How to formulate a development plan for the coal chemical industry

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1 Guiding Principles To carry out effective planning for the coal chemical industry, the first issue that needs to be addressed is that of the guiding principles for such planning. Analysis suggests that in the new historical period, it is necessary to fully implement the Scientific Outlook on Development, adopt concepts such as circular economy, clean production, and ecological industry. Guided by **theory and the important thought of \"Three Represents,\" efforts should be made to continuously improve the level of comprehensive resource utilization, intensify efforts to save energy, reduce consumption, and cut emissions. Attention should also be paid to the overall benefits of projects, with a people-centered approach, in order to ensure the sustainable and harmonious development of the coal chemical industry. This is the basic guiding principle we should adhere to in formulating development plans for the coal chemical industry in the future. 2 Planning and Positioning: The national \"Medium- and Long-Term Development Plan for the Coal Chemical Industry\" is a **level specialized master plan. In actual work, there are few opportunities and personnel who may get involved in this task. There are relatively more plans for the coal chemical industry at the provincial (regional, municipal) level, at the city and county levels, at the regional level, and even at the level of larger enterprises and groups. Therefore, this article focuses on the formulation of such development plans for the coal chemical industry. 3 Restrictive conditions in planning formulation To develop a plan that can truly serve as a guide in practical work, it is necessary to carefully consider the restrictive conditions that may arise during the planning process. Only in this way can the prepared plan be in line with objective reality. The main restrictive factors that may be involved in the formulation of a development plan for the coal chemical industry include the supply of raw material resources, particularly coal, the availability of water resources, the market conditions for the products produced by the projects, the infrastructure for power and water supply as well as transportation, the location of the plants, environmental conditions, funding and financial guarantees, and the maturity and reliability of the technologies to be used in these projects. Unlike the preliminary work for other projects, planning places greater emphasis on overall integrity and systematic integration optimization. 4 Key Points in Planning Development To develop a high-level, high-quality development plan for the coal chemical industry, the following key points require special attention. 4.1 In the formulation of plans, concepts such as the scientific development outlook, circular economy, and clean production should be consistently applied. When developing plans for the coal chemical industry, it is essential to adhere to these concepts, with particular attention paid to the overall benefits resulting from the implementation of the planned projects, especially in terms of environmental and social benefits. It is necessary to ensure that the implementation of planned projects proceeds in harmony with population, resources, and the environment, achieving sustainable development. In the process of formulating development plans for the coal chemical industry, it is necessary to adhere to the \"3R\" principles, namely reduction, reuse, and recycling, in order to completely eliminate the pollutants and waste generated by the planned projects, thereby avoiding environmental pollution. On the other hand, it truly achieves comprehensive utilization of resources, enhancing the overall competitiveness and comprehensive benefits of the planned project. 4.2 The formulation of plans should comply with relevant laws and regulations, industrial policies, as well as the main requirements of higher-level plans. When drafting plans for the development of the coal chemical industry, it is necessary to pay close attention to relevant laws and regulations, as well as provincial, municipal, and industry-specific policies, especially those provisions and requirements that are restrictive or prohibitive in nature. For instance, in Document No. 1350 issued by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2006, titled “Notice of the National Development and Reform Commission on Strengthening the Management of Coal Chemical Industry Projects to Promote the Healthy Development of the Industry”, it is clearly stated that “in general, approval should not be granted for coal-to-liquid projects with an annual production capacity of less than 3 million tons, methanol and dimethyl ether projects with a capacity of less than 1 million tons, or coal-to-olefins projects with a capacity of less than 600,000 tons.” Thus, in the actual process of planning and formulation, any coal chemical projects that are involved must comply with these specific policy requirements. At the same time, the formulation of development plans for lower-level coal chemical industries must also comply with the relevant requirements set out in the development plans for higher-level coal chemical industries, such as the overall scale of construction, product offerings, and directions for development. It is necessary to ensure that the constraints set by higher-level plans are not exceeded. Strive to ensure that lower-level plans serve as effective implementers and executors of the intentions of higher-level plans. 4.3 The calculation of material flows must be accurate and comprehensive. A development plan for the coal chemical industry involves more than one project; there are often dozens or even more such projects, and these projects are frequently interconnected in complex ways. At this point, it is extremely crucial to plan and calculate the overall material flow. For example, a coal chemical industry development plan to be formulated in a certain region of Xinjiang may include projects such as coal mining, washing and sorting, producing methanol through coal gasification, manufacturing synthetic oils through coal liquefaction, and generating electricity from coal waste (slurry and gangue). In these projects, the product of the previous project serves as the raw material for the subsequent project. As mentioned earlier, the mining capacity for coal determines the availability of raw materials for downstream coal chemical projects, while the supply of medium-grade coal (slime and gangue) resulting from coal washing limits the installed capacity of power plants. Similarly, the scale of production for methanol and synthetic oils also depends on the coal supply capacity. To establish an appropriate level of coordination among these projects, a fundamental requirement is to first carry out accurate, thorough, and comprehensive calculations