Magnesium hydroxide desulfurization technology standard system: collaborative construction of group standards and national standards

I. Urgency of standard construction under the dual carbon strategy

Driven by the "dual carbon" goal, magnesium hydroxide desulfurization technology has become the preferred pollution control solution for coal-fired power plants, steel coking and other industries with its unique advantages of "efficient desulfurization-resource circulation". However, behind the rapid development of the industry, problems such as lagging standard system and inconsistent technical parameters are becoming increasingly prominent. The collaborative construction of national standards (GB/T) and group standards (T/CEEIA, T/QGCML, etc.) is becoming a key tool to break the bottleneck of technology iteration and industrial upgrading.

Taking a northern power plant as an example, its desulfurization system has a magnesium oxide utilization rate of less than 70% and a waste residue residue of more than 20% due to inconsistent raw material activity indicators. This pain point reflects the three major shortcomings of the standard system: lack of raw material classification standards, vague process parameters, and unclear by-product resource utilization path. In the international market, the EU's EN 13984 and the US's ASTM D7657 have formed full-process standards covering raw material purity, reaction efficiency, and solid waste disposal, which has formed a barrier to my country's technology exports38.

2. The current status of the standard system and the need for coordination

1. National standards: basic framework and lag

The current GB/T 29304-Ultrafine active magnesium hydroxide powder specifies basic indicators such as purity (≥95%) and specific surface area (15-25m²/g), but does not cover the special needs of desulfurization scenarios. For example, key indicators such as the rapid hydration rate (≥90%) required for high-sulfur coal-fired power plants (sulfur content >3%) and the anti-scaling parameters of desulfurization towers in tropical areas have not yet been clarified45.

2. Group standards: Agile response and scenario adaptation

Group standards led by industry leaders and scientific research institutions are filling the technical gaps:

Raw material classification: T/CEEIA 288-2017 "Magnesium Hydroxide for Heat Shrinkable Materials" for the first time divides desulfurizers into Class A (citric acid method reaction time ≤ 45 seconds) and Class B (45-60 seconds) according to activity, accurately matching different sulfur load scenarios27.

Process optimization: The "Application Specifications for High-Activity Magnesium Oxide Desulfurizers" formulated by a Liaoning enterprise and Dalian University of Technology increased the hydration rate from 75% to 97%, and reduced the residual amount of waste magnesium oxide from 30% to less than 3%, and was included in the local environmental protection technology reform recommended standards59.

By-product management: T/QGCML 4393-2024 "Tobacco Fertilizer Containing Magnesium Hydroxide" opened up the detection standards for the agricultural application of magnesium sulfate, and the heavy metal (As, Cd) limit was reduced by 50% compared with traditional fertilizers26.

3. Breakthrough path for mutual recognition of international standards

In response to the EU carbon tariff (CBAM) requirements for carbon footprint traceability of desulfurizers, leading companies are promoting a "double certification" strategy:

Indicator benchmarking: link the "carbon emission intensity per ton of desulfurizer ≤ 1.2 tons of CO₂" in the group standard with the EU "EN 15804", and achieve data mutual recognition through life cycle assessment (LCA)38.

Technology bundling: A project in Shandong bundles the intelligent desulfurization system with the EPD environmental product declaration, and uploads operating data in real time with blockchain storage to meet the ISO 14067 carbon footprint certification requirements8.

III. Implementation path of collaborative construction

1. Dynamic update mechanism

Establish an iterative model of "national standards set the bottom line and group standards supplement the high end":

Basic indicators (such as purity and heavy metal content) are uniformly defined by national standards;

Advanced indicators (such as nano-magnesium hydroxide particle size distribution and by-product magnesium sulfate purity ≥ 99.5%) are piloted through group standards and upgraded to national standards after maturity. Through twice-yearly standard seminars, an industrial alliance in Hebei has transformed five group standards into industry standards710.

2. Collaborative standards for the industrial chain

Build a full-chain standard system from mines to terminals:

Raw material side: Incorporate the calcination process of magnesite (such as light burning temperature 800-1000℃, activity value ≥60 seconds) into the "Green Mining Specifications for Magnesite" to reduce inefficient production capacity59.

