Monumental Merger Pending for China’s Huadian

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- China

Two of China’s largest state owned electricity producers are currently awaiting state approval for one of the country’s largest utilities mergers in history. China Datang Corp. and China Huadian Corp. stand to form the largest power generator by capacity. Shares for both companies rose as news hit from inside sources at the beginning of the month. Datang’s listed unit Datang International Power Generation Co. rose as much as 5.6% on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Huadian subsidiary Huadian Power International Corp. added as much as 2.2%. China Datang Corp. Renewable Power Co. and Huadian Fuxin Energy Corp. both advanced 2%(Click below to check up on stock progression).

The China State Council will now decide if the merger will move forward and be finalized.

“To see this merger go through will be in line with current objectives China has to stay competitive globally by consolidating publicly owned enterprises within the same industry,” Amy Wu, Director at the Institute for Information Technology for the Building Materials Industry, and AsianCAA’s secretary general, in Beijing. “Many industries are moving towards getting rid of excess capacity, since the economic turmoil of 2015.  Law makers are also pursuing legislation which lowers China’s dependence on coal, and focuses more on sustainable energy”.

The current largest generator in the world position belongs to China Energy Investment Corp, another State owned enterprise. The Datang-Huadian merger would stand to surpass the CEICs capacity by almost 60 gigawatts. The multi billion dollar deal will place Datang Huadian approximately 50 billion ahead of China’s current power generation powerhouse.

For now the companies, and the government, are keeping very hush, providing no comment on progress or status of the deal.

Click Below for Stock Info:

Datang International Power Generation Co.

Huadian Power International Corp.

China Datang Corp. Renewable Power Co.

Huadian Fuxin Energy Corp

Coal Ash Asia 2018: A Recap

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-Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, China

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our Coal Ash Asia 2018 proceedings in Shuozhou City, China, this past September 12-15th. This year's topics focused on the high-value utilization of fly ash, FGD gypsum and coal gangue as well as highlight applications in building material products (cement, concrete, geopolymers etc).

A special thank you to our international delegation (click organisation to visit website):

We would like to extend our humble gratitude to our friends at the China Building Materials Academy’s Institute of Technical Information for the Building Materials Industry, in Beijing. This year’s extension and construction of our annual products and services exhibition was our largest in Coal Ash Asia history, with over 50 exhibitors, and a welcome ceremony which included an orchestra playing on instruments made primarily from fly ash!  

New to this year’s proceedings was our Technology Symposium track geared towards new technologies in fly ash, which included discussion on fly ash based aggregates, fillers, and ceramic tiles. Contributors to this track included: Prof. Chang Jiqing from Guangdong Penghu Industrial Co., Ltd., Zhang Jingjie from Shanxi Hujin Coal Electricity New Material Co., Ltd., Ma Liantao from Hengyuan Waste Utilization, and Peter Ma from Shandong Wei Tong Technology Co., Ltd.

Another new feature was our meeting dedicated to new FGD gypsum technologies. Content included alpha high strength gypsum and calcination methods. Contributors included: Prof. Duan Pengxuan from Guilin University of Technology, Prof. Xiang Lan from Tsinghua University, and Li Yushan from Shandong Pingyi Kaiyuan New Building Material Co., Ltd.

This year also welcomes esteemed contributor, Mr. Bill Martin, who led engaged attendees in his workshop, “Fly Ash Use in Road and Embankment Construction”. Here, Mr. Martin led the discussion for industry experts, who explained real-world projects of American and Australian fly-ash in road projects. Also discussed were new technology and applications in road engineering. Attendees were able to openly discuss and compare methods and approaches to road construction, and receive technical explanations as to the process of applying road and embankment technology from start to finish.

We are excited to announce upcoming events and association/research developments in the new year. Please sign up for our newsletter to stay in touch!

 Here are a few pictures from CAA2018! An Album will be available under past events, in the coming weeks.

Want to Download the Conference program from CAA2018? You can find it on our CAA introduction page.

Research Highlight: Technology for Extracting Alumina from Fly Ash and Research on Acid/alkali Double Circulation

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- Beijing, China

During Coal Ash Asia 2017 this past July, there was substantial discussion surrounding alumina extraction from coal/coal ash and strategies for making the processes practically adapted. Professor Jiang Xun Xiong of Beijing General Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy posited research concerning the processing and separation of the alumina from fly ash. Below is the abstract of the research provided at CAA2017. Beijing General Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy have continued to be loyal participants in our annual events, and are committed to efficient technology integration and environmental protection.

