Chemical group builds pipeline to transport phosphate slurry

Translator/Editor: Tan Maolin, Yichang International Communication Studio

Journalist: Wan Longyun, Sanxia Daily
 

Xingfa Group’s new 55-kilometer mine-port pipeline – completed February 19 – will carry 2 million tons of phosphate out of Xinshan County each year, saving 50 million yuan (US$7 million) of costs and reducing diesel consumption by 400 tons.
 

Up until now, the raw phosphate mine ore was transported via truck to Xiakou Port, more than 50 kilometers away, and then shipped to the downstream plant.

“Those heavy lorries put a lot of pressure on the local road system,” said Wang Jiangfeng, head of mineral products logistics at Xingfa Group, Yichang’s leading chemical enterprise.

The 300 million yuan pipeline connecting the phosphate mine and the port is the first phosphorus transport pipeline project in Hubei Province. It will go into service at the end of April. 

Engineer Lin Guoce said: “From the mine to the port it’s downhill all the way, with an 800-meter drop. So little energy is required.”

The slurry is slightly acidic, so the pipes have been made from corrosion and abrasion resistant materials to ensure they can be used for more than 30 years.

Pipeline transportation will change the road environment, and also give the company new sustainability development opportunities, said Wang.