Progress in the construction of the Ningxia Baofeng Coal-to-Olefins project

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Progress on the Construction of the Ningxia Baofeng Coal-to-Olefins Project Author/Source: China Tianchen Date: 2021-12-22 Clicks: 11 Recently, a meeting to review the 90% scale model of the plant’s external pipe racks for the Ningxia Baofeng Coal-to-Olefins Project was held at Tianchen Company. During the review meeting, the project designers from Tianchen Company provided a comprehensive explanation by referring to the plant’s external pipeline process diagram, the plant’s steam system diagram, and the 3D model ； The owner conducted a thorough review based on experience in aspects such as on-site installation, operation and maintenance, as well as operational upkeep. The two sides engaged in active communication and in-depth discussions, reaching a consensus on the optimization and adjustment plans. The successful completion of the 90% model review for all the external pipes in the plant marks the entry of the project’s design work into its final stages. This lays a foundation for further design activities, and it also ensures convenience and feasibility for subsequent operation, maintenance, and repairs, creating favorable conditions for these tasks. 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 full operation, the project will primarily have the production capacity to manufacture 250,000 tons of EVA or partially produce low-density polyethylene annually, as well as 300,000 tons of polypropylene. Additionally, it will be capable of producing by-products such as propane, C4, C5, and sulfur. The coal required for the project is procured by the project entity through market mechanisms. The project is located in Area A of the Linhe Comprehensive Project Zone in the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base. The total project investment amounts to 13,770,000,000 yuan, of which 12,982,010,000 yuan is for construction costs, 99,910,000 yuan for initial working capital, and 688,080,000 yuan for interest during the construction period. The funds are sourced as follows: 4,131 million yuan is raised by the enterprise itself, accounting for 30% of the total investment; the remainder is secured through bank loans and other means. Drawing on the enterprise’s existing engineering experience with gasification processes, the project adopts Beijing Aerospace’s pulverized coal pressurized gasification process; for low-temperature methanol washing, it utilizes Linde technology; and for DMTO, it employs the first-generation technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (with a single-system capacity of 500,000 tons per year) ； Olefin separation utilizes technology from the American company KBR ； The polypropylene (PP) plant utilizes LyondellBasell’s gas-phase process, while the EVA plant employs Basell’s high-pressure tubular process ； Sulfur recovery employs a process that includes high-temperature Claus reaction in the furnace, two-stage low-temperature catalytic Claus reaction, 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 olefin project includes a high-capacity production facility of 250,000 tons per year for EVA; this product is widely used in fields such as foam materials, wires and cables, functional greenhouse films, and photovoltaic encapsulation films. At present, 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, Phase III will add 500,000 tons/year of olefin production capacity, resulting in 250,000 tons/year of EVA and 300,000 tons/year of polypropylene products.