Summary of Domestic Chemical-Related Pharmaceutical Projects in China for August 2024

Construction Content: Construction of a 100,000-ton-per-year cyclic olefin resin project; the product is primarily used in wind power, photovoltaics, coatings, automotive, and fishing vessel industries. Total Investment (in ten-thousand RMB): 120,000 57. Project Name: Hubei Ningzhuan New Materials Co., Ltd. 300,000-ton-per-year High-Purity Phosphoric Acid Project Owner Unit: Hubei Ningzhuan New Materials Co., Ltd.; Hubei Saning Chemical Co., Ltd. Construction Content: Occupying 1,344 mu of land, the project includes construction of a 300,000-ton-per-year high-purity phosphoric acid facility, along with supporting facilities including a 1.2-million-ton-per-year sulfuric acid plant (using sulfur), a 600,000-ton-per-year wet-process phosphoric acid plant, a 50,000-ton-per-year monopotassium phosphate plant, and a 1.6-million-ton-per-year cement retarder plant, as well as auxiliary utility systems and operational infrastructure. Total Investment (in ten-thousand RMB): 1,250,000 58. Project Name: Lihua Yiweiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. Technical Upgrade Project for AMS and CHP Production Enhancement at its Phenol-Acetone Unit Owner Unit: Lihua Yiweiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. Construction Content: Process optimization and safety upgrades to the existing phenol-acetone unit, its raw material tank farm, intermediate tank farm, finished product tank farm, and other related facilities; addition of AMS separation/purification and storage/transport facilities, CHP filling and storage/transport facilities, and associated auxiliary utility systems. Total Investment (in ten-thousand RMB): 20,813 59. Project Name: Shandong Lubei Chemical Co., Ltd. 600,000-ton-per-year Sulfuric Acid Production and Waste-Heat Power Generation Project Owner Unit: Shandong Lubei Chemical Co., Ltd. Construction Content: Annual production capacity of 600,000 tons of industrial sulfuric acid (expressed as 100% H₂SO₄), annual waste-heat power generation of 120 MW·h, and annual by-product steam output of 1.044 million tons. Key construction components include a sulfur storage warehouse, molten sulfur workshop, sulfur-burning and conversion unit, drying and absorption unit, generator building, liquid sulfur and sulfuric acid storage tank area, auxiliary utility systems, landscaping, and roads. Total Investment (in ten-thousand RMB): 32,972 60. Project Name: R&D and Industrialization Construction Project for the Marine Pharmaceutical and Bioproducts Industry Development Center Owner Unit: Xiamen Torch Group Co., Ltd. Construction Content: Buildings #5 and #6 on the southeast side (where Building #5 serves as the R&D building for the Marine Pharmaceutical and Bioproducts Industry Development Center — an eight-story structure with one underground level primarily designated as a low-temperature preservation zone; the first floor houses experimental platforms; the second floor accommodates bacterial and fungal laboratories; the third floor hosts the marine biological big-data information platform; floors four through seven are dedicated laboratory spaces; and the eighth floor contains separation and analytical laboratories. Building #6 functions as the industrialization building for marine pharmaceuticals and bioproducts — with one underground level serving as a parking garage; the first floor houses pilot-scale large equipment; the second floor hosts functional product and pharmaceutically active substance preparation platforms; the third floor serves as a preservation zone; the fourth floor focuses on marine molecular preparation research; floors five through seven are laboratory spaces; and the eighth floor houses activity screening and functional evaluation labs, as well as animal housing facilities). Total Investment (in ten-thousand RMB): 18,163 61. Project Name: Inner Mongolia Jiajing Magnesium Industry Co., Ltd. Coking Plant Upgrading and 300,000-ton-per-year Methanol Production Capacity Technical Renovation Project Owner Unit: Inner Mongolia Jiajing Magnesium Industry Co., Ltd. Construction Content: This project adopts a pressurized entrained-flow gasification process, upgrading existing systems including sour gas removal, shift conversion, and air separation. It adds new equipment and technologies such as pressurized entrained-flow gasifiers, oxygen compressors, centrifugal purified-gas compressors, and PSA hydrogen recovery from purge gas. Existing hydrolysis, PSA decarbonization + deep desulfurization units will be maximally reused. Hydrogen and PSA tail gas generated will be supplied to downstream industries for circular utilization. Post-renovation, the original 300,000-ton-per-year methanol production capacity remains unchanged, while the production process is upgraded to achieve energy conservation, emission reduction, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement.

