Recently, we have learnt from the sylvine & potash fertilizer branch of China Inorganic Salts Industry Association that Lehigh Institute has won the title of “China Sylvine & Potash Fertilizer Industry Meritorious Enterprise” after going through the strict evaluation of the expert committee and the publicity procedure. Lehigh Institute employees Zhang Baoquan, Ge Zhaomin and Li Hongxing won the title of “China Sylvine & Potash Fertilizer Industry Meritorious Person”.

The evaluation aims to select a host of industry-recognized and influential meritorious enterprises and persons making outstanding contributions to the development of China’s sylvine & potash fertilizer industry, and the award winners will be included in The Development History of China’s Sylvine & Potash Fertilizer Industry over the Past 70 Years. Through strict evaluation, the awards were given to 12 “China sylvine & potash fertilizer industry meritorious enterprises” and 31 “China sylvine & potash fertilizer industry meritorious persons”.

Formerly known as the Chemical Mines Design and Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, Lehigh Institute is China’s first design & research institute for chemical mines. Since its founding in 1962, Lehigh Institute has made the building and development of China’s potash fertilizer industry as its historical mission and responsibility. It has applied for over 100 patents in exploitation of salt lake brine and potassium resources, recovery of carnallite and relevant equipment, technologies of and analytical methods for production of potassium chloride, potassium sulphate and potassium nitrate. Currently, it boasts 40 valid patents related to the sylvine industry. It is worth mentioning that Lehigh Institute built the first industrial facility for the production of potassium chloride at the Qarhan salt lake by making original technical innovations (No.4 patented technology), filling up the blank of China’s industrial potassium products and providing raw materials for the development of China’s potassium carbonate, potassium hydroxide and electronic industries.

The development of the Qarhan Salt Lake in Qinghai embodies the painstaking efforts of generations of employees of the Lehigh Institute, who have taken part in potassium extraction from brine of the Qarhan Salt Lake in different periods, technical problem solving in the period of engineering construction, as well as engineering design and commissioning of potassium fertilizer production facilities, developing a host of proprietary intellectual property rights, national standards for potassium chloride and potassium sulphate, and design specifications for salt lake resources development and construction projects. As the main drafter and formulator, Lehigh Institute formulated and released for the first time China’s first standard for potassium chloride product and analytic method in 1986, and revised the standard in 1996 and 2010, respectively. As the host of the “National Chemical Mine Design Center Station” of the “Chemical Industry Chemical Mine Standardization Technical Committee”, Lehigh Institute has presided over or participated in the development of over 120 national and industrial standards related to chemical mines and minerals.

Lehigh Institute has been exploring new ground in promoting the development of China’s potassium fertilizer industry. “Qinghai Salt Lake One-million-ton Potassium Fertilizer Project” is one of the first ten landmark projects of China’s large-scale development of its western region for 2002. Lehigh Institute is the main design institute for designing China’s largest-scale potassium chloride plant. The project was completed at the end of 2003 and reached the production standard in 2006. China’s production capacity of potassium fertilizer has reached 4^th in the world, making the development of the resources of the Qarhan Salt Lake enter a new phase. Around 2000, the R&D team of Lehigh Institute began to take part in the technical development test for extracting potassium sulphate from the brine of the Luobupo Salt Lake. Subsequently, it undertook the engineering design and supervision of the potassium sulphate facility with a production capacity of 1.2-million-ton/year. In recent years, it has finished reform for expanding production capacity, making China the largest producer of water-soluble potassium sulfate in the world. Meanwhile, it has formulated China’s first product standard for potassium chloride and potassium sulphate, helping China make further progress in exporting potassium fertilizer.

Lehigh Institute consolidates development of and research on potassium resources as well as relevant project design and technical consultations, and has won nearly 30 national and provincial/ministerial awards. Specifically, its “complete technology for potassium sulphate extraction from Luobupo salt lake (1.2 million ton/year)” won the first prize of the national science and technology progress award for 2013, “Qinghai Salt Lake one-million-ton potassium fertilizer production technology development and industrialization” won the second prize of the national science and technology progress award for 2008, and “Qinghai Salt Lake one-million-ton potassium chloride project” won the gold prize of the 14^th national excellent engineering survey & design award in 2015 and “China’s excellent survey & design project” in celebration of the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.