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The 100,000-ton-per-year unit of the first phase of Yanzhou Coal Industry Yulin Energy Chemicals’ 500,000-ton-per-year polydimethyl methoxymethane (DMMn) production project successfully completed all its processing steps. Author/Source: Coal Chemical Industry Information Network; Date: November 29, 2022; Clicks: 36. At 1:40 p.m. on November 28, 2022, the 100,000-ton-per-year unit of the first phase of this project managed to complete all its processing processes successfully, producing high-quality DMM2 product – another significant milestone in the history of the chemical industry development of this energy group. The successful commissioning of the DMMn project is of great significance for optimizing the chemical industry structure and enhancing overall competitiveness. The chemical name of DMMn is polydimethyl methoxide; as a new type of chemical derived from methanol, it can be used as a component for cleaning and modifying diesel, as well as an environmentally friendly organic solvent, offering broad prospects for market application. DMMn can be used as a component in the formulation of clean diesel; its physical properties are similar to those of diesel, and it can be incorporated into diesel without the need to modify the vehicle’s engine fuel supply system. Its blended diesel has a cetane number as high as 55, with an oxygen content of 47%–50%. By blending 10%–30% DMMn into the diesel, the cold filter plugging point of the diesel can be significantly reduced, thereby improving the combustion quality of the diesel in engines. Moreover, the smokeiness in the exhaust gases can be reduced by up to 80%–90%, while NOx levels can be lowered by 50%, meeting the Euro V standards. With a 10% addition of DMMn, the market volume for DMMn as a component in clean diesel blends is expected to exceed 16 million tons per year in the future. DMMn can also be used as an environmentally friendly organic solvent. DMM2–5 belong to the class of alcohol ether solvents; they are clear, colorless, and transparent liquids with a slight ether odor. They have a wide boiling range (105–202°C) and a high oxygen content of 50%. Their density at 20°C is between 0.96 and 1.05, and their freezing point ranges from -70 to -10°C. They have moderate volatility and good stability at both high and low temperatures, making them solvents with a high oxygen content. As a sulfur-free and aromatic-free green solvent, when added to products such as paints, coatings, and pesticides in certain proportions, it can completely replace toxic organic solvents like toluene and xylene. It can also substitute for ethylene glycol ethers, propylene glycol ethers, and their acetate derivatives with medium to high boiling points, offering significant cost advantages. Project Overview: The first-phase project of Yulin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. under Zaozhuang Coal Industry, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons of polydimethyl methoxide, is currently the largest single-scale project in China for producing polydimethyl methoxide from coal through methanol synthesis. As an ideal diesel blending agent and a new type of environmentally friendly solvent, polydimethyl methoxide is of great significance for addressing China’s current situation of high dependence on crude oil imports and severe air pollution. On June 11, 2019, the signing ceremony for the general contract for design, procurement, and construction of Yanzhou Coal Industry Yulin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s polydimethyl methoxymethane production project with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons (100,000 tons per phase) was held at Hualu Building. On November 6, 2020, the drying and ignition of the semi-reactor gasifier in Yanzhou Coal Industry Yulin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 500,000 tons per year polymethoxymethane project were successfully completed. This project is the largest coal-based polydimethyl methoxyether facility under construction in China, with an annual production capacity of 500,000 tons of coal-based polydimethyl methoxyether (DMMn), along with 800,000 tons per year of methanol. It is located in Jinjitan Town, Yuyang District, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province. The project will build an industrial demonstration unit using a multi-nozzle opposed semi-waste-boiler gasifier. The 500,000 tons per year DMMn (polymethoxydimethyl ether) project of Yanzhou Coal Industry Yulin Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. is planned to have a total investment of 4.596 billion yuan. In this project, coal is used to produce polymethoxydimethyl ether through methanol synthesis; the main technologies employed include coal gasification, raw gas purification, methanol synthesis, methanol distillation, sulfur recovery, and DMMn production. Its main products are methanol and DMMn (full name polymethoxydimethyl ether, an ideal new component for diesel blending, which can also be used directly as a non-aromatic, environmentally friendly solvent) ； By-products include sulfur, liquid oxygen, liquid argon, etc. The project uses one set of oxygen generation equipment with a capacity of 92,000 Nm3/h ； Gasification is carried out using the multi-nozzle (opposed-type) water-coal slurry gasification technology owned by Yankuang Group, with a total effective gas production capacity of 240,800 Nm3/h. Three gasifiers with a capacity of 2,000 t/d each are installed (2 with quenching systems and 1 with a semi-waste boiler), operating in a 2-operational-1-backup configuration ； The purification unit employs the Dalian University of Technology low-temperature methanol washing process ； Methanol synthesis utilizes technology from East China University of Science and Technology ； Distillation employs the Tiantai Beiyang five-column methanol distillation technology, with a processing capacity of 5,000 tons per day in total. The DMMn plant utilizes Metada DMMn technology, and its construction is carried out in two stages: first, a plant with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons is built, followed by the construction of a plant with a capacity of 400,000 tons.