In-Depth Review of the Entire Sulfur Chemical Industry Chain (as of June 17, 2026): From Persian Gulf Oil & Gas to Phosphate Fertilizers and Fluorochemicals — An Undervalued Industrial Logic Chain

Three core facts—inescapable and fundamental—can be distilled from the above data: 1. The only globally viable sulfur source capable of rescuing the global chemical industry is solid elemental sulfur, a byproduct of Middle Eastern oil and gas operations (accounting for over 90% of globally tradable sulfur supply); 2. Sulfuric acid produced from smelting off-gases and from pyrite (iron sulfide) is exclusively consumed regionally and cannot offset global supply shortfalls; 3. Geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East directly compromise the world’s sole globally tradable sulfur supply pool—triggering cascading impacts across the entire sulfuric acid, phosphate fertilizer, and fluorochemical value chains. This constitutes the foundational driver behind all subsequent industrial analysis. III. From Sulfur to Sulfuric Acid: A Comprehensive Breakdown of the Two Primary Sulfuric Acid Production Routes Once sulfur feedstock is secured, the next step is converting it into industrial-grade sulfuric acid. Globally, there are three sulfuric acid production routes, with sulfuric acid from elemental sulfur and from smelting off-gases together accounting for 85–90% of total output; pyrite-based sulfuric acid serves only as a marginal supplementary route. Data Sources: Annual Report of the China Sulfuric Acid Industry Association (2024); S&P Global CEH Sulfuric Acid (2024) 3.1 Route One: Sulfur-Based Sulfuric Acid Production — The Global Dominant Route (~60% of Global Output) This route uses solid elemental sulfur (derived from oil and gas operations) as feedstock and is the only route directly linked to global sulfur trade. Its raw material is both ocean-shippable and storable, affording flexible plant siting unconstrained by geographic mineral deposits. Full Process Flow (Four Steps): Step 1: Sulfur Melting and Filtration/Purification Solid sulfur is heated with steam to 130–150 °C to melt into liquid sulfur, followed by multi-stage filtration to remove mechanical impurities and ash—ensuring catalyst protection in downstream processes. Step 2: Sulfur Combustion — Liquid Sulfur Burned to Generate SO₂ Purified liquid sulfur is sprayed into a sulfur-burning furnace and combusted in excess dry air, yielding high-concentration (10–12%) SO₂ furnace gas: 💡 Core Economic Advantage of Sulfur-Based Sulfuric Acid Production: The sulfur combustion reaction is highly exothermic, raising furnace gas temperatures to 800–1100 °C. High-temperature waste heat is recovered via waste-heat boilers to generate medium- to high-pressure steam (3.5–6.0 MPa) for power generation or process heating. For a large-scale sulfur-based sulfuric acid plant (annual capacity ≥ 400,000 tons), revenue from steam by-products can cover a substantial portion of operating costs—a distinct economic advantage absent in smelting off-gas-based sulfuric acid production. Step 3: Catalytic Conversion (SO₂ → SO₃) — Shared with Smelting-Based Production SO₂ furnace gas, cooled to 400–430 °C, enters a converter where it is oxidized to SO₃ over a vanadium catalyst (V₂O₅ supported on diatomaceous earth): This reversible, exothermic reaction employs multi-stage conversion with inter-stage heat exchange (typically 4–5 stages) to progressively lower temperature and drive equilibrium toward completion, achieving overall SO₂ conversion rates of 99.7–99.9%. Step 4: Concentrated Sulfuric Acid Absorption — DCDA (Double-Contact Double-Absorption) Process SO₃-containing gas exiting the converter enters the absorption tower. Direct water absorption of SO₃ is strictly prohibited industrially: gaseous SO₃ reacts instantly with water vapor to form fine sulfuric acid mist droplets (sub-micron scale), which cannot be effectively captured and would cause severe environmental pollution and product loss if vented.

WeylChem Considers Expansion of Sulfur-Melting Unit in Spain

12 hours ago

WeylChem Bilbao approved a feasibility study to expand its sulfur-melting unit, potentially substantially increasing capacity. The project underscores the strategic importance of securing reliable molten sulfur supply for the European chemical industry.

chemweek

2026-11-12

WeylChem Considers Expansion of Sulfur-Melting Unit in Spain

WeylChem Considers Expansion of Sulfur-Melting Unit in Spain

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