Commissioning of the MTO unit/olefin separation unit in Shenhua Baotou Coal-to-Olefins Upgrade Demonstration Project

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Construction of 750,000-ton methanol-to-olefins plant begins 2025-08-15 13:22:38 On August 12, the commissioning ceremony for the MTO unit and olefin separation unit of Shenhua Baotou’s coal-to-olefins upgrade demonstration project was held, marking the official start of the full-scale construction phase for this project. The project was constructed under EPC general contracting by Guangzhou Engineering Company, and includes various units such as a new 2 million tons per year MTO unit, a 750,000 tons per year olefin separation unit, cabinet rooms, substations, and a fourth circulating water plant. Among them, the MTO unit utilizes the DMTO-Ⅲ patented technology jointly developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Guangzhou Engineering Company, while the olefin separation unit employs a process package independently developed by Guangzhou Engineering Company. To address challenges such as the short project construction period and the difficulties associated with construction in winter, the project team will carry out a 100-day labor competition titled the \"Civil Engineering Campaign\" in collaboration with all participating units. The goal is to essentially complete all civil engineering work by the start of winter construction, thereby creating favorable conditions for the subsequent installation of steel structures and equipment, and laying a solid foundation for the successful completion of the project by the end of November 2026. To date, the DMTO series of technologies have seen 38 license transfers, resulting in a total olefin production capacity of 26.35 million tons per year ； Sinopec Guangzhou Engineering Co., Ltd. has completed the design or EPC construction of 20 DMTO units, which together have an olefin production capacity of 13.08 million tons per year. Currently, several methanol-to-olefins projects designed using DMTO-Ⅲ technology are under construction. Project Name: Shenhua Baotou Coal-to-Olefins Upgrade Demonstration Project
Constructor: Guoneng Baotou Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.
Location of Construction: Jiuyuan Industrial Park, Baotou City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Nature of Construction: New construction
Project Investment: Total investment of 17.15 billion ； Construction contents: main structure, utility systems, auxiliary facilities, environmental protection projects, storage and transportation systems, and off-site slag yard. Main projects include: air separation units (including air compression stations), coal-to-methanol plants (covering gasification, shift reaction, low-temperature methanol washing, cryogenic stations, sulfur recovery, and methanol synthesis units), MTO plants, olefin separation units, MTBE/butene-1 plants, C4/C5+ comprehensive utilization plants, as well as polyethylene and polypropylene plants. This project is an upgraded demonstration project carried out by Guoneng Baotou Coal Chemical Co., Ltd., building on the world’s first coal-to-olefins demonstration plant that has been in operation for many years. With a total investment of 17.15 billion yuan, the project aims to produce 2 million tons of methanol and 750,000 tons of polyolefins per year. By planning its development in conjunction with new energy sources, it seeks to achieve deep integration between coal chemical manufacturing and green electricity, green hydrogen, and green oxygen.