Foundation-laying ceremony for Yushen 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project of Yanchang Petroleum held

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Ceremony for the commencement of Yanchang Petroleum’s 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project was held. Author/Source: Yahuac Coal Chemicals. Date: June 7, 2020. Views: 35. On the morning of June 6, 2020, the ceremony for starting construction of Yanchang Petroleum’s 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project was held in the Yushen Industrial Park in Yulin, Shaanxi. It is understood that the 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project of Yanchang Petroleum in Yushen is a major strategic initiative of the Yanchang Petroleum Group aimed at addressing current challenges while looking to the future, and at promoting structural adjustments and transformation in the industry. The project utilizes the dimethyl ether carbonylation technology for ethanol production, jointly developed by Yanchang Petroleum and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons of ethanol. The project requires an investment of 6.98 billion yuan and covers an area of 1,365 mu; completion is scheduled for mid-2021. Upon completion, it is expected to generate annual revenues of 2.97 billion yuan and profits of 1.04 billion yuan, thereby becoming a new source of economic growth for Yan’an Petroleum and the Yulin region. As planned, the project will be completed by the end of 2021, and will reach full production capacity and meet the required standards in 2022. Process of the coal-based ethanol project: The project uses the Xiwan open-pit coal mine as its raw material, and the HT-L gasification technology is employed to produce raw gas. One stream of this raw gas undergoes shift reaction, while another stream is used for waste heat recovery. Both streams are then subjected to low-temperature methanol washing to remove sulfur and carbon dioxide from them. The purified gas that has not undergone shift reaction is separated into H2 and CO through deep cooling; part of the gas that has undergone shift reaction is sent to a PSA unit for hydrogen production, and another part is sent to a methanol synthesis unit to produce methanol. CO, H2, and methanol are then fed into the ethanol production facility. In the ethanol plant, methanol vapor is dehydrated to produce dimethyl ether; after impurities are removed, dimethyl ether is vaporized and mixed with CO to enter the carbonylation reactor, where methyl acetate (MAC) is formed. After impurities are separated again, methyl acetate reacts with hydrogen in a hydrogenation reactor to produce ethanol and methanol. Ethanol is obtained as a product, while methanol is returned to the dimethyl ether synthesis unit to be used as a raw material. Equipment configuration: 1 set of air separation unit, a domestic air separation plant with a capacity of 7.5×104 m3/h. Oxygen purity is 99.6%. Full-low-pressure molecular sieve purification and adsorption, air compression, pressure-boosting mechanism, medium-pressure turbine expansion for cooling, and internal compression process in liquid oxygen pumps. To meet the requirements for continuous production of the equipment and the safety of project facilities, an additional backup system has been installed. Gasification is carried out using a space furnace powder gasification method. 2 pulverized coal gasifiers, with a capacity of 2×1500 t/d (the latest reports indicate a capacity of around 2000 tons). Transformed cobalt-molybdenum sulfur-resistant wide-temperature transformation. Part of the raw gas is shifted, changing the volume ratio of CO to H2 from 3:1 to 1:4. The Dalian University of Technology’s low-temperature methanol washing process is used to remove impurities such as CO2, H2S, organic sulfur, and crude light oil from raw gas. Gas separation: cryogenic separation + PSA for hydrogen production. It provides an effective flow rate of H2 at 740 m3/h, and CO at 44,153 m3/h. The secondary Claus process for sulfur recovery is used to treat H2S-containing gases. 4,780 tons of sulfur are produced per year. The East China University of Science and Technology operates an adiabatic isothermal tubular synthesis tower for methanol production, with an annual output of 413,400 tons. Dimethyl ether method for ethanol synthesis at the RIKEN Institute. It consists of dimethyl ether synthesis, carbonylation, hydrogenation and separation, compression, heating furnaces, and refrigeration stations. The ethanol production capacity is 548,500 tons per year. Water treatment: sewage treatment + reclaimed water treatment + membrane concentration, evaporation, and crystallization. All wastewater from the plant is reused and not discharged outside. Product design composition: 413,400 tons per year of methanol, all of which is sent to the ethanol plant. Fusel oil: 6,784 tons per year, for external sale. Ethanol: 548,500 tons per year, for external sale. Reorganized fraction: 1,700 tons per year, for external sale. Ethyl acetate: 8,700 tons per year, for external sale. Sulfur: 4,780 tons per year, for external sale. Background Link 1: Contract for EPC general contracting of the world’s largest coal-based ethanol project signed. On June 2, 2020, the signing ceremony for the EPC general contracting contract for Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project was held in Xi’an. As the EPC general contractor for the gasification unit of this project, the Aerospace Engineering Company signed a general contract with Yushen Energy Chemical Company, with a contract value of 590 million yuan. The project under contract is located in the South Area of Qingshui Industrial Park, Yushen Industrial Park, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. It utilizes two 2,000-ton-class space furnaces, uses Xiwan coal as raw material, and produces 500,000 tons of ethanol per year, with by-products such as ethyl acetate and sulfur. The project includes process units such as gasification, shift reaction, syngas purification, gas separation, methanol production, sulfur