of the overall material flow. 4.4 The calculation of energy flow must be thorough and meticulous. The production process in coal chemical projects involves numerous endothermic and exothermic reactions that consume large amounts of energy, while also generating steam of different grades as a by-product. Heating and cooling of materials may occur both between different projects and within a single project. How to make effective use of this energy, improve the efficiency of energy utilization during the reaction process as much as possible, and ensure that overall energy savings and reduced consumption in project planning are achieved at a high level, should be a key consideration in formulating development plans for the coal chemical industry. For example, the coal-based cogeneration projects that are emerging both domestically and internationally at present illustrate this well. Taking the coal-based oil and power co-generation system [2] as an example, the steam generated as a by-product during the process of synthesizing oil products through indirect liquefaction after coal gasification can be used as an energy source for the IGCC power generation system. Through the integration of the synthetic oil product system and the IGCC power generation system, the energy utilization efficiency of each system improves significantly, resulting in substantial overall savings in energy consumption. In practical work, only by carefully and meticulously preparing the energy flow diagrams for various processes can one truly understand where the energy comes from and where it goes, and only then can every bit of energy be utilized effectively, thereby improving the overall quality of planning for the development of the coal chemical industry. 4.5 The determination of the construction scale for a project must be in line with the basic conditions. A development plan for the coal chemical industry includes many projects, and it is crucial to determine the construction scale for each project as well as its product portfolio. Generally, in addition to considering the market, economic scale, and policy requirements of the products for the planned project, ensuring the fulfillment of basic conditions is of paramount importance. For example, a city in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region included in its developed plan for the development of the coal chemical industry the goal of building a project for the indirect liquefaction of coal to produce synthetic oil at a capacity of 10 million tons per year. After analysis, it was found that the area has abundant coal resources, a sufficient supply of electricity, and convenient transportation conditions; it also meets the requirements regarding a coal liquefaction capacity of no less than 3 million tons per year. However, following expert evaluations, this planned project was ultimately rejected. The main reason is the severe shortage of local water resources, which are far from sufficient to meet the water needs for the development of the project. Similarly, other similar development plans for the coal chemical industry may also face issues related to the lack of supporting infrastructure. For example, some provinces and cities may have a large amount of mountainous terrain, which poses significant challenges in planning the land supply for projects. In such cases, the scale of construction for these projects should not be too large, otherwise it will be difficult to secure the necessary land for them. 4.6 The target market for the project must be defined. To truly enhance the feasibility of the development plan for the coal chemical industry and to ensure that the planned projects are actually implemented, it is essential to identify the target market for the products of those projects. Although the products of some projects can serve as raw materials for downstream products, it is impossible to consume them all. In such cases, the selection of the target market for these products becomes particularly crucial and important. An inaccurate identification of the target market is likely to result in inventory buildup of the product, ultimately leading to the failure of the project. For example, a provincial plan called for the construction of a capacity of 10 million tons per year for methanol during the 11th Five-Year Plan period; aside from producing downstream products such as dimethyl ether, gasoline (using MTG technology), and formaldehyde, 5 million tons of methanol would still remain each year. However, the planning agency did not pay sufficient attention to this issue during the planning process. It simply means being sold in the local area and surrounding regions. It was met with unanimous skepticism from experts at the organization’s expert consultation meeting. The reason is that the local annual demand for methanol is only around 1 million tons, while neighboring areas have also planned to build a large number of methanol production projects, with their production capacity reaching 15 million tons. With sales of methanol already being a problem in those areas, how can they absorb the methanol produced in this province? 4.7 Careful consideration should be given to the technical choices for planning projects. A development plan for the coal chemical industry includes many projects, involving a variety of process technologies – some of which are already mature and reliable, while others are still in the research and development phase. To ensure the feasibility of the plan, the technical maturity level required for the technologies chosen in planning projects is usually high. It is particularly important to be careful here and not to include immature technologies in the projects planned for the near future. Furthermore, when choosing technologies, one should avoid an excessive admiration for foreign things and the assumption that everything abroad is advanced. In fact, this is not the case. As a country with abundant coal resources, our country’s coal chemical industry has far surpassed other countries in terms of development. Therefore, when planning the selection of process technologies for a project, it is advisable to prioritize domestic technologies that possess independent intellectual property rights and exhibit significant innovation. The specific circumstances vary from region to region and from enterprise to enterprise, so the content of the plans also differs. There is no fixed format for coal chemical industry plans; as long as they are in line with the actual conditions of each entity, the following elements are essential for reference: 1. Analysis of industrial policies 2. Resource availability • Coal • Water 3. Infrastructure • Road, railway, and water transport facilities • Power supply guarantees 4. Basic approach and overall objectives 5. Industrial layout and key projects (the core and most important part) 6. Guarantee measures • Organizational structure • Financing • Personnel