The development of modern coal chemical industry looks forward to \"horizontal integration\"”

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This post was last edited by jordan569 on 2013-1-6 at 20:53. Against the backdrop of the growing trend toward a global low-carbon economy, it is an inevitable requirement for modern coal chemical industry development to pursue inter-industry co-production, both in the short term and in the long run, in order to achieve efficiency, energy savings, and environmental protection. Therefore, from now on, it is necessary to emphasize multi-party cooperation, break down industry barriers, and accelerate the development of IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle with co-generation). This was the consensus reached on March 25 at the Second China IGCC Cogeneration Forum held in Shanghai, by Ni Weidou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Fei Weiyang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and hundreds of experts in attendance. 　　Liang Longhu, deputy chief engineer at Sinopec Luoyang Petrochemical Engineering Company, suggested that China is not only a country with abundant coal resources but also a major consumer of coal; if the current consumption patterns and trends are not changed, the prospects for these resources will be unfavorable. At present, domestic coal chemical industry is constrained by factors such as resources, funding, and technological maturity; as a result, its facilities cannot match the scale of large-scale petrochemical plants. In the chemical products market where competition will intensify in the future, it may not hold an advantage, especially under the pressure from chemical products from the Middle East. 　　The current energy landscape has given rise to the modern coal chemical industry, which is an inevitable outcome of development. Experts believe that developing coal-based chemical industries to provide the chemical raw materials that were previously derived from oil, thereby enabling the use of limited oil resources to produce fuel oils in high demand in the market, is undoubtedly an effective way to alleviate the shortage of crude oil resources and the pressure associated with heavy reliance on imports. 　　However, modern coal chemical industry is a sector that requires a high level of capital and technology, and it is constrained by various factors such as coal resources, water resources, and environmental regulations. How to improve resource utilization, reduce energy consumption and pollution emissions, enhance scale effects, and increase the added value of products are issues of widespread concern in the industry. 　　At this forum, experts suggested that pursuing cross-industry co-production could be an efficient, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly path for the development of modern coal chemical industry. Developing coal-to-oil and coal-to-olefins separately, even if they could replace 50 million tons of petroleum products by 2020, would require the use of 200 million tons of coal – which is only 1/10 of the oil demand at that time – and it would also involve enormous investment costs. If the coal chemical industry achieves co-production with the petrochemical industry on a broader scale through inter-industry integration, it is possible to optimize resource utilization, maximize energy use, and minimize pollution emissions. 　　An optimized combination of coal-to-oil and petroleum processing projects enables complementary strengths and greater efficiency. Liang Longhu analyzed that, first, it enables complementary raw materials, optimized product blending, and shared utility systems. After integration, the primary products of coal liquefaction can be directly transported to existing refineries to serve as raw materials for refining, where they can be blended with the refinery’s products or further processed. Foreign experts estimate that this combination of fuel oils can reduce costs by 3 to 5 dollars per barrel, while also **reducing carbon dioxide emissions**. Second, after optimizing the combination, output can be increased and investment reduced. Replacing the hydrogen produced from light hydrocarbons in refineries with cheap hydrogen derived from coal can increase the production of light oils through the advanced processing of residue oil ； Based on a refinery with a capacity of 10 million tons per year that produces 2 million tons of residue, this approach can yield an additional 120,000 to 150,000 tons of light oil per year, while saving investment amounts of 800 million to 1 billion yuan. Thirdly, the oil products produced from coal can be sold through Sinopec and CNPC’s existing national distribution networks, which helps to reduce sales costs. 　　Currently, various industries in the country are developing energy chemicals. Experts suggest that IGCC is one of the best technologies and platforms for adapting to China’s national conditions, achieving full utilization of resources, and reducing energy consumption and emissions; however, its development in China is currently slow. To accelerate the development of IGCC projects, from an institutional perspective, the key is to break down industry barriers, eliminate siloed structures, and emphasize multi-party cooperation ； In terms of awareness, it is necessary to make all parties realize that delaying the current development of cogeneration based on gasification will significantly increase China’s costs associated with environmental pollution control, make it difficult to manage future oil imports, and **raise the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 　　To this end, Academician Ni Weidou specifically pointed out that a major challenge we face now is figuring out how to utilize the 100 billion tons of coal in China from now until 2050 in an efficient and low-carbon manner. 　　Academician Ni Weidou said that it takes time for IGCC to become fully mature technologically; therefore, he is against its widespread adoption. However, within the next 5 years, 3 to 5 demonstration projects should be approved in order to take initial steps and promote its development steadily. Technologically, there is a need for summary and improvement; last year, IGCC was successfully applied in the refining and ethylene production project at Fujian United Petrochemical, and this project is now operating smoothly. Furthermore, there is currently an overcapacity for coal-based methanol production in the country, but there is a shortage of electricity and petroleum products. By using IGCC, half of the output can be used for producing olefins and petroleum products, while the other half can be used for generating electricity, thus achieving a balance. 　　Now some companies are enthusiastic about pursuing IGCC projects and have the funding as well. Ni Weidou suggests that it is urgent for our country to implement a strategy for modern coal chemical industry development. As the country is currently in the midst of a new wave of power generation construction, **macro-control should be strengthened by considering the optimal allocation of resources, and policy guidelines and plans should be established. Relevant departments should introduce a carbon tax policy to encourage projects aimed at reducing emissions, including IGCC. 　　Xia Lei, general manager of Shanghai Yahua Consulting Company, which is engaged in coal chemical industry research, believes that cooperation among coal power enterprises, coal chemical enterprises, and oil refining enterprises to jointly carry out IGCC project demonstrations can lead to a win-win situation. Professor Gong Xin from the Institute of Clean Coal Technology at East China University of Science and Technology suggests forming a collaborative consortium comprising research institutions, universities, chemical engineering design firms, power engineering design firms, and enterprises from various industries to work together to promote the development of the IGCC industry, with China shoulding take the lead in the world. http://www.nwrici.com/news/show.aspx?id=667 .Note $ # , $ $