Professor Junqing Pan of our College of Chemistry has addressed the issues of high melting point, high energy consumption, high sodium slag, and low product purity in the current East-South electrolytic preparation of metallic sodium, which cannot better meet the demand for high-quality metallic sodium in automotive safety airbags, nuclear reactor coolants, and pharmaceutical intermediates. Focusing on the research direction of efficient utilization of chemical resources in the national key laboratory, a new generation of low-sodium slag and low-energy consumption high-entropy molten salt electrolytic preparation of metallic sodium and complete set of equipment technology has been developed. This has resulted in the completion of continuous industrial production of over 3000 tons of metallic sodium for more than 180 days per year. Accumulatively, 9 national invention patents, 3 utility model patents, and 2 US invention patents have been applied for.
On April 12, 2024, the China Nonferrous Metals Society organized the Inner Mongolia Ruixin Chemical Co., Ltd. and Beijing University of Chemical Technology jointly completed the evaluation meeting of the project "Technology and Equipment for High-Entropy Molten Salt Electrolytic Preparation of Metallic Sodium" in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia. Professor Junqing Pan, on behalf of the project research and development team, reported on the project's research and development progress to the expert group. The expert group, led by Professor Mingxing Jia, Chairman of the China Nonferrous Metals Society, Professor Shengming Xu from Tsinghua University, Professor Xueyi Guo from Central South University, Researcher Haibei Wang from MCC Group, Professor Li Li from Beijing Institute of Technology, and Professor Feng Xie from Northeastern University, and other experts led the on-site inspection of the sodium electrolysis workshop, reviewed evaluation materials, and conducted evaluations on key technological innovations, typical cases, the advancement of achievements, and intellectual property rights of the project. The expert panel unanimously agreed that the achievement has made breakthroughs in forming the high-entropy molten salt low-temperature direct electrolytic preparation of high-quality metallic sodium, liquid sodium non-aqueous medium centrifugal separation and purification technology, and new electrolytic cell equipment. It has achieved a 15% reduction in sodium consumption per ton, a metallic sodium purity of over 99.9%, and a 48% reduction in sodium slag production. The project faced significant development challenges, and its technology exhibits significant innovation, reaching an internationally leading level overall.
Professor Hongguo Zhang, Supervisor of the China Nonferrous Metals Society, Vice Mayor Decui Liu of Alxa League, Secretary Xiande Liu of Alxa High-tech Zone, and officials from the Alxa League Science and Technology Bureau attended the evaluation meeting and delivered speeches. Chairman Jinda Wang from Ruida Chemical Group and researchers from the project team, including Professor Yanzhi Sun were also present at the evaluation meeting.
This project is the in-depth cooperation between Beijing University of Chemical Technology and Inner Mongolia Ruixin Chemical Co., Ltd., which will play a leading role in the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and scientific and technological innovation. It will also actively respond to the country's new pattern of accelerating the development of the western region, promote the high-quality development of new productive forces in the western region, and realize the concrete embodiment of 'Beijing-Mongolia cooperation', 'science and technology rejuvenation' and 'science and technology breakthrough project'.