BGRIMM is analyzing development and current status about alumina extracted from high-aluminum powder fly ash, and taking subjective analysis for current typical processes in China. Processes include energy consumption, material consumption, three-wastes, product quality. Discussing bottlenecking and development trends for extracting alumina from fly ash, and proposing fly ash conversion using sulfur acid. Will explore the process’ reactions and decomposition, low-temperature alkaline sink and two circulations for alumina extraction. The study results confirm two circulations for acid and alkaline are needed.

To find out more about this research, and research like it, join us at Coal Ash Asia 2018, and join the ongoing discussion and seminars surrounding the topics of metal extraction and alumina extraction specifically.

Research & Application: Steam Jet Milling in China

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Processing Ultrafine Solid Waste Using Industrial Waste Heat with Low-cost

 - Mianyang, Sichuan, China

Jet Grinding is the dry method to obtaining minimum particle size effectively, but the high-energy consumption and small capacity greatly limit wide application. Creators and processors of industrial waste need to adapt large scale, low cost measures of ultrafine processing in order to make adaptation fiscally possible. Steam jet milling adopts high temperature mechanical technology and uses hot steam as media for high-speed movement to perform material pulverization.

 Currently researching the differences in medias being emitted through jet steam nozzles is Professor Chen Haiyan from Southwest University of Science and Technology, Sichuan Province, China. In his research, he compares the outlet airflow velocity with the same nozzle under different medias. The results show that compared with the 30℃compressed air, the crushing strength of the nozzle’s core region improved by 3 times under 300℃ superheated steam. Other parts of the jet steam process that were examined were the large scale and annular compound nozzles, flow field of grinding chamber, turbine classifier under superheated steam, and superheated steam bag filter.

 In a 30,000t/ year production line of desulphurization ash in a Pingshuo powder plant, ultrafine circulating fluidized bed ash was prepared by LNSJ-350A type steam jet mill.  Using superheated steam with temperature of 250℃and inlet pressure of 0.25 MPa supplied by a power plant, the results showed that the average particle size of the ultrafine circulating fluidized bed ash was 8.999 μm. The yield of ultrafine circulating fluidized bed ash was 73t/h. Steam consumption showed at 21.7 t and electricity consumption was 3.76k W·h per ton.

The strength and soundness conform to national standard requirements when the products are blended by a mass fraction of 10% for formulating composite Portland cement with the strength grade of 32.5.When medium particle size of desulphurization ash was about 4.76μm, the activity index could reach to 107%, which can also satisfy the requirement of S95 slag.

Professor Haiyuan, a welcomed speaker at Coal Ash Asia 2016 and 2017, explores this research alongside his colleagues at SUST, in Mianyang, Sichuan. The University was founded in 1939, and has over 29,000 students in enrolled. The campus was originally the Mianyang branch of Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University, another CAA2017 attendee, is another catalyst research facility for waste management and sustainability in China.

Hot Topic: Alumina Extraction from Fly Ash

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Baotou, Inner Mongolia

Aluminium is widely used in transportation, packaging and building materials sectors, due to its resistance to corrosion.  Alumina can be found in coal deposits all over the world including the US, India and China, the top three producers. Aluminium extraction however, is not a common practice in coal-fired power stations, as many struggle to justify the costs and energy costs. Inefficient systems have caused an obstacle for industry wide adaptation.

At this year’s Coal Ash Asia, in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, July 21-24, Industry professionals and researchers from around the globe will meet to discuss and share knowledge on Alumina Extraction. Discussions will explore energy and cost efficient extraction technologies, as well as international and domestic overviews from participating countries in our International Panel session.   

Our annual industrial tour will take place at Datang International Renewable Resources Development Co., Ltd. The holding company, Datang Group is a “big five” power company in China. The company is operating the first and only commercial project of Alumina Extraction of Fly ash in China, with production capacity of 200 000 tons/a Alumina, and producing paper and building materials products. Among these by-products are cement and calcium silicate board.

China universities, including the China Building Materials Academy in Beijing, lead in research pertaining to fly and bottom ash a processing and utilization. Feedback from the international community from Coal Ash Asia 2016 supported notions that China is year’s ahead in terms clean energy technology.

