JIANGMEN PRO-TAYLOR REFRIGERATION CO., LTD. , https://www.protaylor.com
In early 2008, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association and its affiliated organizations became increasingly active. According to Li Yongwu, President of the association, the National Development and Reform Commission had developed an Implementation Plan for Energy Efficiency Targeting Activities for key energy-consuming enterprises. As part of this initiative, the association was organizing benchmarking activities across major energy-intensive industries.
This year marked the third year of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan," a crucial middle-year period for the petrochemical sector, which officially entered its "CSC Year" focused on energy saving and emission reduction. Despite some progress, the energy-saving situation remained challenging.
According to data released by the Petrochemical Association, during the first three quarters of 2007, the energy consumption per unit of added value in the national petroleum and chemical industry continued to decline. The comprehensive energy consumption per unit product in six key energy-consuming industries also showed reductions. For example, crude oil processing energy consumption dropped to 77.2 kg/ton of standard oil, down 1.9% year-on-year; ethylene energy consumption fell to 1158.2 kg/t of standard coal, a 2.9% decrease; synthetic ammonia energy use reached 1456.7 kg/t of standard coal, down 1.8%; caustic soda energy consumption was 537.9 kg/t of standard coal, a 3.6% drop; soda ash energy use decreased to 380 kg/t of standard coal, a 4.2% decline from 2005; and calcium carbide energy consumption was 1124.1 kg/t of standard coal, down 1.9%.
Despite these improvements, Li Yongwu expressed concerns that the overall energy-saving achievements were still not meeting the goals set by the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan." He noted that the industry’s energy consumption base was too high, and the rapid growth of high-energy-consuming sectors was undermining energy-saving efforts.
He pointed out that many coal-based chemical projects were being planned, especially in central and western regions. Traditional high-energy sectors like calcium carbide, caustic soda, soda ash, and nitrogen fertilizers continued to expand. Additionally, modern coal chemical projects such as coal-to-oil, coal-to-methanol, DME, and methanol-to-olefins were gaining momentum, further increasing total energy use and making energy-saving more difficult.
Li warned that if the growth of these high-energy-consuming industries continued at a faster pace than the rest of the industry, it would be hard to meet the energy-saving targets of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan," and long-term industry sustainability could be at risk.
Another issue highlighted was the rapid growth of "two highs" products—high energy consumption and high pollution. Due to strong market demand and profitability, production capacities in areas like nitrogen fertilizers, soda ash, caustic soda, calcium carbide, and yellow phosphorus increased by about 30%. This led to overcapacity, with some industries operating below 40% or 70% of their capacity.
Moreover, the basic work on energy saving and emission reduction lagged behind. Many energy consumption standards were outdated or non-existent, and the development of energy efficiency guidelines for high-energy products was insufficient. This made it difficult to support new industrial capacity effectively.
Additionally, investment in energy-saving and emission-reduction technologies was lacking. Companies often prioritized expanding production over developing green technologies. Even when good solutions were available, they were sometimes kept proprietary rather than shared across the industry.
To address these challenges, Li proposed three policy recommendations: strengthening market access systems, establishing an exit mechanism for outdated production capacity, and increasing support for practical energy-saving technologies. These steps were essential for achieving the energy-saving and emission-reduction goals of the plan and ensuring sustainable development of the industry.
October 09, 2025