The energy-saving and environmental-protection upgrade project for the orchid coal chemical industry in Jincheng, Shanxi Province has commenced the construction work related to site preparation

Construction contents: As per the engineering design, the project will eliminate all of Lanhua Coal Chemical Company’s existing coal-based synthetic ammonia production facilities, and renovate and expand the existing urea production units. Construction will be carried out while retaining existing auxiliary production facilities such as coal-fired boiler systems and circulating water systems. The main construction tasks include coal preparation, gasification, shift reaction, gas-water flash evaporation and pressure filtration, ammonia stripping, low-temperature methanol washing, liquid nitrogen washing, sulfur recovery, ammonia synthesis, and urea synthesis upgrades. Additionally, supporting infrastructure, storage and transportation facilities, as well as environmental protection systems will also be constructed.

On October 10, 2024, Orchid Innovation announced its intention to invest in the energy-saving and environmental protection upgrade project for Shanxi Orchid Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. The total estimated investment for the project is 3.962 billion yuan. It is expected that after the completion of the renovation, the annual production will be 490,000 tons of synthetic ammonia (based on 7,200 hours per year), 140.04 million standard cubic meters of purified gas, 560,000 tons of urea, 94,400 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a by-product, and 56,200 tons of 98% concentrated sulfuric acid. According to the information published on Shanxi Broccoli’s official website in September 2024, the details of the energy-saving and environmental-protection upgrade project carried out by the coal chemical company are as follows. Shanxi Chinese Cabbage Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. currently has a synthetic ammonia (alcohol) production facility with an annual capacity of 190,000 tons, as well as a urea production facility with an annual capacity of 300,000 tons. Orchid Coal Chemical intends to integrate Orchid Clean Energy Company, Orchid Chemical Branch, and Orchid Yanghua Branch, bringing together a total production capacity of 260,000 tons per year of synthetic ammonia, 560,000 tons per year of urea, 230,000 tons per year of methanol, 100,000 tons per year of dimethyl ether, and 152 million cubic meters per year of purified gas. The upgrading and transformation of the coal chemical facilities at the site of the Coal Chemical Company will be carried out by Orchid Innovation Company in the Bagong Park area. The upgrade utilizes Saiding Company’s patented technology for pressurized continuous gasification of coal/coal briquettes, replacing the conventional atmospheric pressure fixed-bed batch gasification processes used by the three existing companies in Balong Industrial Park owned by Lanhua Chemical Company. As a result, an annual production capacity of 490,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 560,000 tons of large-grain urea is achieved. The upgrade of industrial technologies does not increase the company’s existing capacity for producing ammonia (alcohols) and urea within its integrated facilities.

The project uses the 15# \"high-high-high\" coal from local coal mines as raw material, and employs a coal crushing under pressure plus medium-pressure waste boiler gasification process. The gas is cooled through shift reaction, and then purified via low-temperature methanol washing and liquid nitrogen washing. The resulting syngas is sent to an ammonia synthesis unit, while the existing urea production facility is modified to produce urea. The main processes are introduced as follows. Gasification employs a fixed-bed pressurized continuous gasification process. 5 new Sideng coal gasification furnaces with a diameter of φ3800mm and a pressure of 4.0 MPa will be installed (4 in operation and 1 as backup), with a normal gas production capacity of 231,887 m3/h (raw gas). Air separation: The normal oxygen production capacity of the air separation unit is 40,000 m3/h. Transformation: The transformation process combines adiabatic and isothermal methods. It consists of a raw gas pretreatment unit, a reaction unit, a waste heat recovery and cooling unit, and a catalyst heating and sulfidation unit. Purification: Low-temperature methanol washing + liquid nitrogen washing. Sulfur recovery: The ECOSA wet acid production technology is used to treat acidic gases, producing 98% concentrated sulfuric acid. Ammonia synthesis: A new ammonia synthesis plant with an annual capacity of 490,000 tons is being built. The domestic ammonia synthesis process is adopted. Ammonia synthesis tower φ2800×28500. Urea: Shanxi Chinese Cabbage Coal Chemical Company currently has a urea production facility with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year, using the traditional CO2 stripping process; the steam consumption is 1,000 kg per ton of urea produced. For the long-term development of the enterprise and to pursue a green, low-carbon, and environmentally friendly path, the existing CO2 stripping-based urea production facility has been upgraded to increase its production capacity to 560,000 tons per year.

The upgrade utilizes Saiding Company’s patented technology for pressurized continuous gasification of coal/coal briquettes, replacing the conventional atmospheric pressure fixed-bed batch gasification processes used by the three existing companies in Balong Industrial Park owned by Lanhua Chemical Company. As a result, an annual production capacity of 490,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 560,000 tons of large-grain urea is achieved. The upgrade of industrial technologies does not increase the company’s existing capacity for producing ammonia (alcohols) and urea within its integrated facilities.