The price of coal price steel “squeezed” The independent coking plant goes from here

According to the latest statistics from Union Metals, in mid-October, the market price of coking coal has risen to 1,470 yuan/ton. According to the conventional ratio of 1.4:1, only 1960 yuan is needed for the production of 1 ton of coke and only the cost of coking coal, while the current market average for coke is The price is only 1750 yuan / ton.

If you only buy coal to sell coke, you lose 315 yuan per ton of coke. The independent coking plant, which once accounted for 60% of the country's total coke production, is facing a severe test of survival.

The price of coal price steel is “squeezed”, and the plight of the “cold winter” market that has not ended the independent coking plant is not just emerging. Since the beginning of the international financial crisis in 2008, the independent coking plant has “entered the winter one night”. The price of domestic coke dropped from the highest point of 3,000 yuan/ton in the first half of 2008. Although there was a slight rebound during this period, the overall trend was still down, and it has dropped to 1750 yuan/ton. “The decline in coke prices was due to the drop in steel prices. As the main raw material for steelmaking, the price fluctuation of coke is directly related to the rise and fall of steel prices.” said Jin Gan, chairman of the China Coking Industry Association.

The fall in product prices is not the only reason that an independent coking plant is in a “dreadful situation”. In late July, the average settlement price of coke between the Coke and Jiaoxue Association was RMB1602.17/ton, which was RMB159.38/ton or more lower than the highest price in the middle of May, but the price of high quality coking coal basically did not move, and the general coking coal also declined. Ten yuan/ton. The strength of the upstream coking coal prices combined with the weakness of the downstream steel prices caused the coking plant to become “crowded”. It is understood that the coking industry is the coal consumption industry second only to electricity consumption. However, due to the decentralized industrial concentration and the continued strong demand for coal in the market, the large coking coal industry cannot control the coal market price. At present, the coking plant's operating rate is only around 40%-50% in regions where independent coking plants such as North China are concentrated. A coking plant owner told reporters that as the coke oven is destroyed, many coking plants are using low-quality, low-quality coal to maintain the furnace temperature and look forward to being able to survive the harsh winter.

The low cost of resources and environment will no longer exist, and the extensive development model will end in the Shanxi province where independent coking plants are gathered. The proportion of coke production accounting for the country's total coke production is shrinking year by year. In the first half of this year, the output of coke in Shanxi accounted for only 21.4% of the country. From 1998 to the end of 2009, the production of coke in Shanxi Province fell by nearly 25%. “The example of Shanxi is a good illustration of the fact that the independent coking plant is in trouble. The upstream and downstream market conditions are only superficial reasons and triggers. The root cause is that its extensive industrial development model cannot keep up with the pace of China’s economic restructuring.” .

Huang Jingan explained that most of the independent coking plants have emerged with the rapid development of the steel industry in recent years. Due to the rapid expansion of the steel industry, many large and medium-sized steel plants have no time to support coking plants, and the huge market demand has caused independent coking plants to have A huge living space. However, these coking plants only sell coal to sell coke, have a short industrial chain, and have low utilization of coke oven gas and water, causing serious pollution. Their profitability has a lot to do with low resource prices and environmental costs at that time. In addition to supplying domestic steel companies, coke from independent coking plants in China has also been exported. The annual export of coke in Shanxi Province once accounted for 50% of the world's coke trade volume. With the increase in coal prices and water prices in recent years, the increase in environmental costs such as sewage charges, and the country’s tightening of export restrictions on resource products, the once-advantages have become disadvantageous and the ability to resist risks has become lower and lower. Once faced with market fluctuations, it is easy to get into trouble.

With the combination of upstream and downstream industries, increasing industrial concentration and extending the industrial chain are the only way out. When many independent coking plants have fallen into the dark and fierce situation, in the south of Shanxi, Shanxi Sunshine Coking Group is still making money. What are the reasons? The winning magic weapon is to extend the industrial chain.

Downwards, after the company's coke oven gas was purified, all of the company's largest alumina producer in Asia - Chinalco Shanxi Branch Co., Ltd. was used as a baking furnace fuel. The gas supply was equivalent to 3 million inhabitants; during the coking process The produced tar, gas and other chemical products have been refined and processed to extend tar, * ammonium, crude benzene, ** and other chemical products. Upward, sunlight coking development of raw coal washing, using imported equipment heavy medium washing, to maximize the cost of washing the purchase of clean coal; coal preparation plant in the production process of coal, coal gangue and other waste pollutants, are used Power generation and electricity are used in the production of coking plants, coal preparation plants, and chemical companies, and they have become self-sufficient, and they have also realized grid-connected transmission. The waste heat of power generation has been used in the production of tar and crude benzene for recycled products produced by coking.

However, "the experience of sunlight coking can not be used for reference for all independent coking plants," said Huang Jingan. It turned out that at the beginning of the establishment of Sunshine Coking, it was convenient to use the geographical advantages of nearby aluminum plants, power plants and steel mills to embark on the road of scale development. At present, many independent coking plants in China are small-scale and dispersed. By-products such as gas are difficult to use, and there are not necessarily aluminum factories and power plants that can be integrated around. It is difficult to achieve industrial chain management and large-scale operation by relying on their own strength. . Therefore, there will be a number of independent small coking companies that are eliminated by the market each year.

“But the success of coking coke at least prompted the direction of the independent coking plant out of the predicament, that is, increase industrial concentration, extend the industrial chain, reduce production costs by improving the efficiency of resource use, and achieve corporate profits.” said Huang Jingan. At present, Shanxi, Hebei and other places have emerged coal fuel co-combination, steel coke, the same industry alliances and other models, a large number of independent coking plant has begun to extend the upstream and downstream industrial chain.

Call for policy “support” to clear the way for the use of coking by-products Taiyuan Coal Gasification Coking Plant assumes the task of supplying city gas for Taiyuan City. Wang Liangyan, chairman of Taiyuan Coal Gasification Group, told reporters “under the conditions of weak coke market Good use of gas is the key to the profitability of the coking plant, and the good or bad gas use has a lot to do with local government support." Wang Liangyan said that in order to supply the city gas, the coking plant operating rate is currently about 70%. This is much higher than other independent coking plants. However, at present, the price of gas sold by the Taiyuan Coal Gasification Plant to the Taiyuan Municipal Government is only 0.2 yuan/cubic meter. If it is calculated according to the independent cost, the coal gasification business in Taiyuan City has been in a loss state.

“The current supply of natural gas resources is limited. In many small and medium-sized cities, coke oven gas can still serve as an important source of city gas, which requires local governments to provide support for the price of coke oven gas and the construction of the pipeline network.” said Huang Jingan, using The technology for producing natural gas from coke oven gas has matured and the conversion cost is much lower than that of coal-based natural gas. "You can consider promoting coke oven gas to make natural gas."

Unlike the utilization of coke oven gas in the coking plant of Taiyuan Coal Gasification Group, Dongshan Coking Plant in Baishan City, Jilin Province is a purely market-oriented route. The company has a capacity of processing 600,000 tons of coke per year, converting all the coke oven gas into chemical products such as coal tar and methanol. According to Liu Zhongchen, deputy general manager of Dongsheng Coking Plant, said, "Now methanol and coal tar are sold well, and the profits of the coking plant come mainly from this."

“However, the production capacity of chemical products such as methanol in China is already in surplus. It is recommended that the country start the M15 methanol gasoline standard early, expand the application of chemical products in coking plants, and help the coking plant achieve a balance between revenue and expenditure from its by-products,” said Huang Jingan.