【HaiChuan Chemical Industry News】Shanxi Leverages Circular Economy to Advance Coal Chemistry

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The \"Shanxi Province 13th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Circular Economy\" (hereinafter referred to as the \"Plan\") has been officially issued. The Plan aims to establish an industrial system for a circular economy based on comprehensive resource utilization and hierarchical energy use, with guidance from the principles of a circular economy; currently, various cities are actively working to implement this plan. “Compared to previous versions, the Plan incorporates a richer meaning regarding the integrated production and further development of coal chemical industries, serving as a benchmark and guide for the future development of coal chemistry in Shanxi. The modern coal chemical industry base in northern Shanxi (Shuozhou) has been listed as one of the seven major modern coal chemical industry bases in the country, and the implementation of the plan will surely play a role in promoting the development of this base. ”On November 1, a responsible official from the Shuozhou Development and Reform Commission said in an interview with reporters. The Plan contains rich provisions regarding the concept of integrated production and further value addition in the coal chemical industry. It calls for the development of an industrial framework based on such integrated production and value addition, that is, the creation of industrial chains such as coal-to-gas-to-chemicals, coal-to-coke-to-chemicals, and coal-to-oil-for-fuel/chemicals. Efforts should be made to promote integration between the coal chemical industry and sectors such as power generation, coalbed methane extraction, inorganic chemicals manufacturing, and building materials production. By 2020, a set of standards for coal tar processing products, benzene derived from coking processes, and products obtained from coke oven gas should be established, with characteristics specific to Shanxi. Additionally, 1–2 enterprises should be identified as leaders in terms of energy efficiency within the national coal chemical industry, so that the overall energy consumption and fresh water usage for products such as synthetic ammonia, caustic soda (ion exchange membrane type), and calcium carbide reach or come close to advanced domestic levels. The Plan also identifies a series of key areas for promoting the demonstration and upgrading of the coal chemical industry: focusing on the production of ultra-pure oil products from coal to foster large-scale production of coal-based synthetic oils through the reprocessing of high-sulfur coal, gas, carbon dioxide, and waste gases; emphasizing the graded and differentiated use of low-grade coal to promote co-production in coal-to-electricity processes and improve the overall efficiency of coal conversion; focusing on the production of natural gas from coal to replace coal transportation with gas transportation, thereby providing clean fuel for end-use energy consumption; and focusing on the production of chemicals from coal to leverage the advantages of coking, thereby expanding the range of fine chemical products such as those derived from coal tar and coked benzene, as well as nitro-based products obtained from coke oven gas. “As China’s largest coke production base, Shanxi needs to adopt a circular economy approach in order to achieve sustainable development in its coking industry. This approach is both scientific and feasible; the focus should be on making comprehensive innovations in areas such as adjusting and optimizing the industrial layout, advancing technological research and development, and improving products. ”Jiang Zhongyang, director of the Shanxi New Energy Fuel Research Institute and a professor-level senior engineer, provided a detailed analysis of the provisions related to the circular economy in the coking industry as outlined in the Plan. The Plan encourages coking enterprises to collaborate with enterprises engaged in the deep processing of chemical products, to implement \"distillate exchange\" among enterprises that process coking products, and to establish centers for the deep processing of carbon, washed oil, and naphthalene derivatives derived from coal tar, as well as processing centers for coking benzene, methanol, etc., in order to develop fine chemical products. “When it comes to Shanxi, coal is an indispensable element; to develop a circular economy in this province, it is first necessary to establish industrial development chains that make full use of coal. The Plan also provides specific guidelines for this purpose. It is proposed to accelerate the shift of coal from being a single fuel to one that is used both as a raw material and a fuel, to improve the level of differentiated utilization of coal as well as the technologies for enhancing its quality. By improving production processes, increasing the proportion of coal mixed with other fuels, or adopting new gasification techniques, it is possible to make use of lower-quality coal as a substitute for higher-quality coal resources. ”Li Yajun, general manager of Shanxi Jin Kun Mineral Products Company, told reporters. In addition, the Plan also proposes to establish a cross-border, interconnected industrial chain for a collaborative circular economy in the metallurgy sector. Establish a circular economy industrial chain linking the metallurgy industry with sectors such as machinery, coking, power generation, chemicals, and building materials, creating a collaborative industrial chain based on symbiotic relationships in order to promote the efficient utilization of by-products.