China International Coal Chemicals Forum held in Beijing; the blanket coal restriction policy becomes a focus of attention

Thread Content

On October 16, the 2018 China International Coal Chemical Industry Development Forum, themed \"New Era, New Drivers, High Quality, Stable Development,\" was held in Beijing. The meeting summarized the operational experience of China’s modern coal chemical industry demonstration projects since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, analyzed the current situation and existing problems in the industry, and **almost 500 officials from regulatory agencies, industry experts, and business representatives gathered to discuss pathways for the high-quality development of the coal chemical industry. At the opening ceremony, Gu Xiulian, Vice Chairperson of the 10th Ren Conference, spoke highly of the achievements made in the development of the modern coal chemical industry, and offered suggestions for achieving high-quality development in this sector, including advancements in technology, improvements in production and operation practices, and efforts toward green development. Fu Xiangsheng, vice president of the Petrochemical Federation, introduced the development status of the coal chemical industry. “Since the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the scale of China’s modern coal chemical industry has continued to grow. Through the optimization of process technologies and the improvement of management practices, the demonstration projects have managed to operate in a safe, stable manner over long periods of time, with energy and water consumption continuously decreasing. According to statistics from the Coal Chemicals Committee of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, as of the end of September this year, China’s capacity for coal-to-oil production was 9.21 million tons, coal-to-natural gas production was 5.105 billion cubic meters, coal-to-olefins production was 8.72 million tons, and coal-to-ethylene glycol production was 3.47 million tons. These figures represent increases of 214.3%, 64.4%, 69.6%, and 50.9% respectively compared to the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. At the same time, a number of demonstration projects have achieved stable operation over long periods, with their energy consumption, water consumption, and emissions of waste materials continuously decreasing. In the coal direct liquefaction demonstration project, the water consumption per ton of oil produced dropped from the designed value of 10 tons to 5.82 tons ； Its water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial added value is 17.8 tons per 10,000 yuan, which is far lower than the national average of 68.2 tons per 10,000 yuan for the industrial sector. Especially since the beginning of this year, as international oil prices have gradually risen, the modern coal chemical industry as a whole has shown steady improvement in its performance. Coal-to-oil production has started to turn profitable, coal-to-natural gas has played an important role in providing heating during winter, and the utilization rates for coal-to-olefins and ethylene glycol are high, resulting in good economic returns. At the same time, the development of modern coal chemical industry has faced new difficulties and challenges, such as the severe impact on corporate production caused by blanket coal-use restrictions, the effects brought about by the diversification of petrochemical raw materials and light hydrocarbon projects, the increasing demands for greener development, and the dependence on others for the transportation of coal-derived natural gas. To overcome these difficulties and challenges and achieve high-quality development, Fu Xiangsheng believes it is necessary to pay attention to the following areas: first, it is essential to continue advancing innovation in key technologies and major equipment. In terms of technology, it is necessary to develop methanization processes and low-rank coal pyrolysis technologies ； In terms of environmental protection, efforts are focused on the treatment and disposal of high-concentration, hard-to-degrade organic wastewater, as well as high-concentration saline water and crystalline salts ； In terms of equipment, efforts should be accelerated to localize key pumps and valves such as slurry pressure pumps and high-pressure liquid oxygen pumps. Second, it is necessary to vigorously promote the high-end and differentiated development of modern coal chemical industry. For coal-based olefins, special attention should be paid to high-end polyolefin products featuring bimodal and metallocene grades ； For coal-based ethylene glycol, it is necessary to strengthen research on its applications in high-end polyesters and silk-like materials, while also developing diverse technical approaches for producing polyglycolic acid and polycarbonates from coal via dimethyl oxalate and dimethyl carbonate. Third, continuously promote the green development of modern coal chemical industry. Increase efforts in the research, development, demonstration, and promotion of green and low-carbon processes, technologies, and equipment ； Strengthen full-process control and management to reduce the emission intensity of waste gases, waste liquids, and solid waste ； Actively develop technologies for the comprehensive utilization of carbon dioxide, and explore new approaches to its utilization. Fourth, it is necessary to accelerate the establishment of a technical standard system for the modern coal chemical industry. Special emphasis will be placed on strengthening a range of standards related to energy consumption per unit of product, water conservation limits, clean production, carbon emissions, and cogeneration, in order to enhance the level of green development in the industry through an advanced and rational standard system. “In 2020, if the amount of coal-based fuels used to replace oil in our country reaches 30 million to 38 million tons, then the country’s reliance on imported oil will decrease by 4.6% ； If coal-based fuels replace 30–40 billion cubic meters of natural gas, the external storage requirement for natural gas will decrease by 10%–13.3%. At present, China’s dependence on imported crude oil has reached as high as 68%, so the development of modern coal chemical industry is essential. ”Academician Xie Kechang used a set of predictive data to demonstrate the strategic role of modern coal chemical industry in ensuring **energy security. **Lu Weisheng, deputy director of the Industry Coordination Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, also said that China’s resource endowments and high level of crude oil imports necessitate a moderate development of the coal chemical industry. However, the coal chemical industry is still in the stage of upgrading and demonstration, and does not yet have the conditions for large-scale development. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued the \"Plan for the Innovative Development and Layout of the Modern Coal Chemical Industry,\" with the aim of creating new driving forces for the high-quality development of this industry. The next step is to ensure the implementation of the Plan from three aspects: first, innovation, by strengthening innovation in core technologies and key equipment to promote differentiated product development ； Second is intensive development, aiming to create a number of industrial bases at international standards in order to improve the economic efficiency as well as the safety and environmental protection aspects of these industries ； Third is green development: by establishing standards for water and energy consumption, creating a system of green standards, and introducing intelligent technologies, the level of green development in industries can be improved. “One of our top priorities is to conduct a scientific and comprehensive evaluation of modern coal chemical industry. Building on the successful operation of a batch of demonstration projects, it is necessary to establish an evaluation system for these projects as soon as possible. This will enable us to understand and determine indicators such as the cost of project operation, energy efficiency, coal consumption, and water consumption. Comparative studies should also be conducted to identify specific measures for optimizing project operations. This will provide a basis for the dissemination of innovative technologies and equipment, while also laying the foundation for the high-quality development of the industry. ”Pan Aihua, deputy director of the Raw Materials Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, put forward his suggestions regarding the high-quality development of modern coal chemical industry. **Wang Siqiang, Director of the Department of Energy Conservation and Scientific and Technical Equipment at the National Energy Administration, outlined the key areas for research and development and improvement in coal deep processing technologies from an energy perspective. Specifically, coal deep processing will develop along directions such as the production of ultra-clean petroleum products from coal, specialty oils, and the efficient utilization of lower-grade coal. Among them, direct coal liquefaction will focus on the development of aviation fuel and special kerosene ； Indirect coal liquefaction will expand into downstream industries to achieve diversified development, while also promoting co-production between the two ； For coal-to-natural gas production, it is necessary to optimize and upgrade gasification technologies, as well as to promote the development and implementation of technologies for preventing wastewater discharge.