Kick-off meeting for the preliminary planning of the coal-to-olefins upgrade demonstration project by Sinopec Great Wall Energy & Chemical (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. was held

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On April 14, the kick-off meeting for the preliminary planning of the coal-to-olefins upgrade demonstration project by Sinopec Great Wall Energy & Chemical (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. was held. This meeting brought together units such as the Headquarters Engineering Department, Yanshan Petrochemical, Inner Mongolia Energy Chemical, Nanjing Project Management Center, and Ningbo Engineering Company. The main task was to review the progress, identify potential problems, and plan the next steps. This marks that this project, with a total investment of over 22 billion yuan, has entered the final stage ahead of its full-scale construction. Technical cards are the biggest highlight. This project, located in the Dalu Industrial Park in Zhungeer Banner, Ordos, will utilize Sinopec’s proprietary technologies across the entire production chain. Specifically, the gasification process makes use of SE semi-waste boiler gasification technology, which was developed through a collaboration between Sinopec and East China University of Science and Technology. Its greatest advantage is its wide adaptability to different types of coal; it can handle even low-quality coals with high ash melting points and high ash content, processing them effectively. The purification process is equipped with S-COS sulfur-tolerant shift and S-AGR acidic gas removal; the latter breaks the foreign technological monopoly, with energy consumption 18.8% lower than that of similar foreign technologies. S-MS technology is used for methanol synthesis, while Sinopec’s S-MTO technology is employed for olefin production. The production capacity is also quite substantial. The project plans to construct a methanol plant with a capacity of 2.26 million tons per year, along with a supporting MTO plant (including an OCC unit) capable of producing 2.26 million tons per year. Ultimately, it will produce 350,000 tons per year of polyethylene, 450,000 tons per year of polypropylene, and 100,000 tons per year of EVA/LDPE. With this combination of measures in place, the entire industrial chain, from coal to high-end polyolefins, becomes functional. The supporting resources are quite robust. To supply coal for this project, Sinopec Great Wall Energy & Chemicals spent 30.15 billion yuan as early as March 2023 to acquire the exploration rights for the Bayan Qaidam oil field in Nalinhe, Inner Mongolia. This field covers an area of 115.43 square kilometers, with coal reserves amounting to 2.131 billion tons. The planned annual production is 10 million tons, which is equivalent to having a \"personal grain warehouse\" for this project. Work has begun at the project site. The candidates for the two bid sections of the land leveling project have been determined: the 137 hectares on the northwest side will be handled by Beijing Yanhua Tianzheng, while the 165 hectares on the southeast side will be handled by Sinopec Shengli Construction. The work carried out by both companies includes site clearing, excavation and transportation, dynamic compaction, and slope stabilization, with a maximum excavation depth of 15 meters; this is done to lay the foundation for the subsequent comprehensive civil engineering works. This project actually has a history. Initially, it was a joint venture between China Energy Investment Corporation and France’s Total. In 2016, it received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission; it is one of the designated demonstration projects for upgrading coal-to-olefins technology. Later, Great Wall Energy Chemical took over and made numerous technical upgrades based on the existing foundation. Green and low-carbon initiatives are also a key focus. The project plan involves the integration of 100 MW of wind power and 240 MW of photovoltaic power. The hydrogen production capacity via water electrolysis is 10,000 tons per year. By using green hydrogen to replace a portion of coal-derived hydrogen, the carbon emissions per unit product can be reduced to 5.66 tons of CO2 per ton of olefins, thereby reaching the industry’s top-tier level. Next, Inner Mongolia Energy Chemical will advance the work in accordance with the arrangements made at the meeting, to ensure that the project is established with a high standard and constructed to those same high standards. A modern chemical giant with an annual production capacity of 900,000 tons of polyolefins is being built on the Ordos Plateau.