Successfully crossed the Chinese sample of "no man's land" science and technology growth private enterprises for coal-to-liquids special applications

On April 2, 2023, with a roar, China's first private liquid oxygen kerosene rocket, "Tianlong-2", pierced the sky like a huge meteor, and the coal-based aerospace kerosene developed by the mainland entered space with it. The development of coal-based aerospace kerosene has not only overcome the problem of "stuck neck" in China's aerospace industry in aerospace fuel, but also laid a solid foundation for the implementation of the mainland's energy security strategy. The hero behind the fuel product is Henan Zhongtuolihe Chemical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhongtuolihe").

Converting coal into oil products, and then how to maximize the value of coal-to-liquid, is the fundamental solution to China's energy and resource security, but it has been monopolized by foreign countries, until the emergence of Zhongtuo Lihe, began to really break the status quo and fill the gap. Since its establishment in 2010, under the leadership of Chairman Zhang Wenshao, the founder and helmsman, Zhongtuo Lihe has been committed to the development and application of coal-based special chemical products, continuously improving the added value of coal-to-liquid, and solving the problem of "stuck neck" for many industries. The company has been recognized as a national high-tech enterprise, a national specialized and special new "little giant", a national intellectual property strong enterprise, a "single champion" of manufacturing industry in Henan Province, and a "gazelle" enterprise in Henan Province, and has gradually grown into the backbone of China's coal-to-liquid deep processing industry. As the first scientific and technological enterprise in China to develop coal-based high-purity n-alkanes, how does it open up the blank "technological wasteland" step by step, and how does it make technology shine in all walks of life, including aerospace?

The heart is outside the sky

Tackle the problem of "stuck neck" of aerospace fuel

Zhang Wenshao, who was born in the chemical engineering class, has more than 30 years of practical experience in technical research and production and operation management in Sinopec refining and chemical enterprises, presided over the technical transformation and operation of many sets of large-scale chemical production units in China, won more than 10 national patents, published more than 20 related academic papers, and is a practical expert and outstanding entrepreneur in the field of petrochemical industry in mainland China. Under the leadership of Zhang Wenshao, Zhongtuolihe has made a major breakthrough in the special application of coal-to-liquid in mainland China, and its technology has reached the international leading level, breaking the foreign monopoly, filling the shortcomings of the industry, and becoming a leader in the global market in this field.

Faced with the mainland's resource situation of "rich in coal, poor in oil, and low in gas," China's heavy-duty space engine fuel has always relied on foreign imports, which not only greatly increases the flight cost of domestically produced launch vehicles, but also is controlled by others at critical moments. The use of abundant coal resources to develop coal-to-liquid production of petroleum substitutes is a strategic consideration to ensure energy security, and coal-to-liquid isoparaffins can be used as important raw materials for the production of aerospace fuel. As a result, the development of coal-based aerospace fuel (aerospace kerosene) has become a new road that China's aerospace field urgently needs to open up.

In 2019, the Sixth Academy of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation discovered Zhongtuolihe when inspecting the raw material market, and found Zhang Wenshao, chairman of Zhongtuolihe, to seek cooperation, hoping to jointly promote the research and development of coal-based aerospace fuel. In the face of the olive branch thrown by the Aerospace Liquid Power Technology Research Institute, which is the only one in the mainland that integrates the research of the main power system of the launch vehicle, the orbital attitude control power system and the propulsion system of the space vehicle, Zhang Wenshao was surprised by the application value of coal-to-oil hydrocarbon products in the space engine fuel, and also felt a heavy responsibility.

However, in the process of research and development, the rigorous attitude of astronauts and the strict indicators required to study space engine fuel gave Zhang Wenshao and his R&D team a blow to the head. The Sixth Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology proposed that the fuel component should be light to provide greater thrust for the rocket, and at the same time, the viscosity must be large, which means that the component is heavy. These two opposing index requirements have brought unprecedented difficulties and challenges to the research and development of Zhongtuolihe. For a long period of time at first, the research and development of space engine fuel fell into confusion and stagnation without direction. However, if Zhongtuoli does not do it, who will take on this problem in this field in China?

With a sense of responsibility and mission to empower the aerospace industry and defend national security, and with strong willpower, Zhang Wenshao led the R&D team to choose to immerse themselves in research and attack this "impossible" task without hesitation. In view of the contradictory indicators, Zhang Wenshao decided to upgrade equipment, improve the process, carry out experimental demonstration, the company's R & D team, production technology backbone and front-line workers eat and live in the factory, just to be able to continue to experiment, optimize and adjust in a timely manner. After three years, the heavy-duty space engine fuel research and development project finally achieved breakthrough success.

