Shanxi Yangmei Launched Calcium Carbide Project     

Shanxi Yangmei Calcium Carbide Chemical Co., Ltd., a joint venture between two state-owned companies - Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. and Shanxi Economic & Trade Assets Management Corporation, held a groundbreaking ceremony on December 11th to start construction of the first phase (400 000 t/a) of the 1 million t/a calcium carbide project in Xiyang county of Shanxi province. The joint venture scheduled to complete construction on the 400 000 t/a project in March 2011, with an expenditure of RMB990 million.
    All facilities and technologies used in the project will be the most advanced in China. The company promises to discharge zero waste water and fully utilize slag and tail gas.
    This project can help Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. complete its acetylene production chain and help Shanxi province - China's biggest coal supplying region upgrade the calcium carbide sector. Yangquan Coal Industry (Group), China's tenth biggest coal firm, owns eight chemical companies that combined to report a sale of RMB10.97 billion in 2008. This project is also aiming at supplying raw materials to its subsidiaries - Chlor-Alkali Branch and Sanwei Group.
   The Chinese government controlled strictly the calcium carbide sector that is energy intensive and easy to cause pollution. On December 12th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology made public the fourth name list of calcium carbide producing companies that must be closed. There are 28 companies involved, representing a production capacity of 467 000 t/a. Of that, 21 companies are located in Shanxi province, with a combined capacity of 330 000 t/a.