Controversy and criticism abound; every step forward in coal chemical industry demonstration is difficult

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Much Controversy and Criticism: Every Step Forward in Coal Chemicals Demonstration Projects Is Difficult Author/Source: Date: 2016-03-24 Clicks: 8 In the history of the development of China’s chemical industry, no sector has experienced a more tortuous and complex path than modern coal chemicals. No industry’s demonstration process has been longer or more difficult than that of modern coal chemicals, nor has any sector faced as much controversy and criticism as this one. Although 10 years of demonstration and development have passed, the overall approach for China’s modern coal chemical industry under the 13th Five-Year Plan remains centered on demonstration. Modern coal chemical industry develops amidst controversies and progresses despite setbacks. Datang Group is a Chinese enterprise that took the lead in carrying out demonstrations in areas such as coal-to-olefins and coal-to-natural gas. It is truly worth carefully summarizing the innovations and experiences, as well as the insights and lessons learned by the people from Datang over the past 10 years in the process of coal chemical industry demonstration. Demonstration projects require the most innovation; by ‘demonstration’ is meant being the first to try something new. Over the 10 years since we began carrying out demonstrations of modern coal chemical engineering, the two words that resonate most with us are: innovation. As is well known, 10 years ago, when Datang Group began to enter the field of modern coal chemical industry, China had virtually no development in this area, with very little experience available for reference, either domestically or internationally. Without the pioneering spirit to be the first in the world, one would dare not and simply couldn’t venture into this emerging industry. Without innovation, we can hardly make progress in the field of modern coal chemical industry. For example, before Datang Group launched the coal-to-olefins demonstration, olefins had traditionally only one route available, namely that derived from oil. 10 years ago, oil resources in our country were extremely precious, and international oil prices remained high. As petrochemical products that are closely related to the national economy and people’s livelihoods, hydrocarbon-based products were far from sufficient to meet domestic market demand. As for how to convert methanol into olefin-based products, there are no existing industrial examples either domestically or internationally. At that time, the technology closest to industrial application was the methanol-to-propylene process developed by German company Lurgi, which had just completed pilot-scale testing. Under these circumstances, Datang was the first to acquire the methanol-to-propylene technology, and boldly applied it to China’s first coal-based polypropylene project, ultimately achieving success. Following this incident, **it accelerated the industrial adoption of similar domestic technologies, namely methanol-to-olefins technology, and played a leading role in driving the large-scale development of China’s coal-to-olefins industry thereafter. Currently, there are 19 coal/methanol-to-olefins enterprises in operation in China, with a combined olefins production capacity of 8.41 million tons. As of January 2016, there were 13 coal-to-olefins plants under construction in China, with a combined olefins production capacity of 8.14 million tons, marking the industrialization of this sector in China. As we can see, the market prices of olefin products in our country are nowhere near what they were 10 years ago, providing more and cheaper olefin raw materials for the development of downstream industries. Among these, the ramp-up of coal-to-olefins production capacity has played a crucial role; likewise, the pioneering efforts of Datang personnel have been instrumental. The so-called spirit of innovation can actually be understood as a consciousness of innovation. For example, in the process of carrying out coal-to-natural gas demonstration projects, we use the Ruhr gasifier, whose technology is widely recognized as mature in the industry. As a mature furnace type, the Lurgi gasifier has been widely used both domestically and internationally. However, the maximum gasification pressure of this furnace is 3 MPa, so there is no risk in using it directly in small coal chemical projects. But we consider that when applied to large coal-to-gas projects such as coal-to-natural gas, too low a gasification pressure will **reduce system efficiency and product yield. Is it possible to increase the pressure a bit on the existing basis? After thorough research and scientific verification, we believe that it is feasible to raise the pressure to 4 MPa. We put our ideas into practice and achieved success; after this innovative technology was applied to the Keqi coal-to-gas project, it was found that, from the perspective of the gasification reaction mechanism, increasing the gasification pressure has a significant effect on raising the methane content in the crude syngas produced in the gasifier. After adopting this innovative technology for coal-to-gas production in Keqi, the methane content in the crude syngas increased from 8% to around 13%, **increasing the yield of the product. At the same time, increased pressure also helps to streamline the processes downstream, reducing the load on subsequent equipment and thus enabling energy savings and reduced consumption. Currently, this technology is widely used in China’s modern coal chemical industry, representing a revolutionary contribution made by the Datang Group to the development of such technology in the country. Of course, Datang Group has made many efforts in this area; many technologies, after being innovated by us and successfully applied in demonstration projects, are now