The nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries determine the focus and direction of innovation development

On December 28, 2022, the 2022 China Nitrogen Fertilizer and Methanol Technology Conference was held
in the form of an online conference.
Gu Zongqin, chairman of China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, put forward five key points and directions
for the innovation and development of China's nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industry.

First, insist on relying on scientific and technological innovation to drive the sustainable development of
the industry.
Gu Zongqin stressed that the level of scientific and technological innovation is an important symbol of the development level and sustainable development of
the industry.
For the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industries dominated by traditional coal chemical industry, to improve the level of scientific and technological innovation, the whole industry should strengthen the research and development and demonstration application of core major technologies, focusing on large-scale clean and efficient coal gasification technology, waste pot/semi-waste pot coal gasifier, high-efficiency catalyst, high-efficiency motor and boiler, etc.
; The second is to vigorously promote collaborative innovation, solidly do a good job in the transformation of technological achievements, do a good job in the docking and integration of enterprises and universities, establish a collaborative innovation network of "production, education and research", and promote the construction of enterprise innovation platforms; The third is to keep up with the pace of digital and intelligent development, use 5G and big data technology to improve the operation and management level of the industry, and gradually realize the leap from industrial manufacturing to "intelligent manufacturing"; Fourth, actively explore the combination of new and renewable energy with existing industries, as well as the physical and chemical utilization technologies of CO₂, and explore effective means to achieve carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality; Fifth, it is necessary to accelerate the upgrading of fixed-bed intermittent coal gasification units, or carry out "indirect cooling" transformation, or carry out new coal gasification replacement transformation
.

Second, firmly follow the road of
green and low-carbon transformation and development.
Gu Zongqin said that in order to continue to do a good job in energy conservation, carbon reduction and water efficiency improvement during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, this year the relevant ministries and commissions of the state have successively issued the "14th Five-Year Plan" Modern Energy System Plan, "Energy Conservation and Efficiency, Green Carbon Reduction Service Action Plan", "Industrial Water Efficiency Improvement Action Plan" and "Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Action Plan" and other documents
.
It is required that by 2025, the energy consumption of industries above designated size will increase, and the water consumption of 10,000 yuan of industrial added value in the country will be higher than that of 2020 The annual decline was 13.
5% and 16% respectively, and the water intake of the main products of the synthetic ammonia and coal-to-methanol industries decreased by 5%.

At the same time, by 2025, the carbon dioxide emissions of GDP such as petrochemical and chemical industries will fall by 18% in five years, and more than 50% of enterprises in the industry will meet the standard
of water-saving enterprises.
In addition, the Central Economic Work Conference in December 2021, the fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Modern Energy System all proposed to "promote the transformation of 'dual control' of energy consumption to 'dual control' of total carbon emission and intensity"
.
Overall, the industry is facing huge pressure of energy conservation and carbon reduction, and enterprises should continue to increase investment
in energy saving, water saving, pollution reduction and carbon reduction in the future.
First of all, we must find out the family background, establish a practical management system, and do a good job in training
practitioners.
At the same time, we must also do a good job in benchmarking, find gaps, rectify and improve ourselves
.
This year is the first year of the Nitrogen Fertilizer Association to carry out nitrogen fertilizer, methanol production raw fuel consumption benchmarking work, the purpose is to play a leading role in the demonstration of benchmarking enterprises, to meet the needs of enterprises benchmarking, this conference also invited Linggu Chemical and AllBright Chemical respectively on behalf of the new coal gasification nitrogen fertilizer and natural gas nitrogen fertilizer benchmarking enterprises to share energy-saving experience
.

The third is to do a solid job in formulating and revising standards
.
Gu Zongqin said that the Nitrogen Fertilizer Association has been actively participating in the formulation and revision of national standards and industry standards, and in 2020, the association established a standardization technical committee and began to organize and carry out group standard work
.

In terms of national standards, the energy consumption limit standards of synthetic ammonia, urea, ammonium bicarbonate and methanol have completed the review of the National Standards Committee, and the revision of nitric acid energy consumption limit standards has been launched.

In terms of group standards, it is first necessary to strengthen the publicity and application
of published standards.
Second
, it is necessary to promote the preparation of established project standards in an orderly manner.

The fourth is to actively guide the large-scale development
of industry groups.
Gu Zongqin pointed out that in the environment of fierce market competition, enterprises with high technical level, large production scale and rich industrial chain are more competitive
.
Decades of development experience in the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industry tell us that the large-scale and group development of the nitrogen fertilizer and methanol industry will become a trend
.
Enterprise group operation requires both horizontal development and vertical development or two-way development of enterprises, horizontal development is to layout to different regions, with one point driving multiple points, and bursting together; Vertical development means to enrich the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain according to its own advantages, develop new products on the basis of risk assessment, such as multi-functional fertilizers, fine chemicals and other products, achieve integrated development with the original related industries, and improve the ability to
resist market risks.
In this regard, many nitrogen fertilizer and methanol enterprises such as Hualu Hengsheng, Luxi Chemical, Heart to Heart Group, and Haoyuan Group have set an example
.

In addition, under the general tone of energy conservation and carbon reduction, based on the foundation of nitrogen fertilizer development, the methanol development model is benchmarked, and the scale of new ammonia synthesis projects in the future is encouraged to be on par
with methanol.
We advocate: the new ammonia synthesis plant single series production capacity of 1 million tons / year (3300 tons / day), supporting urea single series plant production capacity of 1.
2 million tons / year (4000 tons / day), on par
with the world's leading level.

Fifth, give full play to the leading role
of the association's science and technology.
Gu Zongqin believes that the work should be mainly done in the following aspects: first, build a standard innovation platform, give full play to the leading role of the association, and establish and improve the standardization system through the formulation and revision of national standards, industry standards and group standards; The second is to do a good job in the appraisal of scientific and technological achievements, technical consultation and advanced technology review; The third is to build a technical exchange platform, promote exchanges in the industry by organizing meetings, forums and other means, display advanced management and production experience, and promote the application of advanced technology in the industry; The fourth is to actively communicate with relevant ministries and commissions of the state, play a good role as a "bridge", and strive for policy support and the recommendation and application of scientific and technological projects
.