41 billion yuan! Gansu's largest single-investment industrial project enters trial production phase

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 2, the caustic soda unit of the high-performance silicon-fluorine new materials integrated project of Gansu Juhua New Materials Co., Ltd. in China produced its first batch of products, officially transitioning from equipment commissioning and defect elimination to the trial production phase for Phase I of the project. Located in the Old Urban Chemical Industrial Park of Yumen Economic Development Zone, Gansu Province, the project has a total investment of approximately 41 billion yuan, making it the largest single-investment industrial project in Gansu Province to date.

Construction of the project began in January 2024, covering an area of approximately 8,118 mu, with an overall plan encompassing two major sectors: fluorochemicals and silicon-based new materials. As of August 27, the project was still in the trial production preparation stage, with facilities such as ion-exchange membrane electrolyzers, chlorine compressor units for the ion-exchange membrane caustic soda system, and refrigeration stations for the methane chloride units undergoing equipment commissioning, pipeline defect elimination, and instrument calibration. By September 2, the caustic soda unit had produced its first output, completing the transition from trial production preparation to actual trial production.

Environmental impact assessment documents previously released by the Gansu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment show that the overall project plan includes supporting facilities such as 900,000 tons/year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, 760,000 tons/year of methane chlorides, 150,000 tons/year of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, and 300,000 tons/year of calcium chloride, alongside production units for fourth-generation refrigerants and fluoropolymers. Among these, the planned fluoropolymer production capacity is 125,000 tons/year, with products including PTFE, FEP, PFA, PVDF, and fluororubber. The project also plans fluorochemical units for R245eb, R152a, R142b, VDF, TFE, and others.

Subsequent project plans announced by Juhua Co., Ltd. for the fluorine-chlorine materials sector at the Gansu base show an investment of approximately 19.625 billion yuan in its high-performance fluorine-chlorine new materials integrated project, with plans to build 35,000 tons/year of R1234yf, 30,000 tons/year of PTFE, and 10,000 tons/year of FEP, supported by 900,000 tons/year of ion-exchange membrane caustic soda, 460,000 tons/year of methyl chloride, 420,000 tons/year of methane chlorides, 400,000 tons/year of calcium chloride, and 198,000 tons/year of R22 units. The caustic soda unit is not only the first production unit to enter trial production but also a key supporting facility in the fluorine-chlorine materials industrial chain.

According to the overall plan, the silicon-based materials sector also includes units for 360,000 tons/year of industrial silicon, 100,000 tons/year of polysilicon, and 50,000 tons/year of trichlorosilane. Previously disclosed project construction schedules indicate that the silicon industry sector is part of subsequent construction phases. The current formal entry into trial production covers the relevant Phase I units and does not signify that the entire silicon-fluorine new materials integrated project with a total investment of 41 billion yuan has been fully put into operation.