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Large-scale projects drive high-end development — Part 1 of a series on high-quality projects in Shaanxi promoting the sector’s sustainable growth. Author/Source: Sinochem New Network. Date: April 25, 2022. Clicks: 14. Editor’s note: As a province rich in energy resources but also economically underdeveloped, increasing investment in fixed assets is undoubtedly one of the effective measures to stabilize economic growth. 2022 was designated as the year for advancing the construction of high-quality projects in Shaanxi Province, with the aim of increasing effective investment by focusing on the completion of these projects and accelerating the development of key industrial projects in order to build a solid foundation for future industrial growth. Several key provincial-level energy and chemical projects from 2022 are located in Yulin, Shaanxi. Through in-depth investigations and interviews, the reporter produced a series of reports titled \"Shaanxi’s High-Quality Projects Driving High-Quality Development in the Industry.\" These reports examine the progress of these key projects from various perspectives such as demonstration and leadership, expansion into downstream sectors, intelligent applications, and low-carbon development, thereby highlighting their role in promoting the high-quality, diversified, and low-carbon development of the energy and chemical industry. In the warm month of April, the construction sites of various energy and chemical projects in the Yushen Industrial Zone in Yulin, Shaanxi, are bustling with activity. Once completed, these projects will play a key role in driving the advanced development of Shaanxi’s energy and chemical industry. The reporter learned from the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission that this year Shaanxi has planned 620 key provincial-level projects, including 12 ongoing projects and 11 new projects in the petroleum and chemical industry, which are mainly located in Yulin. As the world’s largest modern coal chemical project under construction at present, the demonstration project for the production of new chemical materials through the selective utilization of coal by Shaanxi Coal Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd. has a total investment of over 100 billion yuan. This project uses low-metamorphism long-flame coal from northern Shaanxi as raw material, and achieves the differentiated utilization of coal and the extension of the industrial chain through three steps of transformation. That is, by pyrolyzing 15 million tons of raw coal and carrying out hydrogenation treatment of coal tar, primary products such as pyrolysis gas, distillate oil, and semi-coke are produced; these primary products are further processed to yield major platform products such as ethylene glycol, methanol/olefins, aromatics, and base oils, and through additional processing, four categories of end products are created, including high-value-added materials, battery electrolytes, biodegradable plastics, and specialty oils. Faced with this super-large project featuring a massive scale, complex technology, and diverse industries, Yulin Chemical Company adopted a scientific planning approach and implemented it in phases. The total investment for one of these phases is 30.1 billion yuan, and it mainly includes facilities for producing 1.8 million tons per year of ethylene glycol from semi-coke (coal), 1.2 million tons per year through low- and medium-temperature coal pyrolysis, and 500,000 tons per year via coal tar hydrogenation. These facilities are set to be completed and put into operation gradually in 2022. Tu Jinlong, manager of the Engineering Control Department at Yulin Chemical Company, explained that the company organized a 40-day campaign to ignite the first boiler, as well as a 60-day campaign to complete the initial phase of construction and prepare the gasification furnace for operation. These efforts led to a construction boom, with over 20 construction units and 20,000 workers working simultaneously on the project. At present, the 1.8 million tons per year ethylene glycol project has completed 97% of its overall plan, and construction is in the final stages; completion is expected by the end of July. On September 13, 2021, **** emphasized during an inspection of **Energy Group Yulin Chemical Co., Ltd.** the need to actively develop coal-based specialty fuels and coal-based biodegradable materials, in order to promote the high-end, diversified, and low-carbon development of the coal chemical industry. The world’s first demonstration plant for polyglycolic acid (PGA) with an annual production capacity of 50,000 tons, which is being rapidly developed by Guoneng Yulin Chemical Company, represents a new type of project that extends the coal-based ethylene glycol production chain to produce coal-derived biodegradable materials. This project will mark China’s first breakthrough in the field of PGA production. Chen Lijian, manager of the Infrastructure Management Department at Guoneng Yulin Chemical Company, told reporters that the 50,000 tons per year PGA project launched a \"100-day campaign\" in February this year, identifying 12 milestone control points, key deadlines, and safeguard measures. Currently, the installation of equipment and piping work is at its peak, with completion of the project by the end of July expected. Similarly, the 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project under construction by Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. is also the world’s first large-scale industrial facility of its kind, utilizing the dimethyl ether carbonylation technology for ethanol production developed jointly by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yanchang Petroleum. As of the end of March, a total investment of 5.172 billion yuan has been committed to this project, with an overall progress rate of 96.28%. The equipment installation is now largely complete, with the first boiler set to be ignited in early April. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of June, with commissioning and trial operation starting in August. The Shenmu High-Tech Zone (Jinjie Industrial Zone), located across the river from the Qingshui Industrial Park, is home to several coal chemical enterprises. The industrial demonstration project for environmental-friendly innovative technologies related to 600,000 tons per year of high-performance resins and associated facilities, newly established here by Shaanxi Jintai Chlor-Alkali Shenmu Chemical Co., Ltd., is the first in the industry to incorporate new technologies such as mercury-free catalytic synthesis of vinyl chloride, production of active calcium oxide from carbide slag, and \"zero\" discharge of industrial wastewater. Currently, the construction of the company’s caustic soda and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) main production facilities is in its final stages, with commissioning expected to take place in July. During interviews with the Yulin Development and Reform Commission, reporters learned that Yulin has launched a project implementation campaign for 2022, assigning staff from 8 departments responsible for joint review and approval to work together in a centralized manner. Weekly progress reviews, monthly advancements, and quarterly assessments are carried out, with a separate list assigned to each project, thereby ensuring that the necessary resources are provided to support the projects’ success. In early April, Yulin City also held a meeting to promote the on-site inspection of key projects for the first quarter, aiming to accelerate the start of construction on these projects. Zhang Xiaoguang, head of the Shaanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, said that an implementation plan for a year dedicated to advancing the construction of high-quality projects will be formulated, with clear action plans in place to ensure that the progress of key project construction is accelerated and their quality improved. At the same time, they will further optimize the funding for key projects, strengthen the supply of resources needed for their construction, standardize the implementation of the commitment-based system for corporate investment projects, and accelerate the processing of procedures related to land use, environmental assessments, and energy consumption.