Ordos eco-friendly industrial wax plant gets approval

An environmentally friendly industrial wax and eco-friendly solvent plant with a total investment of 1.34 billion yuan ($190.3 million) – to be located in Dalad Economic Development Zone in Ordos, in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region – was recently got approval from the authorities, according to local officials.

The new plant is being funded by the Dalad branch of Elion Co, a business that focuses on investment in the efficient clean energy and environmental protection industry.

The product that will be made in the new plant -- called Fischer-Tropsch wax -- is an alkane polymer synthesized from hydrocarbon-based syngas or natural gas.

A spokesman for Elion Co said its properties give it obvious advantages over crude oil wax. It has low viscosity, a high softening point and high melting point and it has excellent lubricating properties and is widely used in industrial production.

The new plant in Dalad Economic Development Zone will have an annual production capacity of 83,600 metric tons of Fischer-Tropsch wax with high added value when it is put into full operation, the spokesman added.

Local officials said that the new plant will enable the green utilization of industrial exhaust gas and open a precedent for the calcium carbide industry's transformation towards a high added-value direction.

It will also provide more employment opportunities for local residents and is of great importance for promoting the sustainable and high-quality development of the regional economy.