Summary: On April 10, 2025, China launched
a policy campaign for green and low-carbon upgrading in the phosphorus chemical
industry, aiming to cut consumption by 15 million tons and emissions by 36
million tons in five years. With coordinated policies, technological
breakthroughs in phosphogypsum utilization will reshape the industry. Driven by
new energy demand, the sector is shifting towards a green, technology - led
future.
On April 10, 2025, the Ministry of Industry
and Information Technology held a policy publicity and implementation activity
on energy conservation and green and low-carbon improvement in the phosphorus
chemical industry in Wuhan, marking that the industry transformation has
entered a substantive stage.
This activity is jointly promoted by the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Ministry of Industry and
Information Technology, and it is planned to reduce energy consumption by 15
million tons and carbon emissions by 36 million tons within five years.
I. Policy Background
International Policy and Strategic
Requirements
Standard Constraints: Set the energy
efficiency benchmark level for the phosphorus chemical industry, requiring that
newly built projects must reach the A-level environmental protection
performance, and existing enterprises should gradually meet the standards
through technological transformation.
Technology Promotion: Focus on promoting
mature technologies such as power generation from yellow phosphorus tail gas
and the production of composite material fillers from phosphogypsum. At the
same time, launch a special action of "Energy Conservation Services
Entering Enterprises" to provide technical diagnosis and transformation
solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises.
International Cooperation: As an
international cooperation project supported by the Global Environment Facility
(GEF), the project of energy conservation and green and low-carbon improvement
of China's phosphorus chemical industry chain will share technical experience
with the UNDP and promote the coordination of global green standards for the
phosphorus chemical industry.
Implementation of Local Policy Refinement
Sichuan: By 2027, the average energy
consumption of the phosphorus chemical industry will decrease by more than 5%
compared with that in 2020, and the harmless treatment and comprehensive
utilization rate of newly generated phosphogypsum will reach 100%.
Places such as Leshan and Qianwei are
accelerating the construction of a world-class phosphorus chemical industry
cluster and promoting the construction of green mines for phosphate rock.
Yunnan: Chengzhi Phosphorus Industry in
Chengjiang has used the patent of "Water Temperature Regulation and Heat
Utilization of Yellow Phosphorus Production Sewage" to recycle the heat of
sewage for the production process, saving about 20,000 tons of standard coal
per year for a single factory; The work of exploration-to-mining rights
transfer of Zhenxiong Phosphate Mine of Yuntianhua has been accelerated, which
will enhance the guarantee capacity of phosphate resources in the future.
Guangdong: The central control room of the
100,000-ton/year refined wet-process phosphoric acid project of Yunliu Mining
has been topped out, promoting the extension of the industrial chain to the
high end; Guangdong Environmental Protection Group has been approved for the
vocational skill level certification of carbon emission administrators,
training professional talents for the industry.
II. Technological Breakthroughs
Take phosphogypsum as an example.
As a by-product of wet-process phosphoric
acid, 5 tons of phosphogypsum are generated for every 1 ton of phosphoric acid
produced. Long-term stockpiling leads to soil pollution and resource waste.
In 2025, the industry has made three major
breakthroughs in the field of comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum:
Nanomodification Technology.
The "Lüpa" nanocomposite powder
material developed by Hubei Griffin Group can convert phosphogypsum into a
full-solid waste low-carbon cementitious material, which can replace 425 cement
for ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC), reducing the cost by 30%.
This technology has been used to build a
demonstration production line with an annual output of 10,000 tons in Hannan
District, Wuhan, and can consume 100,000 tons of phosphogypsum annually.
High-content Application
The technology of "phosphogypsum-slag
lightweight aggregate" of Yichang Changyao New Materials has increased the
proportion of phosphogypsum in subgrade stabilization materials from 10% to
60%, and 20,000 tons of phosphogypsum can be consumed per kilometer of road.
This technology has been applied in
projects such as Xialian Road in Yiling District. According to the testing by a
third party, its mechanical properties and environmental protection indicators
are better than those of traditional materials.
Integrated Ecological Restoration
Technology
Guizhou Kailin Group implemented the
project of "modified filler + ecological re-greening" in the
Longjingwan phosphogypsum slag yard. Through HDPE membrane seepage prevention,
modified filler stacking and vegetation restoration, 1.4 million tons of
phosphogypsum have been recycled, and the re-greening area has reached 46,000
square meters. This project has been listed as a typical case of "waste-free
city" construction by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
III. Industry Impact
Accelerated Capacity Clearance
The policy clearly prohibits the
construction of new production capacities for yellow phosphorus, ammonium
phosphate, etc., and existing enterprises need to complete energy efficiency
transformation before 2027.
This will lead to the exit of about 30% of
backward production capacity from the market, and the industry concentration
will be further increased.
For example, Sichuan plans that by 2027, the
proportion of production capacity that reaches the energy efficiency benchmark
level in the yellow phosphorus and ammonium phosphate industries will exceed
30%, and enterprises that fail to meet the standards will face production
restrictions or shutdowns.
Change in Cost Structure
Resource End: The price of phosphate rock
remains high due to the support of environmental protection policies (the
shipboard price in Hubei is 1,040 yuan/ton), and the cost competitiveness of
enterprises with phosphate rock resource advantages (such as Yuntianhua and
Chuanheng Co., Ltd.) is prominent.
Processing End: Energy-saving technologies
reduce energy costs. For example, power generation from yellow phosphorus tail
gas can reduce the cost per ton of yellow phosphorus by 800 yuan; The resource
utilization of phosphogypsum reduces the solid waste treatment cost, saving 150
yuan per ton.
Product End: The gross profit margin of
high-end products (such as electronic-grade phosphoric acid and lithium iron
phosphate) can reach more than 30%, which is much higher than the 8%-10% of
traditional phosphate fertilizers.
Two-way Pull of New Energy Demand
The installed capacity of lithium iron
phosphate batteries has surged (reaching 105.2 GWh in the first quarter of
2025, a year-on-year increase of 93.6%), driving the price of industrial-grade
phosphoric acid to rise from 5,500 yuan/ton at the beginning of the year to
7,800 yuan/ton.
At the same time, the policy requires that
new energy material projects must be equipped with facilities for the
comprehensive utilization of phosphogypsum, forcing enterprises to build a
closed-loop industrial chain of "resources - materials - solid waste
recycling".
For example, when Chuanheng Co., Ltd. is
building a lithium iron phosphate project, it has simultaneously planned a
production line for the production of building materials from phosphogypsum to
achieve zero solid waste emissions.
The implementation of national energy
conservation and carbon reduction policies marks that China's phosphorus
chemical industry has entered a new stage where "green is king".
In this process, technological innovation
is the core driving force for transformation, policy guidance is the baton for
resource allocation, and the demand for new energy is the main battlefield for
value realization.
For enterprises, whether they can seize the
opportunity in this transformation depends on their sensitivity to policy
dividends, the intensity of investment in technological research and
development, and the integration ability of industrial chain collaboration.
In the next five years, the phosphorus
chemical industry will complete a magnificent transformation from
"resource dependence" to "technology-led" under the
"dual carbon" goal. The experience and challenges in this process have
important reference value for the green transformation of global
high-energy-consuming industries.
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