Independent Innovation Series Report on Inorganic Salt Industry: Only Upgrading in Industrial Innovation

During the “10th Five-Year Plan” period, the total production capacity, product output, output value, profits and taxes, labor productivity per capita, foreign exchange earned through exports, and the amount of foreign exchange earned by China’s inorganic salt industry have grown rapidly compared with the past, especially the technological innovation achievements and key technological progress of some leading enterprises. Drive the improvement of the overall level of the industry. However, compared with developed countries, there are still many gaps.

Leading production of important products

Potassium permanganate is an important species in the inorganic salt industry. In the past, the open-bottom furnace method was widely used in the production of the product, which resulted in low conversion rate, high consumption, and high risk of manganese powder and dust. Chongqing Jialing Chemicals Co., Ltd. has researched and improved production technology since the mid-1990s. It has successively developed a continuous oxidation process for the production of potassium manganate, a three-phase pressurized continuous oxidation process for the production of potassium manganate, and applied for national patents, followed by the key The equipment was reformed, and a new process of producing potassium permanganate by using a pneumatic fluidization tower was successfully developed, and the waste heat utilization was improved and improved. At present, the annual production capacity of potassium permanganate of the plant has reached 24,000 tons, making it the world's largest producer of potassium permanganate. China has also become the world’s largest producer and exporter of this product.

Feed-grade calcium hydrogen phosphate is a typical product developed in China using independent intellectual property rights. In the 1980s, the national output of this product was only 3,000 tons. In the 1990s, various new technological routes and invention patents began to emerge in China, and gradually developed two process routes that are suitable for the characteristics of China's phosphate resources. With its own patented technology, Sichuan Longxi Group has become China's leading feed grade calcium hydrogen phosphate production enterprise with an annual output of 600,000 tons, accounting for 1/3 of the country's total output, ranking fifth in the world.

A large number of comprehensive utilization of resources emerged

Most of the inorganic salt products use mineral resources as raw materials for production. Therefore, we must pay attention to the development of new technologies that can reduce environmental pollution and ensure the comprehensive utilization of resources.

The calcium-free roasting of Tianjin Chemical Research and Design Institute replaces the production of 10,000 tons of red wolfberry sodium demonstration project with calcium roasting process and puts it into production, making the production of chromium salts out of the predicament of heavy pollution. Hubei Huangshi Zhenhua Chemical Co., Ltd. has made comprehensive use of the sodium bisulfite waste liquor produced during the production of chromic anhydride, and returned all the waste liquor to the production of red sorghum sodium. In view of the chromium slag pollution brought about by chromium salt production, China has developed many ways to utilize chromium slag, such as its use as a fluxing agent in iron-making processes, as an external filler for cement production, and as a colorant for glass. Hebei University of Science and Technology's hydrochloric acid decomposition of phosphate rock production of feed-grade calcium hydrogen phosphate, calcium carbonate by-product and ammonium chloride technology not only led to the comprehensive utilization of by-product hydrochloric acid, but also make the raw materials of calcium and ammonium and other elements have been effectively used.

Related companies in China have also developed many innovative technologies in the comprehensive utilization of the “three wastes” of yellow phosphorus. Among them, the Sichuan Emei Chemical Design Institute has successively developed a series of achievements concerning the comprehensive utilization of yellow phosphorus tail gas, mud phosphorus, and phosphorus and iron to develop yellow phosphorus. The circular economy of production has played an important role.

Irrational product structure gap is not small

Although China's inorganic salt industry has made breakthroughs through technological innovation, it also has its own position in the international market. However, from an overall point of view, the product structure of China's inorganic salt industry is irrational, with few varieties, poor quality, and insufficient total amount. Only 35% or so, far below the developed countries. There is no complete industrial system with a certain gradient between general and fine products. Wang Peilin, deputy secretary-general of the China Inorganic Salt Industry Association, believes that the gap in China is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

There is a big gap in production technology. So far there are still some companies engaged in workshop-style production, and some technologies still remain in the 1980s and 1990s. Many high and new technologies such as ultra-high temperature technology, ultra-high pressure technology, ultra-vacuum technology, supercritical technology, and ultra-micro technology are still in the research and development stage in China.

Less investment in R&D. In terms of the industry as a whole, R&D investment is less than 0.5% of sales revenue, compared with 8% to 10% in developed countries. Most companies have not yet formed a corporate-centric technological innovation system.

Market development capability is weak. The continuous development of potential markets is a manifestation of the productivity of inorganic salt products. In recent years, a lot of work has been done on market development in China, but the gap is still large compared with developed countries.

Equipment automation is low. Improving and improving the equipment level of traditional products is of great significance for improving the quality and added value of traditional inorganic salt products and related downstream products.

Faced with environmental pressure. Green Chemistry—Basic research and industrial development of clean production technologies, basic research on resource regeneration and reuse, research on chemical engineering and equipment, etc. will become key topics for industry scientific and technological innovation.