Since the 21st century, China's production of dimethyl ether has developed rapidly, and there are more than a dozen producers in the 21st century***, with a total production capacity of 31,800 tons/year in 2002, and an output of about 20,000 tons or so, with a relatively low start-up rate of about 63%. (Unit: tons/year)
No. Manufacturer Name Production Capacity
1 Jiangsu Wuxian Synthesis Chemical Plant 2000
2 Guangdong Zhongshan Kaida Fine Chemical Co. 5000
3 Chengdu Huayang Weiyuan Natural Gas Chemical Plant 2000
4 Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology 800
5 Jiangsu Kunshan 1000
6 Shaanxi New Fuel Furniture Company 5000
7 Anhui Mengcheng County Fertilizer Factory 2500
8 Zhejiang Zhuji Xinya Chemical Company 1000
9 Guangdong Jiangmen Nitrogen Fertilizer Factory 2500
10 Zhejiang Yiwu Guangyang Chemical Industry Co. Ltd. 1000
12 Shandong Jutai Chemical Technology Co. 5000
13 Hubei Tianli Industry Co. 1500
14 Anyang City Jialeng Energy Development Co. 5000
15 Xin'ao Xinneng Zhangjiagang Energy Chemical Co. Energy Co. 30000
........................ ......
Total 266800
The construction of DME has formed a boom in 2010, with several companies proposing to introduce technology to build large-scale DME production units through joint ventures and cooperation. In April 2001, Shaanxi New Fuel Furniture Co., Ltd. and the United States signed a joint development of "coal-based one-step synthesis of 200,000 tons / year of dimethyl ether ultra-clean fuel" project agreement, the total investment of 2.03 billion yuan, the U.S. side of the investment of 90%.
Ningxia 830,000 tons/year coal-based dimethyl ether project, with a planned investment of 4.78 billion yuan, plans to use foreign funds, has signed a cooperation agreement with Canada's McNett Associates and relies on U.S. Aerodynamics technology.
Sichuan Luzhou Natural Gas Co., Ltd. has built a 10,000-ton/year dimethyl ether plant using a two-step process, and a second 100,000-ton/year dimethyl ether plant, which has also begun construction.
Shandong Linyi Luming Chemical Co., Ltd. is building a 30,000-ton/year dimethyl ether plant, which adopts the self-developed liquid-phase two-step process technology.
Shandong Huaxing Group's 30,000-ton/year dimethyl ether project, which began construction in August 2004, uses a two-step process.
Shandong Yanzhou Mining Group plans to build a 600,000-ton DME plant, and intends to introduce one-step DME technology from abroad.
In addition, there are many other places in China that propose to build dimethyl ether units, such as: Southwest Petroleum and Natural Gas Administration, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang Shuangyashan, Daqing Oilfield, Shaanxi, Lanzhou, Anhui and so on. The main use of DME in China is as a propellant for aerosols, aerosols and spray coatings, consuming 18,000 tons of DME annually. Due to the rapid development of China's aerosol industry, it is expected that about 30,000 tons of DME will be needed by 2005, and in 2010 it will be about 40,000 tons. In addition, China's consumption of DME for the synthesis of dimethyl sulfate and other chemical products is about 11,000 tons.
Because the nature of DME is similar to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), it is easy to store, easy to compress, and thus can replace natural gas, gas, and LPG as civilian fuel. 2002 China's apparent consumption of LPG was 16.2 million tons, and China has imported a large amount of LPG since 1990, and the amount of LPG imported in 2002 was 6.26 million tons. If the price of DME is suitable, assuming that DME replaces imported LPG, about 10 million tons of fuel-grade DME will be needed based on the import volume in the 21st century. With the continuous improvement of people's living standard, the demand for civil fuels will have a large growth, especially for natural gas, dimethyl ether, LPG and other clean energy demand will surely have a great growth, therefore, the development prospect of dimethyl ether as civil fuels is very bright.
Because DME has excellent fuel performance, convenient, clean, high cetane number, good power performance, less pollution, a little pressure is liquid easy to store, as a replacement fuel for automotive diesel fuel, there are liquefied petroleum gas, natural gas, methanol, ethanol and other incomparable comprehensive advantages.