recovery, and ethanol production facilities, as well as supporting utilities, storage and transportation systems, auxiliary production facilities, systems engineering, and service facilities. Upon completion, this project will become the world’s largest coal-based ethanol facility with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons, and it will play a significant role in promoting the use of ethanol gasoline, reducing pollution and noise, and ensuring **energy security. The project under contract is located in the South Area of Qingshui Industrial Park, Yushen Industrial Park, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. It utilizes two 2,000-ton-class space furnaces, uses Xiwan coal as raw material, and produces 500,000 tons of ethanol per year, with by-products such as ethyl acetate and sulfur. The project includes process units such as gasification, shift reaction, syngas purification, gas separation, methanol production, sulfur recovery, and ethanol production facilities, as well as supporting utilities, storage and transportation systems, auxiliary production facilities, systems engineering, and service facilities. Upon completion, this project will become the world’s largest coal-based ethanol facility with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons, and it will play a significant role in promoting the use of ethanol gasoline, reducing pollution and noise, and ensuring **energy security. The aerospace engineering company possesses a space coal pressurized gasification technology with fully independent intellectual property rights, which is at the international leading level. This technology features efficient, environmentally friendly conversion at low costs, and boasts outstanding advantages such as high operational safety, good production stability, wide adaptability to different coal types, excellent operational parameters, and effective comprehensive utilization. The company holds an absolute leadership advantage in terms of long-term stable operation, maintaining a world record for consecutive A-grade operation of 467.5 days. On February 21, 2019, the signing ceremony for the basic design and the kick-off meeting for the 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project of Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. were held. The 500,000 tons per year ethanol project in Yushen was won by a joint bid from Yanchang Beijing Engineering Company and the basic design team of Aerospace Engineering Company. The project is located in the southern area of the Qingshui Industrial Park in the Yushen Industrial Zone of Yulin City. It uses raw coal from the Xiwan Coal Mine as input, and through units such as gasification devices, syngas purification systems, gas separation units, methanol production facilities, and ethanol production facilities, it produces 500,000 tons per year of fuel ethanol. On September 13, the dynamic compaction work for the foundation of Yushen Energy Chemical Company’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project was officially launched. On October 29, the environmental impact assessment report for Yushen Company’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project developed by Yanchang Petroleum was officially approved by the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, securing the necessary permission. Zhongke Company has extended its ownership of the patent technology related to the process of producing anhydrous ethanol from syngas. Its main focus at present is to become the world’s first comprehensive service provider for coal-based ethanol production technologies and related patented products; it is engaged in the licensing of patents for this syngas-to-anhydrous-ethanol process, as well as the production and sale of catalysts used in this process. Background Link 2: Development of CNPC’s technology for producing anhydrous ethanol from syngas. In 2012, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics and Yanchang Petroleum began working together on the research and development of a comprehensive process technology for producing ethanol from syngas. In 2014, the two parties launched the “100,000 tons/year syngas-to-ethanol industrial demonstration” project. By January 2017, this project had completed the entire process and produced qualified anhydrous ethanol with a purity of 99.71%. This project is the world’s first industrial-scale coal-based ethanol production facility that utilizes technology with independent intellectual property rights in China. It represents a major breakthrough in the application of advanced coal chemical industry technologies, and it has established China’s leading position in the field of coal-to-ethanol technology and its industrial implementation. In April 2017, Yanchang Petroleum and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics jointly established a high-tech industrialization company focused on catalyst production and technology dissemination – Yanchang Zhongke (Dalian) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Its main activities at present involve the licensing of patented technologies for coal-based ethanol as well as the production of key catalysts. In July, the feasibility study report for the company’s 2,000 tons/year comprehensive molecular sieve catalyst project was approved. By December 2017, Yanchang Petroleum Group signed another agreement with Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics; the two parties collaborated on the development of a 500,000 tons per year synthetic gas-to-ethanol (DMTE) process package as well as new technologies for the efficient utilization of coal. Together, they established the Yanchang-Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics Xi’an Clean Energy (Chemical Engineering) Research Institute. “Building on the successful operation of the \"100,000 tons per year synthetic gas to ethanol industrial demonstration\" project, Yanchang Petroleum Group has decided to invest 2.31 billion yuan to construct the world’s first facility capable of producing 500,000 tons of ethanol per year from synthetic gas.