【Frontiers in HaiChuan Chemical Technology】Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics’ “Methanol-Naphtha Coupling Technology for Olefin Production” Passes Scientific and Technological Achievement Evaluation

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On December 31, 2025, the \"Methanol-Naphtha Coupling Technology for Olefin Production,\" an innovation with independent intellectual property rights developed by Academician Liu Zhongmin’s team from the Low-Carbon Catalysis and Engineering Research Center of Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DNL1200 group) in collaboration with China Shenhua Coal-to-Oil Chemical Co., Ltd., passed the evaluation of scientific and technological achievements organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. The evaluation meeting will be chaired by Wang Xiujiang, deputy director of the Department of Science, Technology and Equipment of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. Academician He Mingyuan from East China Normal University will serve as the chairman of the Scientific and Technological Achievements Evaluation Committee. Academician Xie Kechang, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and Academician Bao Xinhe from the University of Science and Technology of China will act as deputy chairmen of the committee. Eleven experts, including Academician Xu Chunming from China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Academician Peng Xiaojun from Dalian University of Technology, Academician Gao Xionghou from CNPC Lanzhou Petrochemical Company, and Academician Sun Lili from Sinopec Engineering Co., Ltd., will serve as committee members. Li Xianfeng, deputy director of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, along with relevant personnel from the research and administrative departments, attended the meeting. At the meeting, Researcher Ye Mao from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics delivered a presentation titled “Technology for the Coupled Production of Olefins from Methanol and Naphtha,” in which he introduced the project background, technical approach, innovations and intellectual property rights, as well as the application prospects. Researcher Li Jinzhe and Senior Engineer Zhang Taozheng presented the reports titled “Catalyst and Pilot-Scale Test Research Report” and “Pilot-Scale Test Research Report and Evaluation Report,” respectively, providing detailed accounts of catalyst development, standardization, and scale-up; reaction process research; scale-up test facilities; the pilot-scale testing process; and the evaluation results. The evaluation committee carefully reviewed the relevant evaluation materials and novelty search reports, and held in-depth discussions with the R&D team on technical issues and the prospects for technological applications. Finally, the evaluation committee unanimously agreed that this achievement is highly innovative and reaches an internationally leading level; it approved the evaluation unanimously and recommended accelerating the industrial demonstration and widespread application of this technology. The team proposed and developed a technical approach for the coupled production of low-carbon olefins from methanol and naphtha. By enabling the in-situ coupling of exothermic and endothermic reactions on the same catalyst, the reaction heat can be utilized in situ, which increases the yield of olefins and reduces energy consumption during the process; moreover, this approach allows for wide compatibility with various naphtha feedstocks ； A fluidized-bed microsphere catalyst with high selectivity for olefins, low aromatization activity, and low coking rate was developed; ton-scale scale-up production was achieved, enabling the efficient and selective conversion of methanol naphtha into low-carbon olefins ； A new fluidized-bed reactor and process for the production of olefins from methanol and naphtha have been developed, enabling precise control over the reaction contact time, suppression of secondary conversion of olefins, and improvement in the selectivity of ethylene, propylene, and butylene. A pilot-scale testing facility capable of producing thousands of tons per year of olefins via this methanol-naphtha coupling process has been built. The team conducted various pilot-scale tests and process trials on a thousand-ton-class testing facility for the coupling of naphtha and methanol, laying a technical foundation for the design of industrial production plants. This achievement enables the extended use of coal tar creosote in the production of olefins, facilitating the development of a modern coal chemical industry based on integrated oil and chemical production ； It can also be used for the technological upgrading of naphtha steam cracking units in the petrochemical industry, holding significant application potential.