Processing and treating ash from coal fired power stations to the building materials industry is new to countries like Ukraine. “ The only industry that uses fly ash in Ukraine is the cement industry, with no processing or treatment, we simply feed what we get from the power station to the plant,” Andrey Garanin, business development manager from United Minerals Group (UMG) in Ukraine. Mr. Garanin attended CAA2016 to explore alternative applications for ash. After a visit to CAA’s annual industrial tour in Shuozhou, Mr. Garanin cited that there are many possibilities for effective adaptation in Ukrainian markets for Chinese tech. “China could help guide Ukraine to clean, energy efficient building materials. The infrastructure is unlike anything we’ve seen in Eastern Europe.”

Check out our introduction page to find our more about Coal Ash Asia 2017, who else will be joining us, and what other tracks we will cover at this year’s event.

Read the Wood Mackenzie report on alumina extraction!  (click here)

 

Early Bird Rates End July 1st! Register Now for Asian Coal Ash Association’s 6th Annual Coal Ash Asia Event

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The Asian Coal Ash Association in collaboration with ITIBMI (Institute for Technical Information for the Building Materials Industry is under way with planning Coal Ash Asia, 2016, from September 23-26. New components at this year’s event will be an international panel discussion as well as an interview component, led by government, commercial and academic leaders of interest.

Based on the success of last year the association is offering our international delegates a unique experience at our event with complimentary business matching services. Attendees will be able to request meetings with individuals/organisations of interest and receive complimentary translation services during the course of the event.

This will be the association’s sixth year hosting and third year in Shuozhou City, Shanxi Province, with next year’s event to be held in Baotou, Inner Mongolia.  Government support from the Shuozhou government has made them a key participant and contributor to CAA events. Shuozhou city is home to one of China’s most prominent industrial parks, with currently twelve operations functioning in the industrial solid waste utilization sector.

Other activities of note include visiting a 1000 year old Pagoda, traveling on a 300km/hour high speed train to visit the city of Taiyuan (China's coal industry capital) and enjoying multiple cocktail hours and networking opportunities.

International guests are welcome to participate as oral presenters and exhibitors or by way of submitting academic research new product overviews to our poster exhibition and building materials journal. Register before July 1st and receive a discounted rate of $1500 (regular $1950).

Brief Analysis: Coal in China and the Current Economic State

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The year 2015, China saw a significant drop in the use of coal.  The same drops appeared in other energy sectors including oil and gas. A contributing factor to this decline is of course the current indolent economy China is experiencing due to overproduction and reduced demand for construction. Additionally, a shift in the central government has current administrators setting their sights on cleaner energy sources like wind, hydro, solar, and nuclear. As set forth in the Paris Agreement of 2015, President Xi Jinping promised seemingly remarkable reforms regarding China air pollution, guaranteeing a greener economy, and to hit peak CO2 emissions before 2030.

On the industrial side, demand exists for the construction of 210 new coal plants to be built across the country; the demand coming from provinces that have been hit hardest during this most recent economic decline.  There is large resistance within the government to these new plants, as these plants will make it more difficult to reach Xi Jinping ‘s 2030 objective. A fundamental shift in industrial infrastructure however, comes at a cost. Consideration must be made towards the millions of people who work and live in communities where existing coal plants and coal fired power plants operate, as these local economies are driven by the coal industry. There is a difficult balance between sustaining jobs in the energy sector while attempting to shift to newer cost and environmentally efficient forms of energy.


Due to this and other factors, it is safe to say that coal will not be replaced easily. Although current stats show that coal use has hit a peak (Figure 1), China is still the world’s largest consumer of coal.

The economy grew rapidly in China from 2002 – 2012. This was due to an exploding steel, cement and aluminium market. By the end of that decade, China was burning almost as much coal as the rest of the world combined. Half of this fuel was used in generating electricity, while the other half was used directly by the aforementioned industries. 2013/14 saw a leveling off of these numbers and by 2015, the coal consumption began its decline. The industrial sector ceased production rates it had enjoyed in previous years, and now faces the even larger threat of overcapacity. 2016 is projected to see a continuation of slowing growth, as the smoke stack industries and cement markets correct themselves. The move toward cleaner energy is inevitable, as construction of nuclear power plants, wind farms, solar panels and hydro-electric dams continue.

As china moves away from being reliant on heavy industry and into services, becoming more developed, electrical demands of future years could very well be met by hydro, nuclear, solar or wind energy sources. For now, stabilizing the marketplace and making the transition away from being a population heavily dependent on the coal infrastructure left over from the 2002-2012 boom seems to be the consensus.