Trial of world's largest ethanol production equipment begins in China

The world's largest ethanol production equipment, with an annual output of 600,000 tonnes, went into trial on Thursday in Huaibei, east China's Anhui Province.

The equipment can convert coke oven gas into ethanol, which will massively increase the added value of coal and provide a feasible way for the low-carbon development of steel and petrochemical industries.

Adopting the advanced technology jointly developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum (Group) Co., Ltd., the equipment was constructed by Tanxin Technology Co., LTD. under the Huaibei Mining Group.

Ethanol is an excellent gasoline additive and a vital basic chemical. It is produced mainly by the United States, Brazil and other countries, with crops such as grain and sugarcane as raw materials, and is used as fuel ethanol.

China's ethanol market is in great demand, said the research team leader Liu Zhongmin, director at the DICP and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He added that the gap in fuel ethanol in China was about 10 million tonnes in 2022.

The research team developed an advanced technology, DMTE, using synthesis gas, or syngas, as raw material to produce absolute ethanol by carbonylation of dimethyl ether followed by hydrogenation of methyl acetate.

The team has continuously upgraded the technology and the catalyst and optimized the reaction process, laying a solid foundation for large-scale industrialization.

The trial operation of the equipment at Tanxin Technology Co., LTD. has verified the advanced nature and reliability of DMTE, said Li Wei, general manager at Tanxin Technology Co., LTD.

Until now, the team has signed 13 sets of DMTE technology implementation license contracts, including two sets exported, Liu said.

The large-scale production of non-grain ethanol is pivotal in ensuring China's food security, energy security, chemical industry chain and supply chain security, Liu said.