DIMETHYL ETHER PRODUCTION PLANT STARTS CONSTRUCTION IN CENTRAL CHINA . . .
A project to build a production base of dimethyl ether was signed in mid-August by Yongjun New Energy Company, Limited in Luoyang, Henan Province. With a total investment of over $930 million, the project is aimed to achieve the goal of producing one million tons of dimethyl ether every year, which is the largest of its kind nationwide. Once complete, the annual sales income will reach $475 million with $200 million in profit and tax payments.

Yongjun New Energy is jointly owned by Yongcheng Coal and Electricity Holding Group Company, Limited and Haohua Junhua Chemical Company, Limited, both of which are located in Central China’s Henan Province.

Dimethyl ether is a colorless gas that is safe to store and transit. With a high thermal efficiency, no residue or dark smoke can be produced when being burned. It can be used as fuel for cars or for civil use and can replace liquefied petrol gas and diesel fuel. As a clean energy, dimethyl ether can also be used as a raw material for the chemical industry. It can be used to produce spray paint, pesticide, air-freshener, anti-rust products and lubricants.

In June 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission of China halted the approval of dimethyl ether projects with an annual output less than one million tons in order to prevent disorderly competition and low-level redundant development.

Yongcheng Coal and Electricity is a state-owned large coal company headquartered in Yongcheng, Henan Province. It is also one of the six anthracite coal bases in China. With coal exploitation, power and related production as its main business, Yongcheng Coal and Electricity has also started into fields like mechanical processing and non-ferrous metals mining.

Junhua Chemical is a coal-to-chemical industrial base whose predecessor was a chemical fertilizer plant established in 1967 in Zhumadian in Southern Henan. Main products of Junhua Chemical include carbamide, compound fertilizer, melamine, methanol, acetic acid and other chemical products. (Source: Industrial Info Resources)