Public notice prior to environmental impact assessment approval for the 100,000 tons/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) project supporting the Yulong Island refining and chemical integration project (Phase I)

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On December 26, 2024, a pre-submission public notice for the environmental impact assessment of the 100,000-ton/year methyl methacrylate (MMA) production facility as part of the first phase of Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd.’s integrated refining and chemical processing project on Yulong Island was issued. Project name: 100,000-ton/year Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) Production Facility as part of the first phase of Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd.’s integrated refining and chemical processing project on Yulong Island. Owner of the project: Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Nature of the project: New construction. Location: Within the Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Industrial Park, in the existing factory complex of Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (Yulong Island No. 2). Main construction activities: An investment of 1,599,660,000 yuan is planned to build new units for producing ACH, MMA, and ammonium sulfate; meanwhile, new storage facilities for ammonium sulfate and tank areas will also be constructed. The project will make use of existing facilities such as incinerators for treating waste gas and liquid from the acrylonitrile production unit, SAR regeneration units, wastewater treatment plants, and other auxiliary facilities. Upon completion, the project will be able to produce 84,000 tons per year of methyl methacrylate (MMA), with an additional 180,500 tons per year of ammonium sulfate as a by-product. Introduction to the Yulong Island Refining and Chemical Integration Project: The Yulong Island Refining and Chemical Integration Project is carried out under a comprehensive plan and is implemented in two phases. In Phase 1, imported crude oil is used to build a refining and chemical complex with an annual capacity of 20 million tons for oil refining, 3 million tons for mixed aromatics, and 3 million tons for ethylene production. The construction scope includes the main facilities, storage and transportation systems, as well as auxiliary facilities. The main units include 10 million tons per year of atmospheric distillation, 10 million tons per year of vacuum distillation, 3 units of 2.6 million tons per year for residue hydrogenation, 3.4 million tons per year for diesel hydrogenation, 3.6 million tons per year for diesel hydrocracking, 1.4 million tons per year for kerosene hydrogenation, 4 million tons per year of catalytic cracking, 2 million tons per year of wax oil hydrocracking, 2 units of 2.6 million tons per year for continuous reforming, 3 million tons per year of aromatic compound production, 2 units of 1.5 million tons per year for ethylene production, 2 units of 850,000 + 1 million tons per year for hydroprocessed naphtha hydrogenation, 2 units of 220,000 tons per year for butadiene production, and 2 units of 800,000 tons per year for ethylene glycol (EG) production. As well as production facilities for 200,000+400,000 tons per year of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE), 300,000 tons per year of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), 500,000 tons per year of full-density polyethylene (FDPE), 100,000 tons per year of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), 4×400,000+300,000 tons per year of polypropylene, 600,000 tons per year of ABS resin, 260,000 tons per year of acrylonitrile, 300,000 tons per year of propylene oxide (PO) + 650,000 tons per year of styrene (SM) in a combined process, and 500,000 tons per year of ethylbenzene (EB)/SM, etc. On October 24, 2020, the project commenced construction. On September 25, 2024, Lin Wu, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Zhou Naixiang, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Governor, personally announced and witnessed the start of trial production at the Yulong Island refining and chemical integration project. The main production process of MMA: Methyl methacrylate, abbreviated as MMA, is an important chemical raw material that can undergo self-polymerization or copolymerization with other monomers in the presence of light, heat, or catalysts. It is mainly used in the production of polymethyl methacrylate (abbreviated as PMMA) and impact modifiers for polyvinyl chloride (such as ACR and MBS). It can also be applied in fields such as coatings, adhesives, and textile dyeing auxiliaries, making it highly versatile. There are various methods for synthesizing MMA, including the **cyanohydrin method (ACH method), isobutylene/tert-butanol oxidation method (C4 method), ethylene method (C2 method), and methanol-methyl acetate method (C1 method), etc. Based on the carbon count of their raw materials, these methods can be classified into C1 routes, C2 routes, C3 routes, and C4 routes. Globally, the most commonly used production process at present is the ACH method; this technology is mature, stable, and simple, accounting for approximately 61.6% of global usage, with the majority of applications found in North America, Western Europe, and China ； Next is the C4 process, developed in 1982 by the Japanese Catalyst Chemical Industry Company and Mitsubishi Rayon Company. This process is advanced, uses non-toxic and harmless raw materials, generates few by-products, and has low costs; it accounts for approximately 30.5% of global production. 1. **The cyanohydrin method (ACH method): There are 5 process routes for producing MMA using C3 organic compounds, namely the cyanohydrin route (ACH method), the MGC-ACH route, the Evonik ACH route, the propylene carbonylation route, and the propyne route.