Completely shut down by the end of March 2023! After 30 years of operation, Xishan Gasification will shut down the coke ovens at Plant 1 of the coking facility

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Coking Plant No. 1 of Shanxi Xishan Gasification Co., Ltd. is the only gas production facility in Gujiao City. It was established in 1991, and renovation and expansion work began in 2009. On December 2010, 5.5-meter coke ovens were put into operation, enabling an annual production of 600,000 tons of coke and 15.6 million cubic meters of gas for external supply. This plant is responsible for ensuring a steady supply of gas to 54,000 households in Gujiao City. The coking industry is one of the pillar industries in Taiyuan. As of 2019, there were 16 coking enterprises in the city, mainly located in five counties (cities, districts): Gujiao City, Qingxu County, Loufan County, Yangqu County, and Jiancaoping District. Among them, the outdated coking capacity with a carbonization chamber height of less than 5.5 meters exceeded 9.72 million tons. While making significant contributions to the economic and social development of Taiyuan, these coking enterprises pose a considerable strain on improving the city’s air quality due to their high energy consumption, high levels of pollution and emissions, as well as their small production capacities and wide distribution across the area. Therefore, it is imperative to shut down and phase out outdated coking capacity in order to drive the transformation and upgrading of the coking industry. In accordance with the \"Action Plan for Reducing Excess Capacity in the Coking Industry in Shanxi Province and Tackling Pollution Control Challenges\", Taiyuan has successively issued the \"Implementation Plan for Reducing Excess Capacity in Taiyuan and Promoting the Transformation and Upgrading of the Coking Industry\" as well as the \"Notice on Completing the Tasks of Reducing and Phasing Out Coking Capacity on Schedule\", which set clear goals for the shutdown and elimination of such capacity. In addition, the \"Taiyuan City Incentive Measures for Phasing Out Outdated Coking Capacity\" were formulated, providing financial incentives to coking enterprises that take measures to shut down their operations in advance. Following the principles of \"phasing out larger facilities first and smaller ones later,\" \"building new facilities while demolishing old ones,\" and \"shifting operations out of urban areas to industrial parks,\" in 2020 Taiyuan demonstrated great courage and determination by shutting down 10 coke ovens with a carbonization chamber height of 4.3 meters or less, as well as clean-type heat-recovery coke ovens. In total, 9.12 million tons of outdated coke production capacity was eliminated. At the beginning of this Spring Festival, the Taiyuan Municipal Party Committee and the municipal authorities clearly set the goal that by 2023, Taiyuan’s comprehensive air pollution index should no longer be among the worst 168 cities in the country. Among the measures taken to achieve this goal, shutting down and phasing out the 5.5-meter coke ovens in Plant 1 of Shanxi Xishan Gasification Co., Ltd. is considered a top priority. To ensure the timely completion of the task of shutting down the coke ovens, through concerted efforts, the replacement of natural gas for residential use was fully completed in Dijiao City in October 2022, removing the obstacles to the shutdown of those 5.5-meter coke ovens. In accordance with the \"Taizhou City 2022 100-Day Action Plan for Air Pollution Control\" (Bing Ecology and Environment Protection Committee Office Document No. [2022]10), the \"Gujiao City Work Plan for Addressing the Issues Identified in the Feedback from Central and Provincial Environmental Protection Inspections as Well as those Highlighted in the Documentary on the Environment in the Yellow River Basin\" (Gujiao Environment Inspection Rectification Document No. [2022]1), and the \"Minutes of the Gujiao City Mayor’s Office Meeting\" (No. [2023]2), Shanxi Xishan Gasification Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as \"Xishan Gasification\") is required to complete the shutdown of its first coking plant by the end of March 2023. In accordance with the requirements outlined in the aforementioned documents, Xishan Gasification will shut down the coke ovens at Plant 1 by the end of March 2023, and will utilize existing infrastructure such as coal transportation systems and its own dedicated railway lines to shift to engaging in coal blending operations. Given that Xishan gasification has been operating at a loss in recent years, dragging down the company’s performance, the shutdown and transformation of Coking Plant No. 1 will help optimize the company’s industrial structure, improve operational efficiency, and enhance its overall profitability. After the shutdown of the 5.5-meter coke ovens at Plant 1 of Shanxi Xishan Gasification Co., Ltd., it will be possible to reduce annual emissions by 39.5 tons of sulfur dioxide, 107.98 tons of nitrogen oxides, 27.52 tons of soot and dust, and 51.7 tons of volatile organic compounds. Additionally, 886,200 tons of standard coal can be saved each year, which will contribute positively to the continuous improvement of air quality in Taiyuan.