A 600,000-tonne-per-year coal-based ethanol project in Xinjiang, China, has encountered a setback after the first tender for the engineering and construction of its core ethanol unit was declared invalid due to an insufficient number of eligible bidders, reported ChemNet.
The bid opening for Section 3, covering the ethanol unit and supporting utility facilities at Shihu New Material Industrial Park in Shihezi, was held on October 8. However, fewer than three valid bidders participated, prompting the authorities to invalidate the tender and plan a fresh bidding process.
Meanwhile, contracts for several other sections of the project have been awarded.
Aerospace Long March Chemical Engineering secured the gasification unit contract for 676 million yuan, involving two 6.5 MPa aerospace gasifiers. China Tianchen Engineering Corporation won the whole-plant systems and public utilities package for 2.69 billion yuan, as well as the ethanol intermediate tank farm and coal storage and transportation package for 570 million yuan.
China United Engineering Corporation secured the heating centre, air separation and circulating water station package for 1.09 billion yuan. Lanzhou LS Heavy Equipment received the hydrogenation reactor equipment contract worth 57.86 million yuan.
The project also shortlisted Shaanxi Xiyu and Xinjiang Xinzheng for its non-destructive testing services, with a proposed service period of 730 days.
Located in Shihu New Material Industrial Park, Shihezi, the project involves a total investment of 13.967 billion yuan, including 527 million yuan for environmental protection.
Its planned annual production capacity includes 600,000 tonnes of ethanol, 350,000 tonnes of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda and 500,000 tonnes of PVC.
The project comprises ethanol and chlor-alkali production facilities, covering coal handling, gasification, purification, ethanol production, ethylene processing and PVC manufacturing.
A key feature is its coal-to-methanol-to-ethanol-to-ethylene-to-PVC production route, which is intended to replace the conventional calcium carbide-based PVC process. The alternative technology aims to eliminate mercury-related pollution associated with the traditional process while reducing energy consumption and emissions.
Under the ethanol dehydration process, ethanol is heated and converted into ethylene using alumina catalysts. The resulting crude ethylene is subsequently purified to obtain polymer-grade material. The project also incorporates a hydrogenation section operating at 280°C and 5.0 MPa.
The integrated production chain is designed to provide flexibility, allowing ethanol and ethylene to be marketed separately depending on operating and market conditions.
The project’s main company completed a second round of capital increase at the end of July, raising its registered capital from 2 billion yuan to 3.359 billion yuan. The additional 1.359 billion yuan is intended to support project construction.
The development is positioned as China’s first industrial demonstration project for producing PVC through a coal-based ethanol-to-ethylene route. Its performance will be closely watched as the country explores alternatives to the conventional calcium carbide-based PVC manufacturing process.
The project is expected to demonstrate whether the alternative route can deliver lower energy consumption, reduced carbon emissions and mercury-free production at an industrial scale.
