Smart chemical factory sets benchmark in green production
2025-08-19 19:08:20
By Yan Wanqin.
A new intelligent factory in Yichang is showcasing how digital transformation is reshaping chemical production.
Chuxing Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yihua Group, invested 5.5 billion yuan (US$765.7 million) in the project’s first phase.
The plant has an annual capacity of 800,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 350,000 tons of wet-process phosphoric acid, 400,000 tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP), and 200,000 tons of sulfur-based compound fertilizers. It can process up to 1.75 million tons of phosphogypsum annually, a hazardous byproduct of phosphoric acid production.
In the centralized control center, digital displays connected by 5G show real-time production data and equipment performance.
"This is the plant's smart brain. It uses AI to monitor the operational status of the equipment, promptly detecting abnormal conditions and issuing alerts," said Xu Hao, a technician at the company. He added that the system is connected to 905 sensors monitoring 40 machines.
Over 800 surveillance cameras operate across the facility around the clock, significantly easing the workload for inspectors like Li Huashan.
"Manual inspections used to take two hours. Now, I can inspect the plant on my computer by following preset routes via cameras. If any abnormalities are detected, the AI automatically triggers an alarm," said Li.
A new intelligent factory in Yichang is showcasing how digital transformation is reshaping chemical production.
Chuxing Ecological Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yihua Group, invested 5.5 billion yuan (US$765.7 million) in the project’s first phase.
The plant has an annual capacity of 800,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 350,000 tons of wet-process phosphoric acid, 400,000 tons of diammonium phosphate (DAP), and 200,000 tons of sulfur-based compound fertilizers. It can process up to 1.75 million tons of phosphogypsum annually, a hazardous byproduct of phosphoric acid production.
In the centralized control center, digital displays connected by 5G show real-time production data and equipment performance.
"This is the plant's smart brain. It uses AI to monitor the operational status of the equipment, promptly detecting abnormal conditions and issuing alerts," said Xu Hao, a technician at the company. He added that the system is connected to 905 sensors monitoring 40 machines.
Over 800 surveillance cameras operate across the facility around the clock, significantly easing the workload for inspectors like Li Huashan.
"Manual inspections used to take two hours. Now, I can inspect the plant on my computer by following preset routes via cameras. If any abnormalities are detected, the AI automatically triggers an alarm," said Li.
Robotic arms operate in the smart warehouse of Chuxing Ecological Technology Co., Ltd. Photo by Fu Beibei.Cutting-edge technologies such as robotic arms, robotic palletizers and guided vehicles have been deployed in the highly automated warehouse.
In the smart warehouse, packaged DAP moves along conveyor belts, stacked by robotic palletizers and stored in an 11-story, 21-meter-high structure.
"This warehouse occupies only 12,000 square meters, compared to 30,000 square meters for the same 60,000-ton capacity," said Long Jian, head of the fertilizer production unit.
In the shipping area, robotic palletizers retrieve goods and intelligent AGVs transport them to depalletizers. Robotic arms then load a continuous flow of fertilizers onto trucks.
The company's digital intelligence platform integrates marketing, sales, warehousing, and logistics, reducing labor while improving production efficiency.
"Our hourly delivery capacity is 280 tons, and we only need a quarter of the workers required by traditional operations," Long noted.
Wei Bin, deputy general manager, emphasized the plant's energy efficiency and emission controls. "Our systems exceed industry benchmarks, with pollutant emissions 50 percent below national standards. Smart manufacturing has tripled per capita output."
Zhao Jingyi contributed to this story.
