The Hungry Dragon: Coal-to-Chemical as a Game Changer in China

Related Vendors

Glatt Ingenieurtechnik GmbH

CAC ENGINEERING GMBH

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

Air Liquide Global E&C Solutions Germany GmbH

Since the successful completion of the project, a close relationship has developed between SNCG and Air Liquide which has access to plant data that can be used to further optimize the process. There are ample opportunities for improvement, for example higher propylene yields and longer catalyst life.

Clariant is a catalyst development partner for MegaMethanol and MPT. The company is currently building an R&D center in Shanghai to strengthen its technology and service portfolios for coal-to-chemicals applications.

China: Opportunity or Risk for Plant Engineers?

China could be a big opportunity, but at the same time it remains shuttered. The Design Institute construct systematically excludes European and American suppliers from EPC contracts. “Under the Chinese model, the role of a licensor is really that of a licensor only," explained Wurzel.

For EPC suppliers with a strong technology base like Air Liquide, the Chinese market has a bright and a dark side, like Ying and Yang. On the one hand, China provides a huge opportunity to experiment. The Chinese partners have helped develop a reference base for MTP and a market access route, commented the man from Air Liquide.

However, there is the ever-present danger of being replaced by a copy. Wurzel says that efforts are being made to achieve autonomy in coal-to-olefin technology. Nevertheless, he has good reason to remain unperturbed. Large capacities in particular remain beyond the reach of Chinese process engineers. Methanol production is a good example. Nothing approaching MegaMethanol is feasible at this point, and the same is true of MTP. As yet, no home-grown MTO plant is running under full load.

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