The coal-to-ethylene glycol project, part of the Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical’s demonstration project on the selective utilization of coal to produce new chemical materials, has commenced operations

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The construction of the ethylene glycol production unit as part of Shaanxi Coal Group’s Yulin Chemical’s demonstration project for the selective utilization of coal to produce new chemical materials commenced. Author/Source: Yihua Coal Chemicals. Date: July 26, 2019. Clicks: 18. On July 24, the groundbreaking ceremony for the 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol production facility, which is part of the first phase of this project, was held in the Qingshui Industrial Park in Yulin City, marking the transition of the project from the design stage to the construction phase. Attendees at the commencement ceremony included **the Yulin Municipal Party Committee** and Guo Peicai, head of the United Front Work Department; Cui Ling, deputy secretary-general of Yulin City; relevant officials from the Yushen Industrial Zone Management Committee; representatives from various subsidiaries of the Shaanxi Coal Group in the northern Shaanxi region, such as Shanbei Mining, Beiyuan Chemical, Yubei Coal Industry, Shaanxi Coal Materials Group, Shaanxi Coal Railway Logistics Group, Shaanxi Coal Transportation and Marketing Group, and Shenmu Coal Chemical Industry; officials from construction companies such as Shaanxi Construction Engineering Installation Group Co., Ltd., Sinochem Second Construction Group Co., Ltd., China National Chemical Engineering 16th Construction Company Limited, and Hubei Xinhongtu Testing Technology Co., Ltd.; as well as relevant personnel from Shaanxi Coal Group’s Yulin Chemical subsidiary. At the ceremony, Wang Xuping, deputy general manager of China Chemical Engineering 16th Construction Co., Ltd., outlined the preparations for starting the project; Li Tingzhi, chief engineer of Shaanxi Jian’an Engineering Supervision Co., Ltd., presented an overview of the overall preparation work for the project; Wang Weifeng, deputy general manager of Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical, discussed the approval processes required to begin construction; Song Shijie, head of Shaanxi Coal Group’s Strategic Planning Committee, as well as party secretary and executive director of Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical, provided information on the basic details of the project. Cui Ling, deputy secretary-general of Yulin City, expressed high expectations for this project, while Guo Peicai, member of the Yulin Municipal Party Committee and head of the United Front Work Department, announced the start of construction. The ceremony was presided over by Wang Hui**, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Yulin Chemical, Shaanxi Coal Group. It is reported that in 2013, Shaanxi Coal Group began to conduct systematic research on the industry of new chemical materials. It analyzed and compared the costs of producing such materials from various raw materials around the world. By taking advantage of Shaanxi’s existing industrial strengths, the group decided to use modern coal chemical and petrochemical technologies in an integrated manner to produce coal-based new chemical materials. This would enable entry into three key application areas: textiles, automobiles, and building decoration, thus creating a complete industrial chain and fostering industrial clustering. This approach aims to help the energy and chemical industry in northern Shaanxi gain a global competitive edge in these three fields. To accelerate the project construction as much as possible, Shaanxi Coal Group established Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical in December 2017, which is responsible for the planning, construction, and operation of this project. The “Demonstration Project for the Production of New Chemical Materials through the Differential Utilization of Coal” undertaken by Yulin Chemical of Shaanxi Coal Group is currently the largest coal chemical project under construction in the world. This project was planned and developed by Shaanxi Coal Group, taking advantage of the resource advantages in northern Shaanxi, following a completely new industrial organization model. The total area of the project is approximately 13 square kilometers, and it includes 27 processing units along with the associated utility systems. These units are mainly used for the medium- and low-temperature pyrolysis of 15 million tons of coal, as well as the production of 5.6 million tons of methanol, 1.8 million tons of ethylene glycol, 2 million tons of polyester, and 2 million tons of olefins; downstream products are also manufactured using these materials as intermediate inputs. The annual amount of coal processed exceeds 20 million tons, with an estimated total investment of over 120 billion yuan. The project will be constructed in two phases and four stages. The investment for Phase 1 amounts to around 70 billion yuan. The 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol production facility is part of Phase 1, Stage 1 of the project, and it represents the largest coal-based ethylene glycol plant under construction globally at present. Production of qualified products is scheduled to begin in June 2021, with the entire project expected to be completed and operational by 2025.