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Sinopec launches a super coal chemical project in Inner Mongolia. On April 14, an important meeting was held at the Dalu Industrial Park in Jungeer Banner, Ordos. Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. gathered all the key personnel from its headquarters’ engineering department, Yanshan Petrochemical, Inner Mongolia Energy Chemical, the Nanjing Project Management Center, and Ningbo Engineering Company. The only agenda item for the meeting was to review the project progress, identify potential issues, and plan the next steps. This signifies that the long-rumored coal-to-olefins project, with a total investment exceeding 22 billion yuan, has successfully overcome all preliminary hurdles and has now entered the final stage of preparation before full-scale construction. What exactly makes this project so “robust”? **Technical capabilities: Full-chain autonomy and control. **This project is located in Ordos and focuses on the entire industry chain for \"coal-based high-end polyolefins,\" with all core technologies developed independently by Sinopec. The gasification stage employs the SE semi-waste boiler coal gasification technology – a result of collaborative research by Sinopec and East China University of Science and Technology. Its greatest advantage lies in its strong adaptability to different feedstocks; even low-quality coals with high ash melting points and high ash content can be converted efficiently using this technology ； The purification process is equipped with S-COS sulfur-resistant conversion and S-AGR acidic gas removal technologies; S-AGR not only breaks the foreign technology monopoly but also reduces energy consumption by 18.8% compared to similar technologies, thereby translating directly into cost advantages ； Methanol synthesis and olefin production utilize the S-MS technology and S-MTO technology respectively, and this combination has successfully overcome the long-standing technical barriers in the West. **Production capacity: Industry-leading. The project involves the construction of a methanol production facility with a capacity of 2.26 million tons per year, along with a supporting MTO plant capable of producing 2.26 million tons per year. Ultimately, it will yield 350,000 tons per year of polyethylene, 450,000 tons per year of polypropylene, and 100,000 tons per year of EVA/LDPE. In total, this creates a production capacity of 900,000 tons per year for high-end chemical materials—truly a “giant” project in the industry. **Resource assurance: A reliable “dedicated grain depot” ** To ensure a steady supply of raw materials, Sinopec Great Wall Energy & Chemicals invested 30.15 billion yuan as early as March 2023 to acquire the prospecting rights for the Nalinhe Bayanchaidamu coalfield in Inner Mongolia. The mining area covers an area of 115.43 square kilometers, with coal reserves amounting to 2.131 billion tons. It is planned to have an annual output of 10 million tons. This is akin to building a “dedicated granary” right next to the project, thereby ensuring a stable supply of raw coal at controllable costs from the very outset. Currently, the successful bidders for the two sections of the site leveling project have been determined: Beijing Yanhua Tianzheng will be responsible for the 137-hectare area on the northwest side, while Sinopec Shengli Construction Engineering will undertake the construction of the 165-hectare area on the southeast side. The two companies are primarily responsible for tasks such as site clearing, excavation and transportation of earth and rock, dynamic compaction, and slope stabilization; the maximum excavation depth reaches 15 meters, thereby laying a solid foundation for the subsequent construction work. **Project background: “Demonstration project for upgrading and iteration” This project did not start from scratch; it originated as a joint venture between Power Investment and French company Total. It was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2016, and it is one of the demonstration projects for upgrading coal-to-olefins technologies at the national level. Later, Great Wall Energy Chemicals took over and carried out technical upgrades on the existing foundation—replacing foreign technologies with domestic ones, while also increasing investment levels further. **Green and low-carbon: An industry benchmark. Today, for coal chemical projects, green transformation has become a core competitive advantage. The project plans to integrate 100 MW of wind power with 240 MW of photovoltaic power, along with an electrolysis facility capable of producing 10,000 tons of hydrogen per year. By using green hydrogen to replace some of the hydrogen produced from coal, the carbon emissions per unit of product can be reduced to 5.66 tons of CO₂ per ton of olefins, achieving a level that is among the best in the industry and thus enabling a win-win situation in terms of economic benefits and carbon reduction goals. With the site leveling work completed, civil construction is set to begin in full force. A modern chemical giant with an annual production capacity of 900,000 tons of polyolefins is rapidly emerging on the Ordos Plateau. Excerpted from Chemical Industry Channel