In 2002, China's diesel consumption was 76.62 million tons, and diesel consumption is growing rapidly. It is expected that in 2005, consumption will reach 82.9 million tons, and in 2010, it will reach about 101 million tons. Dimethyl ether as a good alternative fuel to diesel, according to its substitution rate of 5% of diesel, about 5.53 million tons of dimethyl ether in 2005, 2010, about 6.74 million tons.
In summary, it is expected that in 2005, China's demand for dimethyl ether as an aerosol and chemical and other aspects of the demand will reach the demand for about 50,000 to 60,000 tons. DME as an alternative fuel consumption depends mainly on the supply of DME, if the price of DME is reduced to a level that can compete with diesel or LPG, I believe that the consumption of DME as a fuel will grow very fast, and the size of the market is also quite impressive.
Dimethyl ether as a clean alternative fuel has received widespread attention at home and abroad, especially its huge market potential for replacing gas, LPG and diesel, which is of great practical significance for China's energy structure adjustment and environmental protection.
Dimethyl ether process technology is one of the hotspots of process technology development at home and abroad. The one-step process has a simple flow, less equipment, small investment, lower operating costs and production costs, but due to the complexity of the synthesis reaction and separation process, it has not yet been fully industrialized in the 21st century. The two-step process is the main process of DME production at home and abroad in the 21st century, with high product purity, mature process, wide adaptability of the device, and strong comprehensive competitiveness, but there are also weaknesses of the longer process and larger investment in equipment.
The promotion and application of DME in the 21st century is the key to the development of DME, and DME as a clean alternative energy needs strong support and help from the government. It is suggested that the state should coordinate the planning and construction of large-scale DME production bases in areas without oil and gas resources but rich in coal resources. To replace gas and LPG with dimethyl ether as the pioneer of market promotion, and at the same time, vigorously strengthen the research on diesel fuel replacement by dimethyl ether, and comprehensively promote the production and use of dimethyl ether, it is expected that in the near future, dimethyl ether will become an important part of China's energy structure. Dimethyl ether is an emerging basic chemical raw material, due to its good compression, condensation, vaporization characteristics, in the pharmaceutical, fuel, pesticides and other chemical industries have many unique uses. With the scarcity of petroleum resources and rising prices, and the deepening of the concept of clean and environmental protection, DME has been vigorously promoted as a clean fuel alternative to diesel fuel, and has gradually entered the civilian fuel market and the automotive fuel market.
On the demand side, the main use of DME in China is as a propellant for aerosols, aerosols and spray coatings, which consumes 18,000 tons of DME annually. It is expected that about 40,000 tons of DME will be needed in 2010 due to the rapid development of China's aerosol industry.
In terms of diesel replacement, China's diesel consumption is growing rapidly, and in 2010 consumption will reach about 101 million tons. Dimethyl ether as a good diesel alternative fuel, according to its substitution rate of diesel for 5% calculation, in 2010 need 6.74 million tons or so.
In response to the rapid warming of the coal chemical industry in some places and the emergence of blind development in some areas, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the Notice on Strengthening the Construction Management of Coal Chemical Industry Projects and Promoting the Healthy Development of the Industry on July 7, 2006, which requires that DME projects with a scale of less than 1 million tons/year should not be approved in general. This has given some impetus to the construction of large-scale DME projects in China, and also promoted the industrialization and scale development of China's DME industry.
Under the financial crisis, enterprises with high degree of product marketization and close relationship with oil price and international market are relatively more susceptible to the impact of international financial crisis, which is exactly the case for alcohol and ether enterprises such as methanol and dimethyl ether, with more than 70% of methanol and dimethyl ether enterprises in the country shutting down their production in the 21st century.
The economic crisis is not scary, what is scary is the lack of preparation and response to the crisis. As Warren Buffett, the god of the stock market, said in a famous quote: "Only when the tide goes out, we can find out who is swimming naked". Although there are still some problems in China's DME industry, the application of DME and the market outlook is still bright, and the development momentum is worth looking forward to under the support of national policies.