Huaibei launches a campaign to advance the new coal chemical industry”

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Huaibei Launches a Campaign to Develop the New Coal Chemical Industry Author/Source: Meihua Ke Date: 2019-08-08 Clicks: 7 “Develop an industry sector for carbon-based chemical new materials worth hundreds of billions, build a first-class new coal chemical synthesis material base in the province and one with significant influence nationwide, and strive to become a **-level energy and chemical industry hub” – these are the new goals set by Huaibei, an old city dependent on coal resources. The document titled \"Thoughts and Strategies for Accelerating the Development of New Coal Chemical Industry Bases\", recently released by the People’s Government of Huaibei City in Anhui Province, states that in 2018, the Anhui (Huaibei) New Coal Chemical Synthesis Materials Base (hereinafter referred to as the \"Huaibei Base\") achieved an industrial output value of 20.4 billion yuan, a 20% increase compared to the previous year ； Sales revenue reached 22 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%. Leveraging its industrial base, Huaibei will focus on exploring pathways for the advanced, differentiated, and refined development of the carbon-based new materials industry. Aiming at the goal of a carbon-based chemical new materials sector worth hundreds of billions, a battle for industrial breakthrough is underway. From relying on coal to moving beyond it: New industries are taking shape. As a traditional city dependent on coal resources, Huaibei has supplied nearly 1 billion tons of raw coal since its establishment in 1960; the coal industry once accounted for over 80% of its total economic output. However, as resources ran out, Huaibei gradually found itself trapped by coal, and the environmental problems caused by coal mining posed serious challenges to the region. “Under various constraints, shifting from relying on coal to not depending solely on it is the only way for Huaibei to achieve transformation as a resource-based city. ” Wang Chengjun, director of the Science and Technology Service Center at the Huaibei base, told reporters. Why choose the new coal chemical industry route? Wang Chengjun said that, on the one hand, promoting the clean and efficient use of coal and expanding the coal chemical industry chain is an inevitable choice for the current development of this industry. Huaibei has resources and a solid foundation. On the other hand, Huaibei has a unique geographical location; by relying on the new coal chemical industry and benefiting from the impetus and technological spillovers from Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang in the field of chemical new materials, it can develop a modern industrial system that complements the strengths of the Yangtze River Delta and features a structured hierarchical layout. “Compared with the western regions, Huaibei has greater geographical and transportation advantages for the development of coal chemical industry. Especially being located next to Jiangsu and Shandong, two major chemical-producing provinces, it ensures a sufficient supply of basic raw materials as well as advantages in product transportation, with the needs for road, water, and rail transport all being met. ” On this basis, the reporter learned that the representative projects already completed in Huaibei include a 200,000-ton/year mixed aromatic hydrocarbon hydrogenation unit; compared with traditional processing units, this unit has a wider range of raw material compatibility, and both the energy consumption per ton of raw material processed and the processing cost per ton are significantly reduced ； The Linhuan Coking Project has an annual production capacity of 4.4 million tons of coke and 400,000 tons of methanol; it is also the largest independent coking project in East China at present. There are also 22 projects under construction or planned to be constructed, with a total investment of around 10.58 billion yuan; these projects are expected to generate additional sales revenue of over 23 billion yuan in the future. “Today, the raw coal produced by the surrounding mines is concentrated for washing and processing at the base. Coke coal is sold to the Yangtze River Delta region, while coking coal is used as a raw material to produce metallurgical coke. Coke oven gas, a by-product of coking, is used to produce products such as methanol, while coal tar will be further processed into high-end carbon products. Coal slime and coal gangue are used for power generation, while the remaining fly ash can be used as building materials, thus truly enabling the complete utilization of raw coal. ”Wang Chengjun said. There is an urgent need to overcome constraints such as limited resources and talent, and the product structure needs to be optimized. It is undeniable that Huaibei is breaking away from the traditional approach of selling coal, and its development momentum is quite good. At the same time, it must be recognized that in the face of imported products from abroad and competition from other large production bases within the country, coupled with the fact that regions such as Huainan and Fuyang in the