On April 14, 2026, the pre planning kickoff meeting for the coal to olefin upgrade demonstration project of Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. was successfully held. This meeting brought together multiple units including the headquarters engineering department, Yanshan Petrochemical, Inner Mongolia Energy and Chemical, Nanjing Project Management Center, Ningbo Engineering Company, etc. The core goal is to sort out the progress of project promotion, identify potential problems, and deploy follow-up work arrangements. This also means that this key project with a total investment of over 22 billion yuan has officially entered the final sprint stage before comprehensive construction.

Core technology localization

The project is located in the Dalu Industrial Park of Zhungeer Banner, Ordos, and adopts China Petroleum's independent research and development technology throughout the entire chain. Specifically, the gasification process adopts SE powder coal semi waste boiler gasification technology, which was jointly developed by Sinopec and East China University of Science and Technology. The biggest advantage of this technology is its strong adaptability to coal types, even when facing low-quality coal with high ash melting point and high ash content, it can achieve efficient conversion and clean utilization. The purification process adopts S-COS sulfur resistant transformation technology and S-AGR acid gas removal technology, among which S-AGR technology successfully breaks the foreign technology monopoly and reduces energy consumption by 18.8% compared to similar foreign technologies; The methanol synthesis process adopts S-MS technology, while the olefin production uses Sinopec's independently developed S-MTO technology.

Project construction planning

The project plans to construct a 2.26 million tons/year methanol plant and a supporting 2.26 million tons/year MTO plant, including an OCC unit, which can ultimately produce 350000 tons/year of polyethylene, 450000 tons/year of polypropylene, and 100000 tons/year of EVA/LDPE products. Through the collaborative operation of this series of devices, the complete industrial chain from coal to high-end polyolefins will be connected. In order to ensure the coal supply for the project, Sinopec Great Wall Energy Chemical successfully won the exploration rights for the Bayan Chaidamu mine field in Nalin River, Inner Mongolia for 30.15 billion yuan as early as March 2023. The mining field covers an area of 115.43 square kilometers, with a coal resource of 2.131 billion tons and a planned annual production capacity of 10 million tons, which is equivalent to tailor-made a "personal coal granary" for the project.

On site promotion and distinctive features

At present, the construction work on the project site has officially started. The two winning candidates for the site leveling project have been determined: the 137 hectare area on the northwest side will be constructed by Beijing Yanhua Tianzheng, and the 165 hectare area on the southeast side will be undertaken by Sinopec Shengli Construction Engineering. The construction content of both units includes site clearing, earthwork excavation and transportation, dynamic compaction treatment, slope support, etc., with a maximum excavation depth of 15 meters, laying a solid foundation for the comprehensive deployment of subsequent civil engineering projects. This project has a special development history. It was originally a joint venture project between State Power Investment Corporation and Total of France, and was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2016. It is one of the nationally designated coal to olefin upgrading demonstration projects. After being taken over by Great Wall Energy, a large amount of technological upgrading work was carried out on the original basis, further enhancing the technical level and competitiveness of the project. Keywords: coal chemical industry, green hydrogen, Ordos

The project plan couples 100MW wind power and 240MW photovoltaic projects, with the construction of a 10000 ton/year electrolytic water hydrogen production unit. By replacing some coal hydrogen production with green hydrogen, the carbon emissions per unit product can be reduced to 5.66 tons of CO2/ton of olefins, reaching the industry-leading level. Next, Inner Mongolia Nenghua will coordinate and promote various tasks according to the deployment of this kick-off meeting, ensuring that the project achieves a high starting point positioning and high standard construction. A modern chemical giant with an annual output of 900000 tons of polyolefin is gradually rising in the Ordos Plateau.Editor/Gong Ziwei