CCTV News: In 2023, Zibo, Shandong Province, became a popular tourist city because of its barbecue. What many people may not know is that Zibo is also a veteran industrial city. How has this old industrial city pursued green development and upgraded itself in the 'green examination'?

CCTV News: In 2023, Zibo, Shandong, became a popular tourist city due to its "viral" barbecue. Many may not know that Zibo is also a veteran industrial city. How has this old industrial city embraced green development and upgraded itself in its pursuit of green progress?

　　When the reporter arrived at this cement company in Zibo, which has an annual output of 7 million tons, an ecological and environmental protection "midterm exam" had just concluded.

　　With green pavilions and waterside pavilions surrounded by greenery, and brightly colored wall "clothing," you might not imagine that such scenery comes from a cement plant. How did the cement park, which used to be "covered in dust on sunny days and mud on rainy days," become green and new? Technicians took the reporter to the production line control center.

　　As a cement company that pioneered the use of hydrogen fuel to replace coal, they were initially unsure about the "temperament" of hydrogen fuel. Therefore, the company collaborated with universities and other institutions on scientific research, using liquid ammonia as a storage medium to solve the problem of hydrogen storage difficulties. With the help of a series of algorithm models, or the "industrial brain," they achieved effective control of the hydrogen combustion rate.

　　Product upgrades and the transformation of traditional enterprises For Zibo's heavy industrial enterprises, reducing coal consumption, reducing emissions, and pursuing low-carbon development is only the first step in transformation. How to enhance core competitiveness is the ultimate goal. During the investigation, the reporter discovered an interesting phenomenon: the industrial products produced by old industrial cities are becoming increasingly new, and even stones have become "edible" food raw materials.

　　Less than 5 kilometers from the city's hottest barbecue restaurant is the Zibo International Reception Center, which opened in 2023. This is a place that showcases Zibo's high-end manufacturing and specialty products, attracting many tourists and buyers to "check in" and visit.

　　In the company's exhibition hall, the staff led the reporter to an industrial chain map. The most basic limestone can be used as a raw material for cement, but it can also be extended into various downstream products such as calcium oxide, calcium carbonate, and nano-calcium, depending on the calcium content and processing depth of the stone, and used in the food, medicine, and electronics industries. Each step down the product chain increases the price several times.

　　Originally "ordinary" stones, after fine processing, become food-grade calcium carbonate, used in the production of protein powder, calcium tablets, baking powder, etc., turning "usable stones" into "edible stones." In Zibo, such product upgrades are not isolated cases.

　　

Local manufacturers who originally produced ordinary glass have begun to produce conductive film glass for solar panels through technological innovation. Traditional papermaking companies are now transforming into producing decorative paper and packaging paper for electronic components.

　　"Matryoshka-style" innovation promotes collaborative upgrading. In addition to vertical upgrades along a single industrial chain, the reporter also found during the investigation that the collaborative upgrading of multiple industrial chains in the horizontal direction is also what Zibo is currently doing.

　　

When the reporter visited a textile company in Zibo, workers were using "Nylon 66" to rush orders for French customers. "Nylon 66" is a new material in the chemical field that can be used to make tents, windbreakers, and other products.

　　The reporter then visited a local chemical company that achieved localized production of "Nylon 66" by breaking through the production of its raw material, "adiponitrile".

　　Upstream chemical companies conquer core technologies, and downstream companies can then use new materials to make new products, with "one innovation" driving "N updates".

　　Motors are known as the "heart" of industrial production. At the cement company that was the focus of the interview, more than 160 motors are connected to the network, and the data generated every moment, in addition to being transmitted to the factory's control room, is also simultaneously collected at a motor company 10 kilometers away.

　　Motor manufacturing companies are transforming into service providers, covering multiple industries such as cement, steel, and power. Through equipment hosting, factories with many motors can improve machine operating efficiency and save the manpower costs of setting up separate maintenance teams.

　　In Zibo, there are many such interlocking industrial upgrades, one after another. Hazardous solid waste generated in the city is sold to building materials factories, both for environmentally friendly incineration and to provide reliable fuel for factory kilns. The waste heat from building materials factories is then supplied to the neighboring ceramic factory for energy, reducing coal use in terms of energy.