Harbin coal-to-petrochemicals plant to produce 600,000 tpa of olefins

21-Aug-06

China National Coal Group Corp plans to acquire Harbin Coal Chemical Engineering Co - a major coal-to-petrochemicals plant in Harbin, Northeast China. Current capacity at the plant is 2.6 million tons of coal and 140,000 tons of methanol. As global oil prices continue to rise, China plans to introduce technology with a competitive edge over the traditional method of converting crude oil into olefin. As per the agreement, China National Coal will use DMTO (dimethyl ether/methanol-to-olefin) technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the CAS at the Harbin plant. Using indigenous technology, China National Coal aims to produce 600,000 tpa of olefin products, and aims to produce ethylene and propylene within the next three years. Annual production target for 2009 also includes 10 million tons of coal and 2 million tons of methanol.