Wuhan Donghai successfully deploys its high-efficiency coiled-tube heat exchangers in the world's largest coal-based ethanol plant.

Release time：2025-02-18

Recently, the ethanol project product loading and unloading station at Yushen Energy & Chemical Company of Yanchang Petroleum officially kicked off product sales with a ceremonial departure signaled by a whistle, marking the stable, continuous operation of the world's largest coal-based ethanol project and ushering in a new phase of production and business management.

Recently, the ethanol project’s product loading and unloading station at Yushen Energy & Chemical Company of Yanchang Petroleum鸣笛发车 and officially entered the market, marking the start of product sales. This signals the beginning of a new phase in production and operations for the world’s largest coal-based ethanol project, which has now achieved continuous, stable operation.

The Yanchang Petroleum Yushen Energy & Chemical 500,000-ton-per-year coal-based ethanol project has a total investment of 6.98 billion yuan. It employs the dimethyl ether carbonylation technology for ethanol production—jointly developed by Yanchang Petroleum and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, which boasts complete independent intellectual property rights. Using coal as the primary feedstock, the project produces anhydrous ethanol along with other chemical products, enabling clean utilization and efficient conversion of coal resources. Wuhan Donghai Petrochemical Heavy Equipment Co., Ltd., as a key co-developer of the core equipment for this technology, provided prototype units, conducted comparative selections of industrial-scale equipment, and delivered design solutions. Additionally, the company designed and manufactured several critical equipment prototypes with unique structures, which were used to carry out relevant experiments, collect data, and perform detailed analysis.

After systematically organizing, analyzing, and comparing the experimental data, the core equipment in this technical setup—the methyl acetate-crude alcohol heat exchanger and the carbon monoxide preheater—now utilizes highly efficient coiled-tube heat exchangers developed by our company in the industrial-scale, large-scale facility. The construction of the Yushen Energy & Chemical Coal-to-Ethanol Project, undertaken by Yangchang Petroleum, was carried out during periods marked by recurring COVID-19 outbreaks. Despite these challenges, our company successfully overcame the pandemic-related disruptions, tackling numerous complex manufacturing and technological hurdles along the way. As a result, we smoothly delivered the two critical pieces of equipment, providing robust support for the project’s successful startup and operation. Currently, the plant is running continuously and steadily, with all operational metrics surpassing the values specified in the process design.

Wuhan Donghai firmly adheres to the national strategy of "carbon neutrality and carbon peaking," deeply focusing on the green, clean, and efficient utilization of coal. The company has undertaken extensive research and development specifically tailored for coiled-tube heat exchangers and reactors—key components in new materials and next-generation energy systems—achieving remarkable results and milestones. The recent continuous and stable operation of the Yushen Energy & Chemical coal-based ethanol plant marks a significant success in expanding the application scope of our advanced coiled-tube heat exchangers into new, promising fields.

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