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WHB3.0: A pioneer in ethylene glycol technology – China’s first 400,000 tons/year facility for producing ethylene glycol from raw gas. Author/Source: Yahuah Coal Chemical Industry; Date: 2020-08-12; Clicks: 8. The technology for producing polyester-grade ethylene glycol from syngas was developed and tested starting in 2006 by China Fifth Ring Engineering Co., Ltd., Huashuo Technology Co., Ltd., and Hebi BMW (Group) Industrial Co., Ltd. Through efforts in catalyst development, pilot tests, further scale-up tests, and the construction of industrial-scale facilities, this technology possesses complete independent intellectual property rights. During the 14-year development process, 12 patent approvals have been obtained, with another 10 patents pending. Currently, the WHB ethylene glycol technology has evolved to its third generation, namely WHB3.0, which will be used in Hami Guanghui’s first domestic project for producing 400,000 tons of ethylene glycol per year from waste gas. This project is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2021. Building on the successfully industrialized WHB1.0 (Yangmei Shenzhou, 200,000 tons per year) and WHB2.0 (Inner Mongolia Rongxing, 400,000 tons per year), WHB3.0 innovatively utilizes waste gas to produce high-quality syngas for the manufacture of ethylene glycol. This is achieved through a series of processes such as conversion, modification, low-temperature methanol washing, and PSA adsorption separation, to isolate the valuable syngas components H2 and CO from the waste gas; these components are then used, along with carbonylation, hydrogenation, and purification techniques, to produce high-end chemical products in the form of polyester-grade ethylene glycol. At the same time, during the conversion process, the organic sulfur in waste gas is converted into H2S, which is easy to recover, and sulfur is produced through wet sulfur recovery units, thereby achieving maximum utilization of waste gas resources and solving the industry challenge related to the effective use of such resources. Compared to coal-based ethylene glycol production projects, the WHB3.0 technology for producing ethylene glycol from raw gas can reduce project construction costs by over 30%, significantly lowering the production costs of ethylene glycol and enhancing the overall profitability of such projects. Moreover, this entire technology aligns with the concepts of green development, playing a very positive role in promoting energy conservation and emission reduction as well as in protecting the ecological environment. China Five Rings Engineering Co., Ltd. traces its origins to the Fourth Design Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, established in 1958. It has always held a strategic position in the field of coal chemical engineering, striving to integrate its traditional strengths in engineering design with process development. The 400,000-ton-per-year ethylene glycol production plant of Yankuang Group Rongxin Chemical, which utilizes WHB2.0 technology and was under the general contracting of China Wuhuan, was successfully commissioned on December 28, 2019. This achievement set a new record in China’s field of ethylene glycol production from syngas: it marked the fastest commissioning time for such a plant in a cold northern winter, as well as the first time that qualified products were produced from it right from the start. Recently, this device underwent a 72-hour continuous performance test, and all its parameters met the performance guarantees specified in the EPC contract, thus passing the test successfully. Moreover, indicators such as raw material and utility consumption are at an advanced level in the country, and the cost of ethylene glycol products is significantly lower than that of similar facilities domestically, giving it strong market competitiveness. In this project, China Five Rings served as both the process technology provider and the general contractor, withstanding various challenges related to process development and design, procurement and construction, plant commissioning and startup, as well as product performance testing, thereby covering the entire construction process for the WHB syngas-to-ethylene glycol project.