【HaiChuan Chemical Project Updates】12 billion yuan worth of Jindadi United Alkali Green Transformation Industrial Park project in Luohe, Henan
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Recently, a general coordination meeting as well as a kick-off meeting for the construction drawing design were held for the Henan Jindadi United Alkali Green Transformation Industrial Park project. The Henan Jindadi United Alkali Green Transformation Industrial Park Project (Phase 5) was undertaken by Tianchen Company, which was responsible for the overall design of the project, as well as the full-process design for the coal-based synthetic ammonia and united alkali sections. The project uses Shenmu coal as raw material, and crude gas is produced through reaction in a water-coal slurry gasifier ； The raw gas is purified into clean gas after passing through the shift and heat recovery units, as well as the low-temperature methanol washing unit. The purified gas, after being refined through liquid nitrogen washing and compressed, is sent to the alkali raw material synthesis unit. The acidic gas produced by the purification unit is sent to the sulfur recovery unit to produce sulfur products. All products are sent under pressure to the ammonia absorption section of the caustic soda production plant using liquid ammonia, where soda ash and baking soda are produced, with ammonium chloride as a by-product. The Henan Jindadi United Alkali Green Transformation Industrial Park project has a total investment of 12 billion yuan. It is located in the industrial cluster area of Wuyang County, Luohe City, covering an area of 1,200 mu. The project mainly includes facilities for an annual production of 700,000 tons of soda ash, 600,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, 1.6 million tons of baking soda, 1.8 million tons of ammonium chloride and compound fertilizers, as well as 3 million tons of salt produced via vacuum methods. Upon completion, the project is expected to become the largest food-grade baking soda production base in China, as well as the world’s largest production base for caustic soda and ammonium chloride.
“Is the capacity of 600,000 tons of synthetic ammonia meant to refer to one unit or two units? It seems that it’s difficult to increase the capacity of a single synthetic ammonia production unit beyond 500,000 tons. The molecular weight of ammonium chloride is three times that of ammonia; a conversion rate of 60-180% is considered ideal. Shenmu in Shaanxi is the coal concentration area of the Shenfu Jurassic coalfield. The coal storage area across the county covers more than 4,500 square kilometers, accounting for 60% of the total area, with proven reserves of over 50 billion tons. The coal seam has a simple geological structure, stable reserves, a shallow depth of burial, making it easy to extract. Its quality is excellent – it features extremely low ash and phosphorus content, as well as extremely low sulfur content, along with high calorific value and high volatile matter; it is a high-quality, environmentally friendly fuel coal with weak or no caking properties and a long flame. The key parameters are: ash content of 4–10%, sulfur content of 0.3–0.8%, phosphorus content of 0.002–0.3%, moisture content of 5–11%, volatile matter content of 30–38%, and calorific value of 6000 (lower heating value)–7200 kcal/kg.
For coal with this content, the hydrogen sulfide level in the gas produced upon combustion is also around 1%. In my first job, a gas valve used in the low-temperature methanol washing process was leaking, and there was a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide in the area; the workers would leave quickly. Migrant workers carrying out ditch-digging work in the vicinity unfortunately died from hydrogen sulfide poisoning caused by working in a confined space while digging. The permitted exposure concentration for hydrogen sulfide is 10 mg/m3. Its acute toxicity is indicated by an LC50 value of 618 mg/m3. Large-scale chemical pipelines and equipment are generally located in open environments, and in the event of an accident, hydrogen sulfide is often released directly into the atmosphere; high concentrations of this gas can cause poisoning among the people living in the surrounding area
Now every project has to be green
Professional analysis: mainly focus on caustic soda, desulfurization, and making sure to use up all the ammonium chloride
Judging from the details of the project, it’s really not clear what connection this green aspect has with environmental protection and non-fossil fuels; maybe it’s just a reference to the title of plant manager
In terms of scale, this project is indeed large, but transporting coal from such distant locations, and then bringing in salt from Yuncheng in Shanxi or from coastal areas in Shandong and Jiangsu, means that the distances involved are considerable. If the scale is reduced, transportation costs will become part of the production costs, and small enterprises simply won’t be able to afford it
In terms of investment, a capacity of 300,000 tons per year for synthetic ammonia is reasonable.