widely used in the coal chemical industry. In simple terms, demonstration is also a process of “trial and error”. Making mistakes is not scary; as long as one learns from them in a timely manner, follows scientific principles, and takes decisive action to address the technical issues, those mistakes can be corrected. For example, after the Datang Keqi coal-to-gas project was in operation for some time, it was found that the jacket inside the gasifier had corroded and thinned out. If we fail to identify the cause and find a solution to the problem, the consequences will be unimaginable. We organized domestic industry experts through the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation to conduct on-site diagnosis of the problems and carry out technical research; by drawing on experiences and approaches used to solve similar issues in the industry, we were able to quickly identify the root causes of the problems and find solutions. Since this issue was resolved over the past two years, the gasification furnaces for coal-to-gas production in Keqi have been operating well, with no further instances of corrosion occurring. This also provides valuable experience for other coal-to-gas enterprises in China to prevent similar problems from occurring. One of the positive aspects of Datang Group’s efforts to develop coal chemical demonstration projects is that it serves as a catalyst for the development of this industry. For example, as a key technology for coal-to-natural gas conversion, methanation technology was previously monopolized by foreign countries, and no related technology has been developed in China. As China’s first coal-to-gas demonstration project, Datang Keqi Coal-to-Gas adopted the David methanation technology from the UK. To break the monopoly, the Datang Chemical Technology Research Institute took the initiative to develop the technical specifications for a complete set of methanation process packages under the **\"863\" program. By integrating foreign technologies and through extensive practical experience, it developed a set of methanation process packages with independent intellectual property rights in China. Successful industrial trials lasting over 4,000 hours were carried out in 2014. As evaluated by experts organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, this technology is leading in China and advanced internationally. “The 863 Program has been completed in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology. The successful development of this technology signifies that China has broken the foreign monopoly in key areas related to coal-to-gas conversion, no longer being dependent on others; it also provides more technical options for the development of China’s coal-to-natural gas industry. Another example is methanol synthesis technology. In China, the scale of such projects was previously small; Datang Group was the first to achieve a production capacity of 1.68 million tons in methanol synthesis, setting a precedent for large-scale coal-to-methanol production in the country and leading the way in this industry. Previously, Shell’s gasifiers utilized four-burner technology, with a maximum coal processing capacity of 2,000 tons per day per gasifier. Datang Group was the first to adopt the six-burner gasification furnace technology, raising its daily processing capacity to nearly 3,000 tons and reaching a new level. In addition, Datang Group is also directly involved in **the development of process and technical standards related to modern coal chemical industry, which represent positive contributions to the advancement of this sector. Although coal-based olefins production has been industrialized in our country, catalysts for methanol-to-propylene conversion could not be manufactured domestically in the past; they had to be imported from abroad at very high prices. The service life of methanol-to-propylene catalysts abroad is generally 10–13 cycles, with each cycle lasting 500–700 hours. During the middle stage of operation, its service life generally decreases, and the propylene yield also declines accordingly. Relying on its own chemical research institute and in line with the requirements of various projects, Datang Group has carried out technical research and innovation efforts, successfully developing a methanol-to-propylene catalyst with entirely independent intellectual property rights. It has adopted innovative techniques such as crystal face-guided synthesis, directional modification, and bifunctional molecular sieve technology. The catalyst outperforms imported catalysts of the same period in terms of stability, strength, propylene yield, and consumption per ton of propylene produced; its propylene yield can be about 5% higher than that of imported catalysts. Through industrial application in the Datang Duolun coal-based polypropylene project, it has been proven that its performance meets the standards of similar international products, **reducing procurement costs and enhancing the economic viability of the project. Taking the Datang Duolun 460,000-ton coal-based olefins project as an example, its overall benefits can be increased by at least 110 million yuan per year. The methanol-to-propylene catalyst developed by the Great Tang Chemical Research Institute has seen its first industrial application in China, achieving significant breakthroughs in terms of operational efficiency. It not only helps to mitigate the impact of low oil prices and enhance a company’s competitive strength, but also lays a solid foundation for China to develop upgraded versions of such catalysts, thereby maintaining its advantage and leadership in this field. In addition, the methanation catalyst developed by Datang Group has also been successful. Over the past 10 years, Datang Group has obtained as many as a hundred patents in the field of coal chemical engineering, achieving **thousands of minor innovations. Model enterprises need more respect and