[Haichuan Project Updates] Yushen Energy Chemicals’ 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project has commenced construction
Thread Content
【Commencement of Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical’s 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project】 On the morning of July 8th, with the rotary drilling rig starting up, construction began on the first poured pile of the carbonylation framework – which constitutes the core structure of the ethanol production unit in Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical’s 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project, an EPC project undertaken by Beijing Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd. This marks the full commencement of civil engineering work for the ethanol production unit. Tian Pinghan, Assistant to the General Manager of the company, Deputy Project Director, and Project Manager for the ethanol plant, attended the meeting and delivered a statement on behalf of the general contractor. It is reported that 197 piles need to be driven for the ethanol plant, located in key areas such as the plant’s core dimethyl ether framework, carbonylation framework, hydrogenation and product separation frameworks, as well as the core column vessels; all pile-driving work is scheduled to be completed this month. To ensure smooth commencement of work, the project team carried out detailed planning for the temporary office area, steel bar processing site, temporary water supply and electricity supply, as well as drainage pits. They paid special attention to verifying the reference coordinate points and brought in the drilling machines in advance, thus making thorough preparations for the start of construction.
On October 14, 2019, at 10 a.m. on September 13, the dynamic compaction work for the foundation of Yulin Coal Chemical’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project began officially in the Qingshui Industrial Park. It is reported that the construction of the 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol plant is progressing at full speed; the preliminary procedures are being handled smoothly, the procurement of long-term-use equipment is being accelerated, and the preparations for production are being carried out in a thorough manner. Currently, the site leveling work has been completed, the process package review is finished, and the foundation design review is about to begin. The completion of the preliminary site leveling work and the commencement of this foundation dynamic compaction operation have laid a solid foundation for the start of the project construction. Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy Chemical Co., Ltd.’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project is planned to be built in the Qingshui Industrial Park of the Yushen Industrial Zone. The main construction scope and details include: using Xiwan coal as raw material to build a new 450,000 tons per year methanol production complex (comprising coal gasification, purification, shift reaction, gas separation, and methanol production units), a 500,000 tons per year ethanol production complex (including dimethyl ether, methyl acetate, and ethanol production units), an air separation unit with a capacity of 75,000 Nm3/h, 3 × 220 tons per hour high-pressure coal powder boilers, a 6,000 tons per year sulfur production facility, along with the necessary supporting infrastructure. The project is the preliminary launch phase of China National Petroleum Corporation’s 8 million tons per year integrated coal tar extraction and syngas production (CCSI) industrial demonstration project. The total investment in this project is approximately 6.4 billion yuan. It utilizes coal-to-ethanol technology jointly developed by Yanchang Petroleum Group and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The plant is designed to process 1.5 million tons of coal per year, producing 500,000 tons of ethanol and 50,000 tons of methanol per year, with by-products including fusel oils, heavy fractions, and sulfur. Among them, fuel ethanol products play an important role in promoting ethanol-blended gasoline, reducing pollution and noise, and ensuring **energy security.
On May 19, 2020, with the issuance of the winning bid notice for the compressors required for Yushen Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd. in Shaanxi (hereinafter referred to as “Yushen Energy and Chemical”)’s 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project, the tendering process for all 25 sets of long-life equipment as well as the three EPC packages related to this ethanol project was completed. Since then, the construction of the Yushen 500,000 tons per year coal-based ethanol project has entered a new phase and reached a new level. The Yushen Nenghua 500,000 tons/year coal-based ethanol project is an expanded version of the world’s first industrial plant for producing ethanol from syngas at a capacity of 100,000 tons per year. This plant was developed using proprietary technology owned by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd. Affected by the pandemic, the project bidding process, which was supposed to be completed at the beginning of the year, finally saw the opening of bids for Bid Sections 1 and 2 of the EPC contract on April 14; Beijing Petrochemical Engineering Co., Ltd. won both bids ； On April 30, the last unit among the 25 sets of long-cycle equipment purchased by the company – the carbon dioxide compressor – was successfully awarded to a bidder. With this, all 25 sets of long-cycle equipment for this project have been acquired by well-known manufacturing enterprises across various industries in China ； On May 6, the selection of a contractor in China capable of taking on the overall responsibility for the gasification unit of this project was finalized after intense negotiations. In the end, Aerospace Changzheng Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. joined forces with Yushen Energy & Chemical once again, to work together toward achieving this ambitious goal, building on their previous collaboration in providing the process packages. It is reported that the conclusion of this project construction bidding process holds great significance and marks an important milestone for Yushen Company’s construction projects. This means that the mechanisms for controlling the progress of the Yushen Nenghua construction project have been established ； It means that the framework for controlling the estimated investment in this project is now solid ； It means that the dam for project quality control has been built. It marks the unfolding of Yushen Energy’s grand vision ； It also marks the opening of a path for project construction to move from theoretical discussions to actual implementation.