On December 1, the launching ceremony of trial production of cotton straw instead of fossil fuel was held in Yingj isha Shanshui Cement Co., Ltd. of Kashgar, Xinjiang. This attempt to replace fossil fuels with pure cotton straw is the first time in Xinjiang's building materials industry and even in the whole country, which marks a significant progress in the application of biomass fuels in Xinjiang. Lu Zhijian, Vice President of
China Building Materials Federation and President of Xinjiang Building Materials Industry Association, Li Jingmei, Secretary-General of Xinjiang Building Materials Industry Association, Zhang Bin, Member of the Party Group of Yingjisha County Government and Deputy County Governor, Xie Yuning, Secretary and Deputy Director of the Party Group of Yingjisha County Bureau of Commerce and Industry, More than 200 people attended the launching ceremony, including members of the Party Group of the Bureau of Commerce and Industry, deputy director Chu Taiyuan, representatives of cement production enterprises in the Keka region, and representatives of employees of Yingjisha Shanshui Company.
Xinjiang's cotton planting area accounts for more than 90% of the country's total output, and most of them are planted in large areas, all of which are machine-picked, creating conditions for a large number of cotton straw storage. With the in-depth implementation of the Opinions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Implementing the New Development Concept Completely, Accurately and Comprehensively to Do a Good Job in Carbon Peak Neutralization and the State Council's Action Plan for Carbon Peak by 2030, facing the situation of rising energy costs and carbon emission reduction, the Xinjiang Building Materials Industry Association has adapted measures to local conditions. In 2021, it began to explore the application path of cotton straw alternative fuel in cement industry.
The association has discussed the feasibility of the application of alternative fuels in building materials, especially in the cement industry, with relevant enterprises and research institutes for many times. In view of the characteristics of large-scale cotton planting in Xinjiang, the Association, together with experts and counselors from forestry, science and technology, agriculture, environmental protection, finance and building materials in the Counselor's Office of the People's Government of the Autonomous Region, formed a special research group to formulate the Research Program for the Application of Biomass (Cotton Straw) to Replace Part of Fossil Fuels in Cement Industry. He also went to Bortala, Kashgar, Aksu, Bayingolin, Changji, Shihezi and other prefectures and some cities, divisions and regiments of the Corps to conduct special investigations. The research team went to the fields, visited enterprises, learned about the situation from agricultural machinery cooperatives, discussed and exchanged with the relevant departments of industry, information, agriculture and ecology of the local government, and carefully compiled and submitted to the people's government of the autonomous region a research report on the application of biomass such as cotton straw to replace some fossil fuels in the cement industry. Chen Weijun, Executive Vice Chairman of the People's Government of the Autonomous Region, made important instructions on the report on September 13, 2022, and sent it to relevant departments such as the Industry and Information Technology Department, the Agriculture Department and the Science and Technology Department of the Autonomous Region. The association pushed the project into the project of the Office of Industry and Information Technology of the Autonomous Region, and actively promoted the landing of the project. Since
2023, the association has chosen two cement enterprises, Bortala in northern Xinjiang and Kashgar Yingjisha in southern Xinjiang, which have concentrated cotton planting and overlapping advantages with cement enterprises, to try first. At present, the project construction of enterprises in both places has been completed. Among them, Yingjisha Shanshui Cement first achieved a breakthrough and officially launched the project test on November 29 this year. In this year's cotton harvest season, the company has stored enough cotton straw for the trial production of cotton straw instead of fossil fuels. Zhang Bin, deputy head
of Yingjisha County, pointed out that under the background of global advocacy of low-carbon and sustainable development, the traditional cement industry is facing severe challenges of energy saving and emission reduction. Yingjisha Shanshui took the lead in implementing the experiment of replacing fossil fuels with cotton straw, which is a decisive measure to actively seek change and embrace the green future. This experiment will provide valuable experience for the green transformation of cement industry, and also open up a new path for the resource utilization of agricultural waste in Yingjisha County. Lu Zhijian, president of
Xinjiang Building Materials Industry Association, stressed that cotton straw has far-reaching significance as a substitute for fossil fuels in Xinjiang. Every year, the cotton planting area in Xinjiang exceeds 38 million mu, the output of cotton straw is as high as 17 million tons, equivalent to about 8 million tons of standard coal, and the emission reduction potential exceeds 10 million tons. Promoting cotton straw as fuel can not only significantly improve Xinjiang's environmental protection and "three rural" benefits, but also bring obvious social, economic and environmental benefits. This test is not only an exploratory attempt of alternative fuels, but also a concrete practice of scientific and technological innovation in energy saving and efficiency enhancement, cost reduction and efficiency enhancement. The brave attempt of Yingjisha Company will provide valuable experience for the promotion of Xinjiang and even the whole country. Dong Chuanxiu, member of the Party Committee
of Shanshui Group and general manager of Xinjiang Operating Zone, said in his speech that the cotton planting area in Kashgar is 6.5 million mu, with abundant cotton straw resources, which can be used steadily for a long time. The promotion and application of biomass fuels will not only help to reduce dependence on traditional fossil fuels and reduce carbon emissions, but also promote the development of cement industry in a green and sustainable direction. At the same time, the effective utilization of cotton straw can also increase the income of cotton farmers, reduce the cost of plastic film recycling, improve the recycling efficiency, realize the efficient utilization of agricultural waste resources, and promote the virtuous circle development of agriculture and industry.
Xinjiang Building Materials Industry Association said that it would send a technical team to track the experimental process on the spot and strive to collect and sort out a complete set of technical operation parameters, laying a solid foundation for large-scale promotion in Xinjiang.