same province also prioritize coal chemical industry development, Huaibei faces intense competition as it tries to develop its own coal chemical industry. ”Based on the current situation, Wang Xiujiang, deputy secretary-general of the Coal Chemicals Committee of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, provided the above objective analysis. The research team led by the **Research Laboratory in Huaibei City also found during its investigations that the Huaibei base still lacks key projects, resulting in a weak driving effect. “On a national scale, Huaibei’s development is relatively lagging behind, with certain gaps in terms of industrial concentration as well as quality and efficiency. At the provincial level, areas such as Huainan are leveraging their own resource endowments to continuously expand the scale of their coal chemical industry bases. Compared to the developed regions, the factors restricting the transformation and upgrading of Huaibei still exist. ” What are the specific constraints? Wang Xiujiang believes that compared with western regions such as Ningxia and Yulin, Huaibei has a geographical advantage but lacks sufficient resources. “Due to dwindling resources and relatively high extraction costs, coal prices do not hold an advantage. At the same time, the coal resources in Huaibei have a high ash fusion point, and existing technologies have limited adaptability to different types of coal. How to make use of strengths and avoid weaknesses requires careful consideration. ” At the same time, there is also the issue of “people”. An unnamed expert believes that its proximity to regions such as Jiangsu and Shandong brings geographical advantages to Huaibei, but it also inevitably leads to a \"siphon effect,\" resulting in Huaibei having a relatively weak appeal as a destination for talent. “Simply put, in an era of increasingly advanced transportation, talent prefers to go to places with higher salaries, better working conditions, and more convenient living facilities. Huaibei finds itself in an awkward position of being neither high nor low, especially due to a long-term shortage of talent for high-level, key positions. Rather than pursuing a broad expansion, it is necessary to focus on precision and depth in order to extend the industrial chain. Faced with a mixed reality, how can Huaibei succeed in this struggle to develop a new type of coal chemical industry? Wang Chengjun revealed that the Huaibei facility has decided to focus on the development of fine chemicals and new materials as its main areas of focus. Plans are in place to develop a number of key projects related to olefins and aromatics, in order to increase the added value of products and create a high-end carbon-based industrial cluster. “We also realize that project development does not necessarily have to focus on being large-scale. Taking into account factors such as local resource endowments, supporting facilities, carrying capacity, surrounding markets, and environmental capacity, large-scale coal chemical projects such as coal-to-oil, coal-to-gas, and coal-to-ethylene glycol, which are key areas for development in the central and western regions, will not be considered for the time being. We have chosen to develop in a manner that differs from that of our sister parks; rather than competing with upstream projects for market share, we aim to make full use of our own advantages, focusing on the market and using the tax revenue per unit area generated by each project as a benchmark. ”Wang Chengjun said. Refining and deepening the industrial chain – this view is also shared by Wang Xiujiang. “With each step the product moves downward, its added value increases exponentially. When developing the new coal chemical industry in Huaibei, it is not necessary to pursue expansion at all costs; instead, efforts should be made to strengthen and optimize the industry based on local conditions. It is necessary to take into account both industry competition and regional competition, while also carrying out thorough strategic planning to coordinate resources within the province as much as possible, in order to avoid product saturation and excess that could lead to homogenization. ” The reporter learned further that, in order to overcome the talent bottleneck, the local area is establishing a database of coal chemical industry professionals needed urgently for development. By establishing a new research institute for coal-based chemical synthesis materials, setting up academicians’ workstations, and creating quality supervision and inspection agencies, it explores flexible talent recruitment models such as those based on temporary assignments, contracts, or seasonal needs. This approach aims to link talent services with industrial platforms as well as to connect the aggregation of talent with industrial upgrading, thereby meeting the needs for high-level talents in the base. “Policies related to talent recruitment and supporting measures will be put in place as soon as possible. In other words, we will focus on formulating policies in areas where companies within the base are in urgent need of talent, thereby helping them attract, train, and retain such talent. ”Wang Chengjun added.