** The ACH process is the most widely used MMA production method worldwide. It was developed by the British company ICI in 1934, and industrial production of it began in 1937. The original process generated large amounts of ammonium sulfate as a by-product; through improvements, the sulfuric acid recycling route is now commonly used, meaning that no sulfuric acid is required under normal conditions and there are no by-products. This process route is divided into 3 steps, and its main advantage is the effective utilization of the chemical by-product hydrogen cyanide, along with a high yield of MMA. However, this processing equipment must use acid-resistant materials, and the raw material hydrogen cyanide is highly toxic; strict control is required during the production process. 2. Direct oxidation of isobutylene/tert-butanol method (C4 method): Since 1982, various Japanese companies such as Asahi Kasei, Mitsui-Korex, Mitsubishi Rayon, and Nippon Methyl Acrylate Monomer Company have successively developed processes for producing MMA using C4 organic compounds as raw materials, including isobutylene (IB/i-C4), tert-butanol (TBA), and isobutane. Currently, there are 4 process routes: the three-step direct oxidation of isobutylene/tert-butanol, the two-step direct oxidation of isobutylene/tert-butanol, the direct esterification method, and the isobutane oxidation method. Among them, the direct oxidation method using isobutylene/tert-butanol has abundant raw material sources; there are multiple operating plants using this technology abroad, making it reliable, and domestic technology has also achieved breakthroughs. The direct oxidation method of isobutylene/tert-butanol is divided into a three-step and a two-step direct oxidation process based on the reaction sequence. Among them, the oxidation of MA and the esterification of MAA in the three-step direct oxidation process of isobutylene/tert-butanol, which are carried out in one reactor, is the two-step direct oxidation process of isobutylene/tert-butanol. This process was developed by Asahi Kasei and was first industrialized in 1998; many other companies have since developed similar processes. Compared to the three-step method, the two-step method requires less investment and lower costs, and it avoids the problem of explosion limits during the recovery process; it is therefore a technically valuable approach. Currently, there are multiple production facilities for the two-step process, mainly located in Asia**, including Japan, China, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, and others. 3. Ethylene route (C2 route): There are three methods for producing MMA using ethylene as a raw material: the propionaldehyde process, the propionic acid process, and the methyl propionate process. Currently, only the propionaldehyde process and the methyl propionate process have been industrialized. The typical process route for propionaldehyde is the BASF aldehyde process. This process was developed by BASF and put into industrial use in 1988, with a plant of 36,000 tons per year built in Ludwigshafen. Currently, the production technology for this route is monopolized by BASF, and no external transfers or joint ventures for MMA plants have taken place. The most commonly used process route for methyl propionate is the Alpha process. This process was primarily developed by Shell and transferred to Luxart International through ICI. Luctate was further developed, and industrial production of this process was established in 2006. A 120,000-ton/year MMA plant was built on Jurong Island in Singapore in 2008, while another 250,000-ton/year plant came online in Saudi Arabia in 2017. The Alpha process overcomes the shortcomings of traditional ACH and isobutylene oxidation methods: it does not require an acid recovery unit, does not produce the MA intermediate, operates under mild conditions, and does not use toxic or corrosive chemicals; as a result, no special manufacturing materials are needed, and maintenance costs are low. In recent years, domestic companies have shown great enthusiasm for the development of the Alpha route, making significant progress in the development of catalysts and fixed-bed reaction processes; however, the lifespan of these catalysts has not yet met the requirements for industrial use. 4. Methanol/formaldehyde-methyl acetate method (C1 method) In recent years, due to overcapacity in the coal chemical industry, processes for synthesizing MMA using coal-based feedstocks have attracted the interest of researchers. Currently, there are two process routes for producing MMA using C1 as a raw material: the formaldehyde-methyl acetate method and the methanol-methyl acetate method. The formaldehyde-methyl acetate process uses formaldehyde and methyl acetate as raw materials, and MMA is obtained through a three-step addition condensation reaction. This route was first developed by Beijing Xuyang Technology Co., Ltd., and pilot testing was completed in 2018. The methanol-methyl acetate process uses methanol and methyl acetate as raw materials; methanol is first oxidized to formaldehyde, which then reacts with methyl acetate in a three-step reaction to produce MMA. Compared to formaldehyde-methyl acetate, this process uses methanol as a raw material, which is cheaper and available from a wider range of sources; it can also be integrated with coal-based methanol production processes to create an integrated coal-methanol-MMA route. This process route was developed by Hubei Sanli Fengxiang Technology Co., Ltd.; it uses coal as a raw material, with syngas being converted into formaldehyde via methanol synthesis, which is then reacted with methyl acetate to produce MMA. In 2020, Xinjiang Zhongyou Puhui Technology Co., Ltd. adopted this technology to build an MMA plant with an annual production capacity of 110,000 tons in Hami City, Xinjiang, in two phases. The first phase of this plant, with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons of MMA, was put into operation in mid-2021.