The Ningxia Branch of CHN Energy Made Practical Achievements in Large-scale Coal-based Solid Waste Utilization in Ecological Governance

On November 29, the ash yard of Yuanyang Lake Power Plant under the Ningxia branch of CHN Energy completed the construction of its first eco-friendly vegetable greenhouse, the longest of its kind using recycled solid wastes in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. So far, more than 10 kinds of fruits and vegetables have been planted in the greenhouse. This marked that the “demonstration project of large-scale coal-based solid waste utilization in ecological governance” undertaken by CHN Energy, part of the national key R&D program on “solid waste recycling”, had scored practical achievements.

The greenhouse using recycled solid wastes as the insulated walls.

The research project of “large-scale coal-fired power base solid waste utilization full-set technology and integrated demonstration” is a key component of the national key R&D program on “solid waste recycling” launched by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2019. With the runtime from 2020 to 2023, the research project is led by CHN Energy, in cooperation with 10 enterprises and research institutions including Ningxia University, China University of Mining and Technology, and Ningxia Building Materials Group Co., Ltd. to conduct technology development and engineering demonstration. According to the arrangement of the “solid waste recycling” research team of CHN Energy, the Ningxia branch is responsible for the implementation of the “demonstration project of large-scale coal-based solid waste utilization in ecological governance”. The demonstration project plans to adopt the “complete set of technologies for large-scale coal-based solid waste utilization in ecological governance” developed by Ningxia University and China University of Mining and Technology to carry out ecological governance at the ash yard of Yuanyang Lake Power Plant and the mining subsidence areas of Meihuajing Coal Mine.

Inside the vegetable greenhouse.

The ash yard of Yuanyanghu Power Plant covers 48.8 hectares. Since November 2021, the power plant has begun to earth up its ash yard and grow green manure plants by using the technical solution of the “demonstration project of large-scale coal-based solid waste utilization in ecological governance”. The project used farm compost and soil conditioners to improve the ash yard’s soil conditions and increase soil fertility. Based on this, it built a greenhouse as long as 150 meters to plant a dozen species of fruits and vegetables including celery, red cabbage, cucumber and tomato. The greenhouse uses recycled solid waste as filling materials to build composite insulted walls, which can effectively keep warm and retain heat. As a result, the temperature in this greenhouse is 3-5 degrees Celsius higher than that in ordinary ones.

As planned, Yuanyang Lake Power Plant will use its ash yard to build six greenhouses and four henneries and sheep farms while developing distributed photovoltaics and flower and seedling cultivation, thus creating an agricultural technology and agritourism demonstration base integrating protected agriculture, distributed photovoltaics, and recreational sightseeing, which is expected to be completed in August 2023. The successful implementation of the project created a new technical model for coal-based solid waste utilization in ecological governance. It provides references for solving problems such as large-scale deposit of industrial solid wastes such as pulverized fuel ash, vaporized slag, and desulfurized gypsum, low waste recycling efficiency, environmental pollution, and great pressure in ecological conservation that have long plagued the Yuanyang Lake Power Plant.