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At 10 a.m. on April 1, within the Yunnan Petrochemical Plant, the huge secondary electrodialysis tanks shone brightly in the sunlight. Qin Yujian, a process engineer from the first refining department, took samples from the sampling ports and said, “After electrodialysis, the iron content in crude oil drops from 14 milligrams per kilogram to 3.2 milligrams per kilogram, with the removal rate rising from 20% to 70%, placing it at the forefront across the country!” ”To date, after more than 8 months of technical efforts, Yunnan Petrochemical has successfully deployed an efficient iron removal agent that has been in use steadily for 3 months now, thereby resolving the critical problem of excessively high iron content in crude oil. “When the iron content in crude oil is too high, it wraps around the catalyst particles like armor, significantly affecting the performance of the catalyst; this phenomenon is known as ‘catalyst iron poisoning’.” ”Xu Yan, the manager in charge of the three types of reagents at the Production Operations Department, explained. In April 2024, the iron content in the catalysts used for the catalytic regeneration of heavy oil was as high as 7,000 milligrams per kilogram, which resulted in a 1.53% decrease in the liquid yield from the catalytic unit. The consumption of fresh catalysts increased from 1.1 kilograms per ton to 1.65 kilograms per ton, becoming a bottleneck that affected production efficiency. The Production Operations Department organized Team 1 of the Refining Division to form a technical task force to tackle the challenges that hinder production. Initially, the countermeasures focused on the catalytic cracking stage, with an emphasis on using balance agents, low-magnetic agents, and freshening agents. The team carefully evaluated various additive solutions and found that addressing the issue by focusing on the catalytic cracking stage only provided temporary relief rather than a permanent solution; moreover, the additives were expensive and not economically viable. Therefore, the task force decided to implement a \"get to the root of the problem\" strategy, shifting the main focus to the crude oil preprocessing stage. However, removing iron from crude oil is recognized worldwide as a major challenge in the refining industry. The iron removal agents available on the market are expensive, difficult to apply, and their effectiveness is inconsistent; moreover, they often contain acids that can cause corrosion in the equipment. The technical problem-solving team found itself in a difficult situation, but they did not give up. On the one hand, attempts are made to reduce the iron content by adjusting the process parameters of electrodialysis ； On the other hand, efforts should be intensified to communicate with affiliated organizations, seek advice from industry experts, and find more suitable additives. “The turning point came last September. ”Xu Yan recalled. At that time, the analysis results of crude oil and desulfurized residue oil were available, showing that the form of iron in the crude oil was mainly inorganic iron, with most of it concentrated in the emulsion layer at the oil-water interface. “We immediately found the direction and approach to tackle this issue! ”Xu Yan said. Focusing on the form and distribution of iron, the team innovatively proposed a technical approach of \"targeted deposition–directional removal\". After three months of additive screening tests, the team tried various different additives. After comparative screening, a scheme involving the mixed use of various additives was ultimately selected, achieving the optimal balance between cost-effectiveness and iron removal efficiency. In January this year, the new iron removal process was officially put into industrial use. “This technological breakthrough fills the gap in the field of iron removal from heavy crude oil in China! This method has also been successfully applied in enterprises such as Sichuan Petrochemical, Dalian Xitai, and Dalian Petrochemical. ”Wang Yaoquan, Secretary of the Party Branch and Deputy Director of Refining Department 1, said. This impressive “battle against iron and steel” has strengthened Yunnan Petrochemical’s confidence and determination in technological innovation, pushing the efficient utilization of crude oil resources to a new level.