Application side: Formulate the "Intelligent Desulfurization System Operation and Maintenance Regulations", stipulate the fluctuation range of DCS control parameters (±2%), and the calibration cycle of IoT sensors (≤72 hours)8.

Resource side: Improve the application standards of magnesium sulfate in lithium battery electrolytes, fireproof building materials and other fields, such as the "Battery Grade Magnesium Sulfate Impurity Ion Limit" requires Cl⁻≤0.001%, Fe³⁺≤0.0005%68.

3. Digital empowerment

Standard database: Build an intelligent retrieval platform covering 286 domestic and international standards, with an embedded compliance self-check algorithm to automatically warn of design deviations. After application by an enterprise in Jiangsu, the project application cycle was shortened by 40%38.

Digital twin verification: The virtual desulfurization tower simulates the operating efficiency under different standards and quickly screens the optimal parameter combination. A project in Tangshan uses this technology to reduce the standard deviation of desulfurization efficiency from ±15% to ±3%58.

IV. Typical cases and benefit analysis

Case 1: Liaoning Industrial Collaborative Practice

Relying on the resource advantages of "China's Magnesium Capital", Dashiqiao City has built a "mine-desulfurization-building materials" standard cluster:

The calcination stage implements the "High-Activity Magnesium Oxide Preparation Specification", and the activity value is increased to 85 seconds;

The desulfurization stage adopts the "By-Product Oxidation Rate Detection Method", and the purity of magnesium sulfate reaches 98.2%;

The resource utilization stage is connected to the "Magnesium Fireproof Building Materials Compressive Strength Standard", and the product premium is increased by 25%. The system reduces the comprehensive cost of regional desulfurization by 18% and has been certified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as a "Green Manufacturing System Integration Project"57.

Case 2: Yangtze River Delta Standard Mutual Recognition Pilot

Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang jointly issued the "Regional Collaborative Standard for Magnesium Hydroxide Desulfurization":

Unified raw material procurement indicators (particle size D50=15-25μm, specific surface area ≥20m²/g);

Establish a cross-provincial conversion mechanism for by-products, and power plants directly supply magnesium sulfate to lithium battery electrolyte companies, reducing logistics costs by 30%;

Build a carbon emission accounting mutual recognition platform, reducing repeated testing costs by more than 50 million yuan per year38.

V. Future Trends: From Standard Collaboration to Ecological Reconstruction

1. Competition for International Standard Discourse

Promote the inclusion of the "Guidelines for Resource Utilization of Magnesium Desulfurization By-products" into the ISO standard system. Currently, 12 countries have participated in the revision of the draft;

Promote the "Standard + EPC" model in the Southeast Asian market, and embed Chinese group standards into power plant renovation projects in Indonesia and Vietnam89.

2. Deep integration of green finance

Commercial banks provide special loans with a 20% interest rate reduction for projects that meet the "Green Desulfurization Technology Evaluation Specification";

Carbon Exchange explores the "standard compliance-carbon quota allocation" linkage mechanism, and qualified enterprises can obtain an additional 5%-10% quota38.

3. Digital standard ecology

Blockchain-based smart contracts automatically execute standard terms. For example, when the purity of by-product magnesium sulfate does not reach 99%, the system automatically triggers insurance claims;

Metaverse technology builds a virtual certification laboratory to achieve real-time verification of compliance with transnational standards8.

Conclusion

The collaborative construction of the standard system is essentially the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial ecology. When the agility of group standards resonates with the authority of national standards, when the activity value of every gram of magnesium hydroxide is accurately defined, and when the flow of every ton of by-product magnesium sulfate can be traced, the desulfurization industry will leap from "pollution control" to "value creation". In this standards revolution, China is transforming from a follower of international rules to a leader - from the calcination kilns in Liaoning mines to the control rooms of Southeast Asian power plants, from laboratories in the Yangtze River Delta to the ISO negotiating table, the birth of each standard is writing a new paradigm for green development.