I wonder if anyone knows how things are progressing with Datan’s coal-based olefin production

The 460,000-ton per year coal-based olefins production project in Dolun, operated by Datang International, is one of the key projects under Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd.’s diversification strategy; it serves as an important base for the development of the coal chemical industry by Datang International. Recently, the project has begun to take shape, and all those involved are working tirelessly to meet the deadlines in order to enable this project to start generating benefits as soon as possible. The Datang International Dolun Coal-based Olefins Project uses lignite from the Dongshengli coal field in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, and employs advanced international processes for pulverized coal gasification, gas shift, methanol synthesis, propylene synthesis, and propylene polymerization. The project’s annual output is 460,000 tons of polypropylene, along with by-products such as methanol, gasoline, and sulfur. The gasification furnace unit and methanol production unit of this project are currently the largest in the world; the methanol to propylene (MTP) process unit is the only one of its kind globally. The propylene polymerization (PP) unit has the largest scale in China. In terms of investment, scale, length of the process chain, and technological advancement, this project is at a world-class level. For this coal chemical project, which is the first step in Datang International Power Generation Company’s strategic transition toward diversification, as well as the world’s first coal-to-olefins project, time is of the essence – success is mandatory and failure is not an option. Since the project began construction, under the leadership of Zhao Jingkuan, the head of the preparation office, all the technical and management staff there gave up the opportunity to be with their families and focused entirely on the project’s progress, working day and night at the construction site in the Inner Mongolia grasslands. They overcame various challenges such as the short construction period and unpredictable climate in the area; they worked at the construction site during the day despite strong winds and scorching sun, and spent nights studying materials, accelerating progress, and undergoing training. This ensured that all aspects of the project – including technical negotiations, material bidding, civil construction, equipment assembly, installation, staff training, and production preparation – were carried out in an organized and efficient manner, thus guaranteeing the safe, efficient, and rapid advancement of the project. At present, the civil construction and equipment installation at the power plant have been largely completed. The hydrostatic testing of boilers No. 1 and 2, as well as the cylinder sealing work for units No. 1 and 2, have been finished. The hydrostatic testing of boilers No. 3 and 4, along with the cylinder sealing work for unit No. 3, is about to begin ； The civil construction work in the air separation unit area will be fully completed by October 2007, and 57 units of large and medium-sized tower equipment have already been installed ； In the plant building for the gasification furnace units, the steel structure framework for the 78th floor is being lifted; in the assembly workshop covering an area of 15,000 square meters, the three gasification furnaces, methanol washing towers, butane removal towers, and intermediate ash storage tanks are being assembled and welded together ； The pre-distillation tower and pressure distillation tower of the methanol plant, with an annual production capacity of 1.68 million tons, have been successfully lifted; the atmospheric distillation tower is being prepared for lifting. Construction work in other areas is also underway at full speed, with efforts made to complete tasks day and night.

Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd. will construct a coal chemical project in Dolun County, Xilin Gol League, with an overall annual production capacity of 1.38 million tons of coal-based olefins (and 5 million tons of methanol as an intermediate product). The first phase of this project will have an annual production capacity of 460,000 tons of coal-based olefins (and 1.68 million tons of methanol as an intermediate product)； Construct a dedicated railway line to transport coal from the Shengli Coal Field to Fengning, Hebei, with an annual transport capacity of 30 million tons ； A surface coal mine with an annual production capacity of 30 million tons of raw coal will be built in part of the Area 2 open-pit mine in the Shengli Coal Field, with the first phase having an annual output of 10 million tons of coal. A 4×135 MW captive power plant will be constructed simultaneously with the coal chemical project. Datang International will strive to start construction of the open-pit mine by July 1. Construction of the coal-based olefins civil engineering project began in early July. The power plant project, which is built in conjunction with the coal chemical project, started construction in early August, and the dedicated railway line is also set to begin construction in early July. Using the locally abundant lignite as raw material, and employing advanced international technologies such as powder coal gasification, gas shift, methanol synthesis, propylene synthesis, and propylene polymerization, polypropylene and other by-products will be produced, with production expected to begin in 2009. The main construction components include an air separation unit, a gasification unit, a methanol synthesis unit, a methanol to propylene unit (MTP), a propylene polymerization unit, a sulfur recovery unit, and a captive power plant. The project adopts advanced and mature production process technologies from both domestic and international sources.

Most of the construction is almost complete now; it will still take at least three months for the MPT branch. I’m fortunate enough to be working at the MPT branch

I heard you’ve been driving around recently; are you driving a gasifier?

I wonder when the entire process will be made seamless? Wish you success

Keeping a close eye on it, hoping things go smoothly~

I heard that some have already started production with the machines in operation for testing