On April 2, 2023, the Tianlong-2 satellite, which is of great historical significance in the history of the world's aerospace industry, was successfully launched. Tianlong-2, which "burns coal", shoulders the mission of the "vanguard" of the aerospace industry, and successfully flew into space for the first time in the world using coal-based space fuel. As a result, the mainland has become the only country in the world that has mastered the development and successful application of coal-based aerospace kerosene technology. The effective expansion of the application of coal-to-liquid hydrocarbon products not only has far-reaching strategic significance for the rapid development of the mainland's aerospace industry fuel demand and broadening the supply of aerospace fuel, but also injects strong momentum into China's coal transformation and upgrading and energy structure adjustment.

Blaze new trails

To make China's own high-purity n-alkanes

Energy security is related to the overall situation of national economic and social development. Since the 90s of the 20th century, the mainland's dependence on foreign crude oil and natural gas has continued to rise, which has seriously threatened China's energy and resource security and restricted China's economic and social development. With the historical process of reform and opening up, China's coal production has increased from 620 million tons in 1978 to 4.56 billion tons in 2022, making China the world's largest coal country. As the main energy source of the mainland, on the one hand, coal bears the important mission of ensuring the rapid and healthy development of the national economy, and on the other hand, coal overcapacity has also caused a series of problems. The energy resource structure of "more coal, poor oil and less gas" has brought huge challenges to national energy security. How to effectively realize the transformation and upgrading of coal resource structure and convert coal into oil and chemical products of coal-to-liquid processing technology has become an important "killer tool" to solve the problem of "bottleneck" of China's energy resources and ensure the energy security of the mainland. At the same time, hydrocarbon products produced in the processing of coal-to-liquids are also playing an increasingly important role as new materials in all walks of life.

Due to the late start of China's coal-to-liquid technology, the n-alkane products produced by the deep processing of coal-to-liquid are also far behind those of foreign countries. In the face of the demand for high-purity n-alkane products from all walks of life, as well as the current situation of heavy dependence on foreign imports, Zhang Wenshao ignited the determination to break the foreign monopoly, fill the shortcomings of the industry, and support the development of national enterprises.

In the technical wasteland in the field of high-purity n-alkane products in China, Zhongtuo Lihe started almost from scratch, and the production data, production process, experimental equipment and core equipment were all manufactured by itself. At that time, enterprises with demand for high-purity alkane products generally believed that this was an impossible task in China. Even so, the R&D team of Zhongtuo Lihe still holds the determination to fight against the odds, bury itself in research and development, and develop new technological fields step by step.

After more than three years of research and exploration from 0 to 1, in 2015, Zhongtuolihe produced the first batch of high-purity n-alkanes in China, filling the technical and industrial gap in the field of high-purity n-alkanes in China and breaking the passive situation of many enterprises relying on imports. This successful "pioneering" has provided high-quality and reliable raw materials for many industries in the mainland, further improved the added value of coal-to-liquid, and promoted the national energy strategic security.

As the first enterprise in China to develop high-purity n-alkanes, Zhongtuolihe quickly attracted the attention of the outside world. A German company approached Tolihe in the hope of buying out the product technology. Zhang Wenshao was unmoved by the investment temptation thrown by foreigners, and directly said NO, and emphasized that "investing in me must be my product better than yours, but if you don't invest in me in the future, my product will be gone, and Zhongtuo Lihe wants to be a world-class brand, not just look at the immediate benefits ......." It is Zhang Wenshao's vision and perseverance, strong sense of mission, patriotism and national feelings that lead the rapid and healthy growth and continuous growth of Zhongtuo Lihe like a lighthouse.

After the successful development of the product, it is not achieved overnight from the laboratory to the market. At the beginning of the market, even though Zhongtuo Lihe holds the analysis report and clear numerical indicators of the most authoritative testing agency SGS, many companies still hold the mind that it is impossible for Chinese to develop high-purity n-alkanes, and would rather spend high prices to import from abroad than easily choose domestic brands. In order to open up the market and establish trust, on the one hand, we organize business personnel to carry out continuous promotion and marketing, expand sales channels, improve users' awareness of products, and assist customers in formulating scientific application plans, from distribution samples, trials, to technical consultation, solving application problems and other follow-up services, so that customers can rest assured and worry-free, and truly create value for customers.

From 2016 to 2017, the market gradually built trust in Zhongtolihe's high-purity alkane products. After more than ten years of development, Zhongtuolihe products have been widely used in food, medicine, new materials, cosmetics, pesticides, precision electronic instruments, aerospace and other fields, contributing to the innovation and development of the industry. Customers are all over the country and abroad, and maintain a high market share in the subdivision of high-purity and environmentally friendly alkane industry.

Explore new technologies

Create a solid material foundation for various industries

Hydrocarbon products with different carbon numbers can be used as basic materials for different industries, short-chain hydrocarbons such as methane are often used in energy production and supply, while long-chain hydrocarbons such as paraffin wax can be used in lubricants, additives, cleaning agents, diluents, antioxidants, etc. With the market application of high-purity n-alkane products, customers from different industries have taken the initiative to seek product and technical cooperation. In this context, Zhongtuo Lihe is convinced that high-purity n-alkanes have a broad market demand in China, and is determined to further deepen the research and development of n-alkanes in the whole carbon chain, especially to break through the foreign technical blockade of alkanes above C8, not only to achieve domestic substitution, but also to fill the gap in the global carbon chain, provide high-quality products and best efficiency solutions for different industries, and represent China to be the global leader in n-alkanes.

