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Shandong Rongxin and Yanchang Zhongke signed a patent technology licensing agreement for the \"400,000 tons per year methanol-to-ethanol project\". Author/Source: Yaha Coal Chemical Industry. Date: June 18, 2020. Clicks: 67. On June 18, 2020, Shandong Rongxin Group Co., Ltd. and Yanchang Zhongke (Dalian) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. jointly signed such an agreement in Jinan, Shandong. Leaders from Shandong Province and Jining City, the Shenyang Branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Rongxin Group Co., Ltd., and Yanchang Zhongke (Dalian) Energy Technology Co., Ltd. attended the signing ceremony. The 400,000 tons per year methanol-to-ethanol project is an industrial upgrading initiative undertaken by Rongxin Group, which leverages its advantages in industry, technology, resources, and location to apply the latest coal chemical technologies developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics. Using existing methanol products as raw materials, this project aims to build a facility capable of converting 400,000 tons per year of methanol into ethanol, thereby achieving comprehensive utilization of resources and extending the industrial chain. The total investment in the project is 3 billion yuan. The main construction components include a 400,000-ton/year methanol-to-ethanol conversion plant, a pure oxygen catalytic partial conversion unit, a PSA pressure swing adsorption unit, a deep cryogenic separation unit, an MDEA decarboxylation unit, an air separation plant, and other auxiliary facilities. Once the project reaches full capacity, it will generate annual sales revenue of 3.5 billion yuan and profits and taxes of 1.3 billion yuan, contributing to local employment and high-quality economic development. The signing of this technology licensing agreement marks another high-tech achievement of the Chinese Academy of Sciences being implemented in Shandong, opening a new chapter in the cooperation between Shandong Province and the Academy. The technology for producing anhydrous ethanol (DMTE) via dimethyl ether carbonylation of syngas/methanol is a patented technology with full independent intellectual property rights, developed jointly by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd. It represents another breakthrough achievement by the team led by Academician Liu Zhongmin from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, following the DMTO technology for producing olefins from methanol. The DMTE technology uses syngas and methanol as raw materials; dimethyl ether is produced by the dehydration of methanol, methyl acetate is synthesized through the carbonylation of dimethyl ether with CO, and ethanol is generated via further hydrogenation of methyl acetate with H2. The world’s first ethanol production plant using methanol/syngas as feedstock (with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons), built based on this technology, came online in January 2017. All technical parameters met or exceeded the design specifications, marking a significant breakthrough in China’s technology for producing ethanol from syngas/methanol. This development holds great strategic importance for ensuring China’s energy and food security, promoting the clean use of coal, and reducing air pollution. YanChang ZhongKe (Dalian) Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a high-tech industrialization platform established through a joint investment by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shaanxi YanChang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd., holds a full set of technical patents and possesses comprehensive capabilities in DMTE process design as well as in the production of core catalysts; it will provide comprehensive technical services for this project.