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Weihua Company: Use of methyl fuel in furnace combustion opens up a new approach for handling hazardous waste. Author/Source: Date: 2016-09-19 Clicks: 6 Recently, in the control room of Weihua Company’s first-phase boiler plant, as the operator activated the fuel injector No. 4 on Boiler No. 1 via the DCS system, over 100 tons of methyl fuel produced by Weihua Company were successfully fed into the furnace for combustion. Methyl fuel is the hazardous waste generated in current methanol production processes and subsequent process systems; it contains 40% methanol, 20% ethanol, 20–30% water, and other acidic substances. As **environmental regulations become increasingly strict, the costs associated with disposing of methyl fuel have also risen, posing a significant challenge for the company in its efforts to reduce losses and improve profitability. At the beginning of August, after the successful use of methanol as a substitute for diesel in fueling Boiler No. 1, Weihua Company began to utilize the methanol pipeline from this technical upgrade project to introduce methyl fuel into the boiler furnace for combustion. This approach not only allows for the safe and environmentally friendly handling of methyl fuel but also reduces costs associated with the disposal of hazardous waste, thereby contributing further to the company’s efforts to reduce losses and increase profitability. Recently, starting from the activation of the methyl fuel pump as the raw material, the pipelines were pressurized and then methyl fuel was injected into the furnace for combustion. The operators followed the operating procedures strictly and carefully adjusted the boiler’s process parameters, thereby ensuring the successful combustion of methyl fuel within the furnace. As planned, the combustion of this methyl fuel in the furnace lasted for two days in total. The amount of methyl fuel injected into the furnace per hour is approximately 3 tons/hour; the boiler’s load increases by 15 tons/hour, resulting in a savings of about 2 tons/hour in raw coal usage. Based on this calculation, 100 tons of methyl fuel can save approximately 70 tons of raw coal. At the current market price of 470 yuan per ton for raw coal, and after accounting for the costs associated with handling the methyl fuel, its combustion has generated an additional economic benefit of 33,000 yuan for the company. It is reported that the subsequent processing system of WeiHua Company can produce over 200 tons of methyl fuel per month. If all of this methyl fuel is used for combustion in furnaces, it will not only save on expensive disposal costs but also help the company save nearly 800,000 yuan in fuel costs throughout the year. The first batch of 100 tons of methyl fuel was successfully introduced into the furnace for combustion, which not only opened up new ways for the company to handle hazardous waste but also accelerated its efforts to reduce losses and increase profitability – achieving two goals at once.