Beijing, China, August 20, 2021 - In the development of human society, coal was the earliest fossil energy source to be effectively used. From the first coal-burning heat to the invention of the steam engine, people successfully entered the industrial age. Nowadays, oil, natural gas, and even cleaner wind, solar, and nuclear power are driving the world's rapid operation.

   The frequent occurrence of extreme climates is warning human society that the global climate system is now undergoing rapid and extensive changes. Some geographic and climatic disasters are irreversible, and if the carbon emission intensity is not reduced from now on, the global temperature will continue to rise and the environment will further deteriorate.

   "Rich coal, poor oil and less gas" is the basic feature of China's energy structure, and coal-based resource endowments have always been China's basic national conditions. For a long time, domestic coal has been mainly used for fuel, and it has also been criticized for high emissions. At present, coal is still China's main source of primary energy. The second-ranked oil and gas resources are highly dependent on overseas, and the turbulent market threatens China's energy security.

As the entire society moves towards a renewable and sustainable low-carbon society, the vigorous development of the coal chemical industry will give greater play to the role of coal as a resource ballast, and the coal industry will also escort the country’s energy security in many aspects. .

   "Dual Carbon" Target Drives Energy Structure Transformation

   In September 2020, China's development has entered a new historical period. In the general debate of the 75th United Nations General Assembly, China announced that it will strive to achieve carbon dioxide peak in 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. This is also known as China's "dual carbon" goal.

Under the guidance of the "dual-carbon" target, from petrochemical, energy, consumption, and manufacturing industries, there has been an upsurge of peak carbon reduction. It is foreseeable that, as an important foundation of the entire industry, the energy structure will take the lead in realizing low-carbon development and provide a guarantee for the carbon peak and carbon neutrality of the whole society.

  Reviewing the relevant data of domestic energy consumption in recent years, although the total amount has steadily increased, the energy structure has changed.

According to data provided by the China Petroleum Institute of Economics and Technology, by 2020, the proportion of coal in China's energy consumption has fallen from 72.2% in 1980 to 56.8%. In addition, in the past five years, oil accounted for 18%-19% of China's energy consumption, while natural gas consumption has increased from 4.0% in 2010 to the current 8.2%. While the proportion of fossil energy has fallen, the overall proportion of renewable energy, including hydropower, nuclear power and wind power, has also risen to 16.1%. According to data from the China Electricity Council, at the end of 2020, the country’s full-caliber power generation installed capacity was 2.2 billion kilowatts; of which, coal-fired power installed capacity was 1.08 billion kilowatts, accounting for 49.1%, which fell below 50% for the first time.

It is foreseeable that in the process of China’s development from high-carbon to low-carbon society, the total energy demand will continue to increase. By then, the complementary integration of multiple energy sources will be needed to maximize the advantages, but the continued decline in the proportion of coal and electricity is indisputable. the trend of.

   In addition to thermal coal used as raw material for power generation, a large amount of coke and coking coal are also used in industries such as steel and non-ferrous metal smelting. Under the "dual carbon" goal, in order to reduce carbon emissions and achieve green development, the metallurgical industry is also promoting technological innovation. One of the directions is to reduce the use of coal and even use clean resources such as hydrogen as raw materials.

 It is worth noting that as an important energy supply resource, coal also possesses the attributes of chemical raw material resources. Coal is used as a raw material and converted into methanol, ethylene glycol, coal-to-liquid, olefins and many other products through complex process operations such as gasification, liquefaction, and dry distillation, which has become an important supplement to the petrochemical industry chain.

In the process of promoting clean energy, more and more coal resources will be transferred from being used as raw materials for coal power plants to the coal chemical industry. As for the coal chemical industry, it is still facing problems such as overcapacity, shortage of water resources, and environmental pollution. In the context of "dual carbon", how to improve energy efficiency, reduce resource consumption and pollution emissions, and achieve intelligent, green and efficient development are also issues facing the industry.

