Ningxia Petrochemical completed technical upgrades to its 2.6 million tons per year heavy catalytic cracking unit through gasoline structure adjustment and quality improvement (MIP) technologies

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Ningxia Petrochemical Completes MIP Technical Transformation, China National Petroleum News Center. Publication date: 2024-12-18 09:06. According to China National Petroleum Network (Reporter Bai Ying, Correspondent Lu Yiru), “After undergoing the MIP technical transformation aimed at adjusting the gasoline composition and improving its quality, the company’s 2.6 million tons per year heavy catalytic cracking unit is now operating smoothly. Key economic and technical indicators such as the total liquid yield of the unit, product distribution, gasoline olefin content, gasoline octane rating, and catalyst consumption are all above the design values, thus fulfilling all the objectives set for this transformation.” ”On December 16, Shi Lei, deputy director of the refining process department at Ningxia Petrochemical Company, briefed reporters on the first calibration of the catalytic unit following this year’s comprehensive maintenance campaign to improve the efficiency of the refining facilities. 　　With the adjustment of the energy structure and rising environmental protection requirements, upgrading the quality of petroleum products has become an important task for the refining industry. Aiming to improve the quality of petroleum products and reduce pollutant emissions, Ningxia Petrochemical took advantage of the annual major maintenance of its refining facilities to carry out projects for adjusting the composition of gasoline and upgrading its quality. These efforts are designed to optimize the catalytic units through technical means, reduce the olefin content in gasoline, and increase its octane rating, thereby producing cleaner and higher-quality gasoline products. 　　After implementing the MIP technology upgrade, Ningxia Petrochemical has continuously optimized its operating procedures, collecting daily and analyzing weekly the various process parameter values of the catalytic units to enable precise adjustments. For different operating conditions, the optimal operating parameters are determined to find the best balance among reaction temperature, reagent-to-oil ratio, liquid yield, and product quality. 　　Through continuous process optimization and exploration, the olefin content in gasoline has been stabilized at around 31%, while the octane rating of gasoline remains above 91 – both values meeting the design targets of the MIP technology upgrade project. At the same time, Ningxia Petrochemical strives to minimize the use of atomization steam and stripping steam in the operation of its catalytic units, thereby reducing the impact of high temperatures generated by steam on the catalysts, and thus lowering losses caused by hydrothermal deactivation and thermal degradation of the catalysts. The stable operation following the technical upgrades for gasoline composition adjustment and quality improvement not only enhanced the quality of gasoline but also reduced the catalyst consumption, thereby decreasing the carbon emissions of the catalytic units as a whole. 　　Under the condition of continuous and stable operation of the catalytic unit, the octane rating of the catalyzed gasoline increased by about 0.8 units compared to before the maintenance, significantly improving the company’s economic benefits. 　　In the future, Ningxia Petrochemical will continue to strictly control product quality, work diligently to make fossil energy cleaner and reduce carbon emissions in the production process, keep making breakthroughs in technological innovation and production optimization, and further enhance the competitiveness of its products.