【Haichuan Chemical Salary Updates】Urumqi Petrochemical Fertilizer Plant resumes production after three years of shutdown

The enterprise that wasn’t destroyed has come back to life again

Wu Shi Hua can still make some money from the three fertilizer plants. Both one and two suffered losses.

I’ve only heard of the large-scale fertilizer production in the early 1980s, and the second and third waves of fertilizer production in the 1990s. Where is that third wave of production?

Natural gas prices have dropped, while urea prices have risen; there is now a profit margin

Urumqi Petrochemicals has made thorough preparations for the production of SODm urea. China Fertilizer Network, 2015-3-17 9:39:57. Source: Website forum. [Large Medium Small] In mid-March, as the weather gradually warms up, both the northern and southern parts of Xinjiang are about to enter the spring plowing season. Due to market demand for this new SODm urea product, the fertilizer factory of Urumqi Petrochemicals has received orders to start operating its second fertilizer production unit, and preparations are underway to begin production; production of Kunlun SODm urea is set to commence in the near future. 　　Kunlun urea produced by Wushihua has, after 30 years in the market, established a strong brand reputation among the general public. Since the fertilizer production unit at Wushihua Petrochemical stopped operating in the third quarter of last year, exploratory measures have been taken to remove all materials from this shut-down unit in order to reduce maintenance and operational costs, and certain results have been achieved. Due to the large number of components such as pumps and pipelines, which cover the entire system, the effort required for restoration increases. 　　The commissioning of Wushihua’s fertilizer production facility is of great significance; it affects the Kunlun SODm urea brand and market. The task at hand is challenging, yet the mission is honorable. Upon receiving the order to resume production, the fertilizer plant promptly held a mobilization meeting for the restart of the facilities, completed the preparation and review of the plan for resuming operations, and established six specialized teams responsible for ensuring the necessary conditions for production, managing production processes, and conducting safety inspections prior to commencing operations. These efforts were aimed at ensuring that the overall progress remained under control and that various maintenance and repair tasks could be carried out effectively. 　　As planned, the process workshop drew fully on past experience in commissioning processes to verify the areas related to the joint management of instruments, electrical systems, and processes. It continued to streamline work tasks, organized daily reviews and diagnostics, improved coordination with the construction team through thorough briefings, and strictly followed the procedures for making changes. Special attention was paid to identifying and verifying hazard sources such as condensate and nitrogen removal. The Safety Supervision Station of the fertilizer plant, along with the mechanical and technical teams, conduct inspections on a daily basis, and provide reviews and reports at the end-of-shift meetings. Ensuring that each item is verified thoroughly and nothing is overlooked is a necessary prerequisite for the plant to be ready for operation. The fertilizer factory continues to use the device operation verification form to guarantee that no aspects of the work are neglected. 　　On March 3, the steam system was established for the unit, and on March 4, the water circulation system was set up. At present, tasks such as communication and verification of the startup process, training of the work teams on the startup plan, and cleaning and inspection of the equipment have all been completed on schedule. Upon receiving the startup instruction, Urumqi Petrochemical’s high-quality Kunlun brand SODm urea will be sent to both sides of the Tianshan Mountains to ensure the smooth progress of spring agricultural production in Xinjiang. (Han Ling)

SOD is the abbreviation for superoxide dismutase; its application in agricultural production involves eliminating superoxide free radicals, enhancing the immunity and stress resistance of plants, and improving their ability to absorb and utilize nutrients. The SODm enhancer is a metalloenzyme that is non-toxic; it can exhibit the activity of natural SOD in living organisms and can serve as a substitute for natural SOD, showing excellent results when used for regulating plant growth. SODm urea has four key features: first, it enhances the stress resistance and immunity of crops ； Second, it enhances fertilizer efficiency and saves fertilizer ； Third, it has a certain slow-release effect ； Fourthly, it improves the granulation rate of urea and the strength of its particles, thereby reducing dust. SODm urea is a product developed jointly by China National Petroleum Corporation and Huamei Tianyi Company; it is created by adding Tianyi Fengbao SODm enhancer to a urea solution and then mixing it for granulation. This product has been granted a **patent license (patent number: ZL200610001890.3). Technical summary of key science and technology demonstration and promotion projects by the Heilongjiang Reclamation Bureau in 2007: When SODm-enhanced urea was sprayed on soybeans, it resulted in an average yield increase of 4.93%, with an additional 8.65 kg of soybeans per mu. On corn, spraying SODm-enhanced urea led to an average yield increase of 4.82%, resulting in an extra 27.69 kg of corn per mu. For rice, the use of SODm-enhanced urea brought about an average yield increase of 4.99%, with an additional 31.18 kg of rice per mu. In the case of peanuts, spraying this urea resulted in an average yield increase of 8.70%, corresponding to an extra 41.34 kg of peanuts per mu. This product is now produced in large quantities by China National Petroleum Daqing Petrochemical Company, Urumqi Petrochemical Company, Ningxia Petrochemical Company, Lanzhou Petrochemical Company, and Tasixi Exploration and Development Company; its quality is satisfactory, and it has received positive feedback from the market. SODm urea is a new generation of urea that is “slow-release, highly effective, green, and environmentally friendly”, as it is made by adding SODm enhancers to molten urine and then mixing it together for granulation.

