Ili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.’s project for the efficient utilization of tail coal, with a total investment of 3.59 billion yuan

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Project Name: High-Efficiency Utilization Project of Tail Coal by Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.
Location: Xintian Area of the Yining Chemical Industry Cluster, Bayandai Town, Yining City, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Developer: Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.
Environmental Assessment Agency: Zhejiang Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.
Total Investment: 359,372.19 million yuan
Project Overview: The project covers an area of 670.65 mu, and the land type is industrial land. Using tail coal as raw material, a new production facility will be built with an annual capacity of 400,000 tons of synthetic ammonia, 565,000 tons of urea, 156,800 tons of compound fertilizers, 3,500 tons of sulfur, along with supporting infrastructure. The main components of the new facility include units for gasification, shift and heat recovery, low-temperature methanol washing, sulfur recovery, ammonia refrigeration systems, ammonia synthesis, liquid nitrogen washing, urea production, drum fluidized bed compound fertilizers, and nitrogen purification ； Storage and transportation projects such as the packaging and storage of urea and compound fertilizers, low-pressure ammonia tanks, methanol and formaldehyde tank arrays, and vehicle loading stations ； Foam station, circulating water plant, advanced treatment for make-up water, emergency spill containment tank, initial rainwater tank, tertiary prevention and control tanks, main substation, 110KV external power lines, process substation, heat exchange station, waste heat power generation unit, flare stack, general warehouse, storage areas for gas cylinders and Class A and B chemicals, warehouses for oils and chemicals, temporary storage area for hazardous waste, storage area for radioactive sources, tertiary fire station, process cabinet room, explosion-proof shift change room, production facilities, urea testing laboratory, urea control room, weighbridge room, security office, and other auxiliary facilities ； The renovation aspects of Xintian Coal Chemical’s existing coal-to-natural gas project include the renovation of the air separation unit, the methanation unit, the water supply system, the sewage treatment and reclaimed water system, the utility tunnel system, the desalinated water system, and the heat and power generation unit. Among them, the renovation tasks for New Tian Coal Chemical’s existing coal-to-natural gas project – such as the modifications to the air separation unit, methanation unit, water supply system, sewage treatment and reclaimed water system, utility tunnel system, desalinated water system, and thermoelectric units – involve only the piping and interfaces connected to this project; they do not entail any changes to the original process flows or equipment of the various coal-to-natural gas production units. Yili Xintian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. has a registered capital of 4.828 billion yuan; it was established through joint investment by Zhejiang Energy Group Co., Ltd. and Shandong Energy Xinwen Mining Group Co., Ltd. The main project that has been approved is the coal-to-natural gas project with an annual production capacity of 2 billion standard cubic meters; it came online in 2017. The key components of this project include a coal-to-natural gas facility with a nominal capacity of 2 billion cubic meters per year (actual capacity: 2.04 billion cubic meters per year), 4 x 480 t/h high-temperature and high-pressure coal-fired boilers, 3 x 50 MW captive thermal power plants, as well as the associated utility systems, auxiliary facilities, and off-site works. In addition to producing 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, the main facility also generates by-products in the form of oil products; these are transported via pipelines along the second and third lines from the western areas to the eastern regions. The coal-to-gas project of Xintian Coal Chemical uses pressurized coal gasification technology, and its feedstock is supplied by Coal Mine No. 4 in the Yibei Coal Field, located about 3.5 km to the northwest of the plant, as well as by coal mines in the surrounding areas. The quality of the raw coal in this mining area is relatively unstable, which results in a large amount of waste coal being generated during extraction and transportation. The gasifiers used in Xintian Coal Chemical also produce waste coal alongside lump coal, and the pressurized coal gasification method employed in this coal-to-gas project is not capable of handling such large quantities of waste coal; as a result, an imbalance between lump coal and waste coal arises. At present, efforts are made to find ways to sell the tail coal externally, with a small portion being stored on-site to be mixed with tar-coal powder. The imbalance between lump coal and pulverized coal in the Xintian Coal Chemical Industry has become one of the factors restricting the operation of the enterprise. Therefore, in order to address the issue of excess tail coal, the enterprise plans to launch a project for its efficient utilization. On one hand, this will help solve the problem of not having a proper way to dispose of the excess pulverized coal, while on the other hand it will allow full use of the excess capacity of the enterprise’s auxiliary facilities, thereby reducing costs and energy consumption. Additionally, this approach can help fill the gap in the urea industry in Ili Prefecture, satisfying the local demand for agricultural inputs.