Indonesia Hengsheng Oxygen-enrich Side-blown Project Was Successfully Put Into Operation

Published: Sep 20, 2023 13:29
On August 28, 2023, in the smelting workshop of Indonesia Hengsheng New Energy Materials Co., Ltd., as the fiery red low nickel matte slowly flowed out, it marked that the world's first oxygen-enriched side-blown process to process laterite nickel ore to produce matte nickel production line was successfully put into operation.

Indonesia Hengsheng New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. is jointly funded and constructed by Hainan Riseco, Indonesia Huadi, and Hong Kong Zhongwei. It is located in Huadi Industrial Park, BANTAENG County, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. It mainly engages in laterite nickel Ore smelting and processing business, the first phase construction project with an annual output of 10,000 tons of nickel metal equivalent (annual processing of approximately 1.1 million tons of laterite nickel ore). The planned land area of Huadi Industrial Park is 400 hectares, which is adjacent to the seaside road and has a self-built barge terminal.

On August 28, 2023, in the smelting workshop of Indonesia Hengsheng New Energy Materials Co., Ltd., as the fiery red low nickel matte slowly flowed out, it marked that the world's first oxygen-enriched side-blown process to process laterite nickel ore to produce matte nickel production line was successfully put into operation.

Indonesia Hengsheng New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. is jointly funded and constructed by Hainan Riseko, Indonesia Huadi, Hong Kong Zhongwei, and Shengwei New Energy. The company is located in Huadi Industry, BANTAENG County, South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The park is mainly engaged in the smelting and processing business of laterite nickel ore. The first phase of the project is to build a low matte nickel project with an annual output of 10,000 tons of nickel metal equivalent.

Hainan Riseco New Energy Co., Ltd., the controlling shareholder of Indonesian Hengsheng, is an emerging growth enterprise focusing on the development and recycling of nickel and cobalt resources and the development and application of advanced nickel and cobalt smelting technology. It adheres to the corporate development philosophy of innovation, excellence, environmental protection, and win-win. , committed to seeking greener, more cost-effective and more cost-effective solutions for the nickel and cobalt industry. The company uses Hainan as its base to radiate to other nickel and cobalt resource countries. The first cooperation demonstration project started construction in Huadi Industrial Park in Indonesia. It will continue to expand to other countries or regions and gradually develop into a world-class and industry-leading nickel and cobalt resource and Technology Provider.

The oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace process used by Indonesia's Hengsheng is the industry's first advanced smelting technology applied to laterite nickel ore smelting. This technology pre-treats laterite nickel ore through drying kilns and rotary kilns, and then sends it to an oxygen-enriched side-blown furnace for smelting to produce nickel matte. Compared with traditional nickel smelting processes such as RKEF and HPAL, this process has the following technical characteristics:

1. Highly efficient and energy-saving, reducing carbon emissions. This process uses oxygen-enriched smelting technology during the production process, which is highly efficient and energy-saving. By allowing the fuel to fully react in an oxygen-rich environment, this process reduces carbon emissions produced by incomplete combustion, reduces the use of coal and coke, and also greatly reduces the demand for secondary energy electricity and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. This process achieves efficient use of fuel, reduces energy waste, and lowers production costs. This not only helps reduce global carbon emissions, but also promotes sustainable development. In the future, the process will be further optimized, such as using natural gas to replace coal, using hydrogen to replace natural gas, using photovoltaic power generation to supplement power demand, etc., to further reduce carbon emissions and promote the Indonesian nickel industry to continue to approach and achieve clean nickel production.

2. High comprehensive utilization rate of resources.

This process has excellent performance in comprehensive utilization of resources. First of all, its flexibility allows it to effectively utilize high-grade and low-grade nickel ores, which means that we can mine nickel resources more widely, not only able to meet the needs of the high-grade ore market, but also effectively develop low-grade ores , improve the comprehensive utilization of resources. This helps ensure our nickel supply chain is more stable and is not affected by fluctuations in ore grades. In addition, the process includes a cobalt recovery process. Cobalt is a key strategic metal widely used in batteries, aerospace and medical devices. By recycling cobalt, we not only reduce the demand for finite cobalt resources, but also reduce the environmental pressure of cobalt mining. This further improves the sustainability and comprehensive utilization of resources and is in line with the principles of sustainable development.

3. Environmentally friendly, the waste residue can be comprehensively utilized.

This process also shows significant advantages in environmental protection. Through the high-temperature smelting process, the properties of the waste residue become very stable and there is no harm to the environment. This means we can effectively handle and dispose of waste residues without worrying about pollution or resource waste. What’s even more encouraging is that these waste residues are not only harmless, but can also be further comprehensively utilized. Waste residue can be processed into building materials such as cement, which helps reduce the need for virgin building materials and lowers the environmental impact of mining and manufacturing. This recycling of resources further highlights the sustainability of the process, converting waste residue into useful products, reducing waste emissions and resource waste.

Before the Indonesian Hengsheng oxygen-enriched side-blown process was put into operation, the development of Indonesia's nickel smelting industry mainly had two directions: one was to produce NPI through the RKEF process and enter the stainless steel industry; the other was to produce MHP nickel intermediate products through the HPAL process and enter the battery materials industry. The nickel matte products produced after the oxygen-enriched side-blown blowing process is put into production can not only enter the power vehicle battery material industry, but also be used to produce high-purity electric nickel products. Moreover, compared with the high carbon emissions of the RKEF process and the unresolved hazardous waste residue treatment issues of the HPAL process, the oxygen-enriched side-blown process is currently the only innovative process that is expected to help the Indonesian nickel industry achieve green and low-carbon production and achieve the goal of clean nickel production which can help realize the green and sustainable development of the upstream battery material industry for electric vehicles!

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