Coal Chemical Industry Access Standards Improve Blast Furnace Gas to Methanol

The "Circular on Regulating the Orderly Development of the Coal Chemical Industry" just released by the National Development and Reform Commission calls for the scale of coal chemical industry. The new methanol production capacity must reach more than 1 million tons, and it is not recommended to develop coal chemical industry in regions where water shortage and environmental capacity are insufficient. The National Development and Reform Commission has not yet published the full text of the Notice.

Informed sources revealed that in the future coal chemical raw materials will gradually reduce the use of suitable for power generation of electro-coking coal, and high-grade coal and lignite-based. The relevant leaders of the Raw Materials Division of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently also stated that during the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” period, the industrial layout will be carried out according to the combined conditions of coal and water resources reserves and distribution, ecological environment, transportation, etc., focusing on the use of centralized control, upstream and downstream integration, etc. The chemical production base encourages the combination of coal chemical industry and salt chemical industry, and chemical industry companies and coal companies to achieve integrated coal and electricity development model. Efforts should be made to eliminate backward production capacity, persist in extending the industrial chain, develop downstream high-value-added extension products, and actively develop pilots for the production of blast furnace gas to methanol and methanol fuel vehicles.