Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd.: Take Active Use of High-aluminum Fly-ash and Achieve Win-win Situation in Cycle Economy

 

Company Profile
 
Datang International Power Generation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Datang International) was established in 1994 as one of the largest independent power generation corporations in China. By the end of 2011, Datang International’s business involved such fields as power generation (thermal power, hydraulic power, wind power, nuclear power and solar power), coal chemicals, coal, transport (railway, aviation and sea port), and metallurgy. It has grown from a sole power-generating company into an integrated energy company.
 
Challenges
 
As China’s aluminum industry keeps developing, the consumption of bauxite is increasing and there is shortage of such resource. Currently, the static supply period of bauxite lasts only 8-10 years. Nevertheless, China has abundant reserves of high-alumina coals. If we can develop the high-alumina coal resources in a protective approach and produce aluminum oxide independently, we cannot only effectively reduce the production cost of enterprises, but also alleviate the shortage of bauxite in the country. As a result, how to effectively develop and use high-alumina fly ashes has become a new challenge.
 
Solutions
 
Joint R&D: In 2003, Datang International Tuoketuo Power Generation Company, when making dust removal, found that fly ash contains rich aluminum. After that, Datang International went into partnership with Tsinghua Tongfang and spent 8 years on R&D and industrialization, which ended up with the development of world-leading process route of using sintering process of predesilicification and soda-lime to extract aluminum oxide.
 
Development through investment & construction: Inner Mongolia Datang International Renewable Resources Development Corporation, relying on the active 540KW thermal power generating unit of Datang International Tuoketuo Power Generation Company, made investment to build demo project of aluminum oxide, and made comprehensive use of abundant industrial wastes in the west of Inner Mongolia such as fly ashes to produce aluminum oxide, aluminum alloy and other non-ferrous metal products needed by the development of national economy.
 
Achievements
 
Relying on the demo project of using high-alumina fly ashes to produce aluminum oxide, Inner Mongolia Datang International Renewable Resources Development Company has realized the cycle production system featured by efficient coal development, electric power cleaner production, comprehensive waste use and obtaining of aluminum materials at low energy consumption. The project was awarded by the People’s Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region the title of Demo Base of Comprehensive Resource Use. It has been listed in the National Plan of Rejuvenating Non-ferrous Metal Industry and 11th Five-Year National Key Technology R & D Program.
 
Datang International, in the 12th Five-Year Plan, works hard to build the cycle economy industrial chain integrating coal, electric power, fly ash and non-ferrous metals, which can optimize the industrial layout in West China. At the same time, the technology can guarantee the strategic security of aluminum resources in China, thus finding a new approach to shifting traditional construction-material use of fly ashes to recycle of valuable resources.
 
Prospect
 
In January 2012, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China released the 12th Five-Year Development Plan of Non-ferrous Metal Industry and 12th Five-Year Special Development Plan of Aluminum Industry. In the plans, it is pointed out that China will depend on pillar enterprises such as Datang International with technical foundation and strength to build the comprehensive use projects of high-alumina fly ashes in Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and other regions with rich high-alumina coal resources. The country will protect and push forward in an orderly way the development and use of high-alumina coal resources to fulfill the healthy and sustainable development of aluminum industry. Datang International will focus on reuse of secondary resources and continue to promote extension and application of technologies extracting aluminum oxide out of high-alumina fly ashes.