The pyrolysis phase of Yulin Chemical’s 15 million tons per year demonstration project for the clean and efficient conversion of coal into different grades has been approved

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The environmental impact assessment document for the pyrolysis phase of Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 15 million tons per year demonstration project for the clean and efficient conversion of coal based on different grades has been approved by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment. Author/Source: Huahua Network – Coal Chemical Industry. Date: 2019-08-05. Clicks: 38. Recently, the aforementioned environmental impact assessment document was approved. The proposed site for the project is located within the land reserved by Shaanxi Coal Group in the Qingshui Industrial Park of the Yushen Industrial Zone ； The total investment for the project is 3,203.96 million yuan, of which 147.838 million yuan is allocated to environmental protection measures, accounting for 4.6% of the total investment. The product scheme involves using the raw coal from Baodang No. 1 and No. 2 coal mines as well as Caojiatan Coal Mine; this coal is ground into powder and then treated using low-temperature pyrolysis technology. The resulting powdered coke is used in gasification processes for downstream applications. The coal tar components are processed through suspended-bed combined hydrogenation to produce coal tar products. The waste heat generated by the processing equipment is recovered and utilized in the 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol production facility. The construction includes a 1.2 million tons per year pulverized coal pyrolysis unit, a 500,000 tons per year coal tar hydrogenation complex, a 100,000 tons per year gas desulfurization unit, a 420,000 tons per year process wastewater treatment plant, as well as supporting storage, transportation, and power supply systems. The project’s utility and auxiliary production facilities rely on the 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol plant. 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 the demonstration project on the utilization of coal in various ways to produce new chemical materials by Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd., was held in the Qingshui Industrial Park in Yulin City. This marked the full transition of the project from the design stage to the construction phase. 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 process units along with the associated utility systems. These mainly involve the medium- and low-temperature pyrolysis of 15 million tons of coal, 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, as well as downstream products derived from these materials. 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, with the investment for Phase 1 amounting to approximately 70 billion yuan. The 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol project is the first phase of this initiative, and it is also the largest coal-based ethylene glycol production facility under construction worldwide. The estimated investment for this project is 26.5 billion yuan; production of qualified products is scheduled to begin in June 2021, with the entire project expected to be completed and operational by 2025. The 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol project utilizes Collin’s patented dry powder gasification technology, as well as Japan’s Takahashi’s patented technology for producing ethylene glycol from syngas. Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd. and Nippon Kako Kagaku Co., Ltd. jointly invested in establishing Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Yugao Chemical Co., Ltd., to build and operate facilities for the production of oxalate esters as well as for the hydrogenation of oxalate esters to produce ethylene glycol. This is the largest Sino-Japanese joint venture to be established in Shaanxi since 2005. The second phase of the first stage of the demonstration project for the use of coal in various ways to produce new chemical materials consists of an olefin production facility with a capacity of 2 million tons per year, along with related deep-processing units; it is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of 2023. Phase II focuses on coal pyrolysis and is also divided into 2 stages: the first stage is the pyrolysis startup project, which will be constructed simultaneously with the ethylene glycol project, with completion and operation scheduled for June 2021 ； In the second phase, the scale of pyrolysis will be increased to 15 million tons, and the coal tar industry chain will be expanded to produce downstream products containing aromatic compounds. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of 2021, with operation to start by the end of 2025.