Latest progress on the Baofeng coal-to-olefins project

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Latest Progress on Baofeng Coal-to-Olefins Project Author/Source: Coal Chemical Engineering 114 Forum Date: 2021-07-16 Clicks: 23 Recently, a 90% model review meeting was held for various units such as the low-temperature methanol washing system and the refrigeration station in the third phase of Baofeng Energy’s 500,000-ton coal-to-olefins project, which is being carried out by China Tianchen Engineering Co., Ltd. The review process began with examining the feedback on 60% of the models. The designers from Tianchen Company provided a comprehensive explanation based on the 3D models, and through in-depth discussions, all participants reached agreements on optimizing various design details. The successful conclusion of this review meeting marks the entry of the project’s design phase into its final stages. This ensures ease and efficiency in subsequent operation, maintenance, and repairs, and also creates favorable conditions for the procurement of necessary materials and the execution of on-site construction work. In December 2019, the third phase of Ningxia Baofeng Energy’s 500,000-ton coal-to-olefins project was launched. The project will construct a 1.5 million tons per year coal gasification to methanol plant (4 in operation and 2 as backups), a 500,000 tons per year methanol to olefins plant, a 250,000 tons per year ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) plant, a 300,000 tons per year polypropylene plant, along with the necessary utility systems and auxiliary facilities. Upon completion and reaching full production capacity, the project will primarily have an annual production capacity of 250,000 tons of EVA, or a partial production capacity for low-density polyethylene, as well as 300,000 tons of polypropylene; in addition, it will be able to produce by-products such as propane, C4, C5, and sulfur. The coal required for the project is acquired by the project owner through market mechanisms. The construction site is located in Area A of the Linhe Comprehensive Project Area within the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base. The total investment for the project is 1,377,000 million yuan, of which 1,298,201 million yuan is allocated to construction costs, 9,991 million yuan to working capital for the initial phase, and 68,808 million yuan to interest during the construction period. The funding comes from the enterprise’s own resources in the amount of 413.1 million yuan, accounting for 30% of the total investment; the remaining amount is covered through bank loans and other sources. The project builds on the enterprise’s existing engineering expertise in gasification processes; it utilizes the Beijing Aerospace pressurized coal gasification technology, Linde’s technology for low-temperature methanol washing, and the first-generation technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (a capacity of 500,000 tons per year per system) ； Olefin separation utilizes technology from the American company KBR ； The polypropylene PP plant uses the Lyondellbasell gas-phase process, while the EVA plant employs the Basel high-pressure tubular process ； Sulfur recovery employs a process that includes high-temperature Claus in the furnace, two-stage low-temperature catalytic Claus, hydrogen reduction, and selective oxidation; after combustion of the exhaust gases, they are sent to the power island in the Linhe Industrial Park (where they enter two desulfurization systems in the power station). Baofeng Energy’s 500,000 tons per year olefins project includes a high-capacity production line for 250,000 tons per year of EVA; this product is widely used in fields such as foam materials, wires and cables, functional greenhouse films, and photovoltaic encapsulation films. Currently, the domestic reliance on imported EVA products is as high as 60%. Once the project is put into operation, the 250,000 tons per year production facility will also set a new record for the scale of single EVA production units in the western region, further enhancing its core competitiveness in terms of scale and high-end capabilities. Ningxia Baofeng Energy Group has completed two phases of its olefin projects, with an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tons of olefins, 600,000 tons of polyethylene, and 600,000 tons of polypropylene. Upon completion of the third-phase project, an additional 500,000 tons per year of olefin production capacity will be added, resulting in 250,000 tons per year of EVA and 300,000 tons per year of polypropylene products.