Coal chemical industry waits for transformation

   China is a big country in global coal reserves, production and consumption. In the process of reducing the use of coal energy, the promotion and development of coal in the chemical industry will simultaneously complete the dual role of reducing carbon in the energy structure and filling the gap in the chemical industry.

According to data from BP’s World Energy Statistics Yearbook 2021, China’s coal reserves in 2020 will be 143.197 billion tons, accounting for 13.3% of the global total, ranking fourth in the world; China’s coal production that year reached 80.91 million tons, ranking first in the world. It accounts for 50.7% of total global production. At the same time, China's total coal consumption has reached 82.27 million tons, accounting for 54.3% of total global consumption.

Compared with more than 70% of domestic coal that is used for power generation, more and more coal is used in the coal chemical industry, not only can produce more necessary chemical products, but also use the heat generated in the coal chemical process as energy source , Integrated into the energy supply system, and build a new power supply system together with other energy sources to achieve high-efficiency use of materials and the lowest emission of pollutants.

In 1925, China's first coal coking plant was built in Shijiazhuang, and China has also entered the era of coal chemical industry. Today, after nearly a hundred years of development, China’s modern coal chemical technology and equipment autonomy rate has reached over 85%. Among them, direct coal liquefaction, low-temperature pyrolysis of pulverized coal, and tar lightening technologies are all international initiatives. Olefins, coal-to-aromatics, low-temperature Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, coal-to-ethylene glycol and kerosene co-refining technologies are all at the international leading level.

   But judging from the current situation, there are still many constraints in the development of China's coal chemical industry. A few years ago, due to the skyrocketing international oil prices, projects such as coal-to-liquid and coal-to-olefins became profitable. However, as international oil prices have fallen into a low tide in recent years, many benchmark coal chemical projects have fallen into losses; in recent years, the country has strengthened environmental and safety inspections. Under the overall influence, the overall development of the domestic coal chemical industry has also been relatively slow.

   The Industrial Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission pointed out that at present, China's coal chemical industry still has many areas to be improved in terms of technology, equipment, environmental protection and safety, and coal chemical industry is not suitable for large-scale development. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the coal chemical industry is still in the technology demonstration stage, and polygeneration is the direction of support.

From a policy perspective, during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the coal chemical industry will face greater resistance to carbon emission reductions under the background of the country’s implementation of the “dual-carbon” strategy, and it needs to further promote its development in green and low-carbon. Due to China's current energy structure and economic development considerations, the role of coal in the chemical industry cannot be completely replaced in a short time. Therefore, the clean and efficient use of coal is the focus of the development of the coal chemical industry.

The "Guiding Opinions on the Development of Modern Coal Chemical Industry during the "14th Five-Year Plan" of the Coal Industry (Draft for Comment)" pointed out that the "14th Five-Year Plan" period is a key stage for the high-quality development of modern coal chemical industry. The new round of technological revolution, represented by the Internet, big data, intelligence, and greenization, is deeply integrated with industrial development. The uncertainty and instability of international oil and gas prices continue to increase, and the ecological and environmental protection constraints are also strengthened. The ability to replace renewable energy is significantly enhanced, and the modern coal chemical industry must embark on a path of clean, efficient, green, and low-carbon development.

Promote the transformation of coal from a single fuel to equal emphasis on fuel and raw materials, and build a modern coal chemical industry system. Faced with the many challenges ahead and the era of great changes in information technology, digital technology provides another opportunity for the coal chemical industry. Promoting digital transformation is a process that many industries are going through. For the coal chemical industry and enterprises, digital transformation is not only to comply with the objective trend of industrial upgrading, but also to improve the quality and efficiency of the enterprise itself, and it is also the only way to enhance core competitiveness.

The high-level and in-depth combination of "informatization" and "industrialization" that has been advocated for many years has been driving the transformation of the coal chemical industry from informatization to intelligence. From the initial office automation system (OA) to the now no longer unfamiliar production process execution software (MES) and enterprise resource planning software (ERP), as well as today’s intelligent manufacturing, China’s coal chemical industry is undergoing a transition from informatization to intelligence. , And finally realize the road of intelligent transformation.