The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s major scientific and technological project titled “Research on Key Technologies for Producing Ethylene Glycol from Syngas” has been launched

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Launch of the major scientific and technological project in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region: “Research on Key Technologies for Producing Ethylene Glycol from Syngas” Author/Source: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region ** Date: 2019-12-25 Clicks: 71 To implement the important speeches and directives given by **** regarding Inner Mongolia, to actively respond to the new trends in the technological revolution, and to promote the development of this region as an important base for energy and strategic resources, the Regional Department of Science and Technology has arranged for the implementation of this major scientific and technological project in the field of new coal chemical technologies. On November 27, 2019, the major scientific and technological project \"Research on Key Technologies for Producing Ethylene Glycol from Syngas\", jointly undertaken by Jutai Energy (Ordos) Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was officially launched. I. Coal-based ethylene glycol holds broad development prospects. It represents a significant alternative to petroleum-based technologies in the field of new coal chemical industries, and it constitutes an important direction for the clean and efficient utilization of coal. Its economic advantages are greater compared to coal-based methanol, coal-based oil, coal-based natural gas, and coal-based olefins. Ethylene glycol is an important strategic chemical raw material for the economic and social development of our country, and it is also a key ingredient in the production of polyester resins. As the largest country in the world for garment processing and exports, polyester fibers produced from polyester account for over 80% of China’s fiber industry ； Polyesters are raw materials used in the production of bottles and films, and they find wide applications in fields such as packaging, electronics, healthcare, construction, and the automotive industry ； With the rapid development of the Internet and e-commerce in our country, the growth rate of polyester in the packaging industry has accelerated significantly. Currently, China’s annual demand for ethylene glycol is around 17 million tons, with a dependence on imports reaching 60%. In recent years, the coal-based ethylene glycol industry has developed rapidly. Since the first industrial-scale plant was built in 2010, nearly 50 production lines have been constructed, are under construction, or are planned to be built, with a total capacity of around 14 million tons per year. In our region alone, the existing, under-construction, and planned capacities amount to nearly 4 million tons per year. With the development of related industries, the shortage of ethylene glycol will persist for a long time, and the supply capacity in the domestic market needs further improvement. II. The significance of demonstrating and promoting this project: Existing coal-based ethylene glycol production technologies suffer from issues such as low reactor efficiency, high energy consumption in the separation process, high equipment investment, and high production costs, which put them at a disadvantage when competing with imported ethylene glycol. There is an urgent need to improve production efficiency through technological advancements. Professor Xiao Wende from Shanghai Jiao Tong University is one of the first group of professors to be awarded the \"Changjiang Scholar\" title by the Ministry of Education; he has led and completed multiple high-level research projects. Through 20 years of research and development, Professor Xiao Wende and his team have mastered a number of engineering technologies for producing ethylene glycol from coal, and have completed pilot-scale tests. Technologies such as large-scale heat-transfer fixed-bed reactors, large-scale distillation reactors, and a leveling purification system with hierarchical heat coupling are at the international leading level. These technologies offer great potential in terms of improving efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and cutting costs, and they meet the requirements for implementing large-scale industrial demonstrations in Inner Mongolia. Guided by major science and technology projects in the autonomous region, and with the assistance of the Baotou Materials Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Jutai Group decided to conduct in-depth research and development on the syngas-to-ethylene glycol process developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, in order to explore the creation of a new generation of engineered technology solutions for producing ethylene glycol from coal. According to the project plan, the first demonstration line will be constructed at the Ordos Dali Coal Chemical Industry Base. With a total investment of 1.4 billion yuan, its annual production capacity is expected to be 200,000 tons. Once the project is successful as a demonstration project, it will bring significant economic and social benefits, and it will hold important significance as a model for the advanced development of the ethylene glycol industry in the autonomous region. III. Experience and Insights 1. Introducing and applying scientific and technological achievements is an effective way for enterprises in our region to achieve transformation and upgrading. In light of the fact that private enterprises suffer from weak capabilities in technological innovation, a lack of high-level innovation platforms and top-tier talent, and find it difficult to address technical challenges on their own, in recent years the Science and Technology Department of the autonomous region has made efforts to strengthen connections with technological innovation resources outside the region. By organizing major research projects and establishing new types of R&D institutions, it has provided strong support for enterprise innovation, helped to introduce and adapt to significant technological innovations, and promoted the innovative development of private enterprises. 2. Organizing and implementing major science and technology projects is an important means to encourage enterprises to increase their investment in research and development. Innovating the technical routes for producing ethylene glycol from coal presents significant challenges, as it requires substantial investment in research and development and entails high risks. The Science and Technology Department of the autonomous region has focused its efforts on supporting enterprises in the development of industrial demonstration technologies related to key common technical issues in this industry. The region allocated 18 million yuan in financial funds for scientific and technological research, which encouraged enterprises to increase their own investments in such areas. This approach alleviated enterprises’ concerns regarding investing in research and development projects that are high-risk but hold great potential for practical application, thus accelerating the development and commercialization of these technologies. 3. Deploying major science and technology projects is an important measure to address prominent issues in the industry. In order to rapidly change the development model of \"coal mining and coal sales\" in our region, the Science and Technology Department of the autonomous region has focused on establishing an innovation chain for the clean and efficient utilization of coal resources. A funding chain has been developed in line with this innovation chain, and through the implementation of key scientific and technological projects, enterprises are encouraged to transform significant scientific and technological achievements. This approach has helped to push the coal chemical industry upward along the value chain, achieving good results as a model for similar initiatives. IV. Issues and Recommendations: First, provide strong support for the recruitment and training of talent. Current talent policies focus more on public institutions and state-owned enterprises, and their appeal lies primarily in central cities such as Hohhot and Baotou. Industrial parks located in more remote areas with poor transportation links have less appeal; companies there have fewer opportunities for academic exchanges and access to new technological information, making it difficult to establish stable technical teams. Newly recruited professionals also tend not to stay, and as a result, these companies gradually become talent training centers for more developed regions. It is recommended that authorities at all levels **create more platforms for cooperation and exchange among research institutions, universities, and enterprises within the industry, so as to further promote collaboration between schools and enterprises, accelerate the training of professionals in demand by these enterprises, and facilitate the smooth transfer of advanced scientific and technological achievements that are urgently needed by enterprises. Second, strengthen guidance for enterprises. Coal-to-ethylene glycol is a transformative new coal chemical technology; as technological innovations in this sector continue to increase, the scale of this industry is also growing rapidly. However, companies often fail to have a clear understanding of **changes in policies and international circumstances. It is recommended to **increase guidance for enterprises, with a focus on enhancing** the promotion and dissemination of science and technology as well as industrial policies, so as to help enterprises better understand these policies and enable them to transform and upgrade in accordance with the guidelines set forth by those policies. Third, strengthen services for corporate financing. Private enterprises face high transaction costs in their operations, as well as high premium costs for financing. **To further optimize the allocation of funds for technology and industry, it is necessary to use these limited funds to attract more long-term equity and debt capital for enterprise technological innovation and the commercialization of innovations, thereby reducing the financing pressures faced by enterprises in their innovative development.