inspections and four determinations,\" steam purging of pipelines, individual testing and joint testing of compressors, catalyst loading, reduction of the synthesis catalyst, as well as the operational testing of the acid removal and distillation units and the methanol production unit. These efforts have removed obstacles and laid the foundation for the official commissioning of the units. On July 16, the unit met the conditions for official commissioning. At 10:07 on the 17th, the syngas compressor was started. At 23:26 on the 17th, the catalyst bed temperature rose to the gas-inlet temperature. At 4:18 on the 20th, purified syngas was introduced into the syngas circuit. At 5:16 on the 20th, methanol was produced. At 10:58 on the 20th, MTO-grade methanol was produced. Since the commissioning of the coal chemical project was fully launched, Zhongan United set forth goals such as putting the utility systems into operation, producing high-quality methanol, and ensuring the successful production of high-quality polypropylene and polyethylene products throughout the entire process – these goals were aptly referred to as the “three major battles” in the commissioning of the coal chemical project. To date, the commissioning of the plant has seen success in achieving the two key objectives: the operation of the utility systems, and the successful feeding of coal into the gasification unit as well as the production of methanol by the methanol synthesis unit. The actual material commissioning of the MTO, polyethylene, and polypropylene plants in the third major campaign is about to commence in full force. Zhongan United is striving to achieve the goal of having the coal chemical processing units operate across the entire process by July 30, with the aim of reaching this goal by August 30. The 1.7 million tons per year methanol and converted olefins production project carried out by Zhong’an United Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. is a large-scale integrated coal chemical project established through a joint venture between Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical Company and Wanbei Coal and Electricity Group. The approved total investment for the first phase of this project is 26.7 billion yuan, of which 20.2 billion yuan is allocated to the coal chemical operations and 6.5 billion yuan to the coal mining activities. The main products are 350,000 tons per year of linear low-density polyethylene and 350,000 tons per year of polypropylene, along with a 4 million tons per year coal mine built as a supporting facility. The core process of the project utilizes S-MTO patented technology owned by Sinopec, while the gasification unit employs SE-Dongfang furnace technology also owned by Sinopec. Using coal from the Zhujixi mine as raw material, methanol and converted olefins (LDPE/PP), ethylene glycol (MEG) and other products are produced. Sinopec Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. is responsible for the overall management of the design, procurement, and construction of the MTO/OCC and PP units in this project, as well as six supporting facilities including the control room and 110-kilovolt substation ； Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Co., Ltd. is responsible for the design and construction of the gasification unit for the contracted project ； Design and construction of the air separation unit, purification unit, and circulating water system for Sinopec’s Nanjing engineering contracting project.