党旗领航一线工程化攻关 福大两项绿色能源技术取得新进展The Party flag guides frontline engineering research, and Fuda has made new progress in two green energy technologies

Recently, the team from the National Engineering Research Center for Fertilizer Catalysts at Fuzhou University has been continuously tackling engineering technology challenges, achieving breakthrough progress in two key technologies. Among them, China's first 10,000-ton renewable energy electrolytic hydrogen–low-temperature low-pressure ammonia industrial demonstration plant has been operating steadily at Ningxia and Ning Chemical Co., Ltd., providing independent technological support for long-term storage of 'green electricity–green hydrogen–green ammonia'; another 5,000-ton/year pilot plant for catalytic deep pretreatment of waste oils and fats to produce bio-aviation fuel successfully passed the 72-hour on-site calibration assessment organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, with all indicators meeting design requirements and expected goals, paving the way for the large-scale production of bio-aviation fuel with a supply of high-quality raw materials.

In response to industry challenges such as the intermittent fluctuations of photovoltaic output, the need for continuous ammonia production, and the difficulty of deeply integrating large-scale green hydrogen into traditional chemical systems, the Catalysis Center team, with independently developed iron-ruthenium based catalysts at its core, collaborated with China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Ningxia and Ning Chemical Co., Ltd., and the State Grid, relying on the existing utility engineering facilities of enterprises. They organized party-member professors and engineering technicians to work on the industry frontlines, following rotating shifts and conducting commissioning for over a month, and established China’s first 10,000-ton-level industrial demonstration unit integrating photovoltaic power generation, water electrolysis for hydrogen production, and low-temperature, low-pressure ammonia synthesis, which has been operating stably.

Public information shows that this facility is designed to produce 10,000 tons of green ammonia per year and has successfully achieved deep coupling between renewable energy fluctuation power supply and continuous ammonia synthesis production. The facility reaches a net ammonia value of 15.2% at 6.9 MPa and 390°C, reducing synthesis ammonia pressure by more than 40% compared with existing internationally advanced green ammonia technologies, placing the overall technology in a leading international position. As a key project of the National Key R&D Program under the 'Hydrogen Technology' major initiative, this facility significantly reduces emissions of pollutants such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the source, provides critical engineering data and technical support for the large-scale development of the full green hydrogen-to-green ammonia industry chain, and also offers fully independent core technological support for China's future large-scale, long-duration storage technologies based on the 'green electricity-green hydrogen-green ammonia' model.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is an important direction for achieving low-carbon transformation in the civil aviation sector. Hydrodeoxygenation-isomerization of waste oils and fats is currently one of the most commercially mature and widely applied production technology pathways. Public reports show that after years of research, the team at the Catalysis Center of Fuzhou University pioneered an efficient chemical pretreatment technology for waste oils and fats, using a self-developed recyclable liquid catalyst. In collaboration with Beijing Haixin Energy Technology, they carried out a joint industry-university-research process design and development. A pilot plant for producing 5,000 tons per year of bio-jet fuel from waste oils through catalytic deep pretreatment was established at Shandong Sanju Bioenergy Co., Ltd. The Catalysis Center team moved the research front to the engineering site, with temporary research party organizations taking shifts on-site. They broke down hard tasks such as acid reduction, impurity removal, and continuous operation into specific responsibilities assigned to individuals. After several months of on-site efforts, they ensured the stable operation of the facility.

From November 3 to 6, 2026, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation organized an expert group to conduct a 72-hour on-site calibration assessment. The expert group's assessment pointed out that this technology directly converts free fatty acids through chemical reactions, breaking through the industry limitation where physical pretreatment cannot reduce acidity, while simultaneously enhancing the removal of metal and phosphorus impurities. The impurity removal efficiency and depth are greatly improved, and the overall cost is low. It can significantly reduce the risk of corrosion and catalyst poisoning in subsequent SAF hydrogenation units, demonstrating remarkable innovation and advancement. As a result, the pilot plant for catalytic deep pretreatment of 5,000 tons/year of waste oils and fats to produce bio-aviation fuel, jointly developed by the team, passed the 72-hour on-site calibration assessment conducted by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

Problems come from the enterprise site, and solutions are verified on the enterprise site, with Party organizations always embedded in the chain of tackling key issues. The engineering and technical personnel at Fuzhou University's Catalysis Center, through years of engineering technology research and development, have transformed laboratory parameters into operating conditions that run stably on production lines. Next, Fuzhou University will continue to promote the synchronization of Party-building work with scientific research activities, deeply integrate technological innovation with industrial innovation, organize professors and experts to be rooted in the front lines of industry, accelerate the large-scale application of green ammonia technology and the industrialization of waste oil pretreatment technology, lead the development of a "zero-carbon" ammonia-hydrogen energy circular economy, support China in overcoming raw material pretreatment bottlenecks in the sustainable aviation fuel industry, and strongly back the implementation of the national "dual-carbon" strategy.

[Source: Fuzhou University National Engineering Research Center for Fertilizer Catalysts]