Based on the conventional logic that the performance and demand of basic materials give rise to the market, Zhongtuo Lihe often appears that after the development of a carbon-based alkane product, the specific use of the product is not clear, and it is not until the customer takes the initiative to visit that the product can meet the application field. It can be said that the all-carbon chain alkane series products that are reserved before the demand are more like a huge treasure, providing a solid raw material base for the development and progress of many industries in the mainland.

At present, Zhongtuo Lihe has basically realized the research and development of n-alkane products of the whole carbon chain, and is still continuing to climb new technological peaks, and has begun to carry out the research and development of isoparaffin products of the whole carbon chain, olefins including alpha olefins. And all these product technical achievements are inseparable from the continuous R&D investment of Zhongtuolihe. Since 2015, the company has built three municipal-level R&D platforms: Luoyang Coal-to-Liquids Fine Chemicals Enterprise R&D Center, Luoyang Coal-to-Liquids Fine Chemicals Engineering Technology R&D Center, and Luoyang Enterprise Technology Center, as well as two provincial-level R&D platforms of Henan Coal-to-Liquids Fine Chemicals Engineering Technology Research Center and Henan Enterprise Technology Center, as well as Henan Postdoctoral Innovation Practice Base.

With more than ten years of technological breakthroughs and development accumulation, Zhongtuo Lihe has passed the national high-tech enterprise certification for three consecutive times, and has won the national specialized and special new "little giant", the national intellectual property strong enterprise, the national vocational skills certification agency for the record, Henan Province Intelligent Workshop, Henan Province Gazelle Enterprise, Henan Province Manufacturing Individual Champion, China Hi-Tech Society Academician Expert Group "International Advanced" Achievement Evaluation, Henan Province Chemical Science and Technology Progress First Prize, Henan Province Technological Invention Third Prize, Henan Province Top 100 Private Enterprise Social Responsibility and other qualification honors.

The application of products in many fields and the sincere cooperation of enterprises have made Zhongtuolihe widely and highly recognized, and won the titles of "the most influential brand in China's solvent oil industry", "top ten suppliers" of national chemical products and "qualified supplier of China's aerospace".

Leading the way in new directions

Make the strongest voice in China in the field of coal-based hydrocarbons

In the field of coal-to-liquid deep processing hydrocarbons, the slope is long and the snow is thick. After more than ten years of investment, Zhongtuo Lihe has integrated the n-alkane products of the whole carbon chain into the production bloodline of different industries. The continuous expansion of product boundaries has allowed the world to see the strength of domestic enterprises in the development of coal-based oil and hydrocarbon products, and it is no longer just "imported products" that can support the development of national enterprises.

Along the way, there are always some changes and constants. The variable is the innovative and advanced technology and the constantly expanding development boundary, and what remains unchanged is the consistent in-depth research and development of Zhongtuoli and the long-term belief in supporting the development of national enterprises and ensuring national energy security.

With the mission of "making every effort for the benefit of ecological n-alkanes for the benefit of mankind" and the goal of "being the leader of global ecological n-alkanes", Zhongtuolihe practices the corporate philosophy of "keeping the middle of the road, TOEFL society, gathering the strength of the people, and win-win cooperation", advocating the values of "integrity, altruism, innovation and focus", providing customers with the best efficiency solutions, achieving a career development platform for employees, and creating greater value for the society! In the future, Zhongtuo Lihe will comply with the national strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, continue to focus on the field of high-purity environmentally friendly solvents, give full play to the advantages of "specialization, refinement, special innovation", strengthen and expand the enterprise, help Luoyang chemical new material industry chain and high-end petrochemical industry cluster, further improve quality, lead the healthy and sustainable development of the global ecological alkane industry, and strive to build an international leading, efficient, environmentally friendly and healthy manufacturer of high-end new materials for coal-based specialty chemicals.

To promote the take-off of special application technology of coal-to-liquid, promote the realization of the goals of "carbon neutrality, carbon peak" and "double carbon", and help the rapid development of the world's aerospace industry, Chinese enterprises represented by Zhongtuo Lihe continue to break into the "no man's land" of technology with the attitude of pioneers, shoulder the important task of transformation and upgrading of China's energy structure with the responsibility and mission of national enterprises, and drive the "Chinese power" in the global value chain. Looking forward to the future, Zhongtuolihe will realize the beautiful vision of becoming a global leader in n-alkanes and isoparaffins step by step, and continue to make the strongest voice in China in the field of coal-based hydrocarbon product development.