support. For any new development to take place, there must be people who are willing to be the first, who dare to explore boldly, and who are the first to try something new. The Tang Dynasty people carried out demonstrations of modern coal chemical processing. Since it was a demonstration and an innovation, success could not be achieved in one attempt; mistakes were inevitable, and certain costs had to be paid. It’s just like when our country developed industries such as aerospace and high-speed railways – many new industries saw failures along the way as well. Failure is the mother of success. At a certain cost to themselves, the people of the Tang Dynasty provided valuable experience and accumulated precious assets for the healthy development of China’s modern coal chemical industry. Even though Datang Group has paid a certain price, we believe this price is worthwhile and meaningful. This deserves the understanding and support of society, rather than blame and criticism. TDG Group’s implementation of modern coal chemical industry demonstrations is, in itself, an expression of its social responsibilities as a central state-owned enterprise. Our fulfillment of social responsibilities is also reflected in environmental protection. For example, China Datang Corporation has carried out demonstrations in modern coal chemical industry; it was one of the first enterprises to commit to and implement zero wastewater discharge in accordance with the ** requirements. In fact, we made a promise, and we kept it. On the one hand, the **\"863\" project aimed at achieving zero wastewater discharge has yielded significant results, and these results have been applied in demonstration projects; on the other hand, the two largest demonstration projects of Datang Group – the Dolun coal-to-polypropylene project and the Keqi coal-to-gas project – have both achieved zero wastewater discharge. The project has no wastewater discharge outlet. During the development of modern coal chemical demonstration projects, Datang Group insisted on using domestic equipment whenever possible, thereby promoting innovation and growth in China’s coal chemical equipment industry. For example, the methanol synthesis gas-cooled reactor used in Datang Doulun Coal Chemical Industry was purchased domestically. In Datang Group’s Fuxin coal-to-gas project, over 95% of the equipment came from domestic manufacturers, which helped to accelerate the rapid development of China’s modern coal chemical equipment industry. It played a positive role in promoting innovation, upgrading, and localization of China’s modern coal chemical equipment manufacturing sector. Based on the experiences of Datang Group in carrying out demonstrations of modern coal chemical processing, it can be seen that such processes require substantial funding, involve relatively complex technological processes, and face significant pressures related to safety and environmental protection; as a result, many unforeseen difficulties and problems arise in practice. Especially with the sharp decline in international crude oil prices today, the cost advantage of modern coal chemical industry has diminished. Therefore, in the absence of full success in the pilot projects, subsequent projects should not be developed too rapidly or blindly. **“The 13th Five-Year Plan clearly states that modern coal chemical industry should focus on demonstration projects, and we believe this is a very sound decision. As for what kind of policy support is needed for modern coal chemical industry demonstration projects, I would say that it is undeniable that **all levels of government have provided active support for the modern coal chemical industry. Our country has always provided support for emerging industries; for example, significant policy incentives are in place for new energy sectors such as wind power and photovoltaic power generation. Therefore, I believe that **the policy support for modern coal chemical demonstration projects should be even stronger. For example, providing necessary human and financial support for technological innovation in model enterprises, offering tax incentives and financial subsidies for clean energy products including coal-to-natural gas and coal-to-oil, and providing necessary support for model enterprises in terms of project financing. Every bit of innovation is a great contribution to the industry and beyond. Datang Group was the first in China to pioneer the large-scale industrial and clean utilization of lignite. China’s proven total reserves of lignite exceed 600 billion tons, and if they can be successfully developed and utilized, they will represent a vast resource treasure trove. It is well known in the industry that in our country, industrial utilization of water-coal slurry was not considered feasible when its slurry-forming capacity was below 55%, and the slurry-forming capacity of lignite is generally only around 48%. Through repeated exploration and continuous innovation, the Datang Hulunbuir Fertilizer Project has managed to produce fertilizers using lignite with a slurry-forming capacity of around 48%, and it has enabled the plant’s production capacity to reach the designed level. This project represents the first example in China of successful application of lignite water coal slurry. Datang Group has carried out demonstrations in coal chemical processing; whether it is coal-to-polypropylene or coal-to-gas, lignite is used as the raw material in these processes, and success has been achieved in all cases. Some have commented that the mere fact that the Datang Group makes good use of lignite is already a significant contribution to the clean utilization of coal and the development of modern coal chemical industry in China. Its significance lies in that it has found a useful application for China’s 600 billion tons of lignite, and has pointed the way toward the scientific utilization of lignite in the present era and for a long time to come.