SODm not only endows ordinary urea with the special functions of a superoxide dismutase mimic, but its strong negative charge also effectively prevents metal cations in the soil from forming insoluble precipitates with phosphorus, thereby significantly enhancing plants’ ability to absorb nutrients from the soil. Additionally, SODm increases the strength of urea particles, resulting in improved anti-caking properties and enhanced slow-release effects. SODm urea can significantly improve the efficiency of fertilizer use, enhance crop yield and quality, reduce fertilizer costs, and minimize nitrogen loss and carbon emissions, thereby increasing farmers’ incomes and reducing soil and environmental problems caused by excessive fertilization. It provides strong scientific and technological support for the sustainable development of agriculture. In terms of slow release, the SODm enhancer improved the crystal form of urea during its granulation process, enhancing the strength of the urea particles. Moreover, the rate at which nutrients are released from SODm urea in the soil is significantly slower compared to conventional urea. According to data from production, the strength of SODm urea particles with diameters ranging from 0.85 mm to 2.8 mm is around 6.2 N. This value represents a significant increase compared to the strength of urea produced by the same manufacturer under similar moisture conditions; the increase is 15% to 20%. It is comparable to the strength of urea particles when formaldehyde is added during production. This not only facilitates the long-term, sustained release of urea but also plays a positive role in preventing it from caking. Additionally, it reduces physical dust generated by the particles colliding to varying degrees during transfer, packaging, and transportation. Preliminary experimental data on the movement of SODm urea nitrogen in soil also show that, under constant application rates and water amounts, the concentrations of nitrate nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen released by SODm urea in the soil are lower than those of conventional urea. Under different water potential conditions, SODm urea is less affected. Ordinary urea releases more ammonium ions and nitrate ions per unit time and per unit distance. SODm urea prolongs its fertilizer efficacy due to its relatively slow rate of ion release and the increased strength of its particles. SODm functions similarly to natural superoxide dismutase, thereby strengthening the plant’s first line of defense against free radical damage. It enhances the plant’s ability to eliminate excess free radicals generated during cellular aerobic metabolism under physiological or abiotic stresses, demonstrating the efficiency of SODm urea in significantly increasing yields and improving crop quality. The Science and Technology Bureau of the Heilongjiang Reclamation Administration provided an assessment of the application and promotion of superoxide dismutase mimics (SODm) and SODm urea in major crops: the use of SODm led to increased yields in key crops such as soybeans, rice, corn, and potatoes, with average yield increases of 7.86%, 8.60%, 8.71%, and 19.33% respectively; whereas the use of SODm urea resulted in average yield increases of 4.99%, 4.93%, 8.82%, and 5.48% for soybeans, rice, corn, and potatoes respectively. After three years of demonstration and promotion in 12 farms in the reclamation area, a total of 927,000 mu of land was covered by these practices, generating an additional economic benefit of 20.8114 million yuan; the benefits of these initiatives were significant. Research on the mechanism of action of SODm urea conducted at Yangzhou University confirmed that after the application of SODm, the levels of promoting hormones in wheat increased significantly, while the levels of inhibitory hormones decreased markedly. SODm significantly reduced the crude protein content and wet gluten content in weak-gluten wheat, while significantly increasing the total starch content, bulk density, and falling number, thereby effectively improving the quality of weak-gluten wheat. And **the tests conducted by the Grain Science Institute on the quality of strong-gluten wheat treated with SODm urea showed that the wheat protein content increased from 14.47 to 15.75** ； Wet gluten increased from 32.675 to 34.854, improving the quality of the wheat. SODm is non-toxic, harmless, and biodegradable. By integrating SODm enhancers with urea, ordinary urea gains the green and environmentally friendly advantages of SODm.