Hangzhou Zheda Technology’s “Intelligent Regulation and Control Technology for Chemical Process Circulating Water Systems” has passed the appraisal

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On May 30, the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association organized experts in Pucheng County, Shaanxi Province, to conduct an authoritative evaluation of the \"Intelligent Allocation and Control Technology for Chemical Process Circulating Water Systems,\" which was independently developed by Hangzhou ZheDa Technology Co., Ltd. and put into industrial use. The expert group, headed by Gu Zongqin, the legal representative of the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, and served as deputy head by Lu Wancai, former chief engineer of Donghua Engineering Co., Ltd., concluded after on-site inspections, document reviews, and discussions that this technology possesses independent intellectual property rights, features advanced technical levels, achieves significant results in energy savings and carbon reduction, offers notable economic and social benefits, and as a whole is at the leading level in China. It is reported that the main technological innovations of this technique are as follows: first, a \"dynamic management and allocation technology for the entire water network, which focuses on precise control at the end points and integrates pump and valve operations\", was developed. This technology enables coordinated operation of \"efficient supply at the pump side + intelligent independent control at the usage side + optimal cooling\", thereby significantly improving the efficiency of the circulating water system. Second, we have developed an explosion-proof smart valve that integrates sensing and measurement, intelligent regulation, and network communication. This innovation has overcome the challenge of flow measurement in situations where there is no straight pipe section, thereby enabling precise control over the material temperature in heat exchangers as well as the temperature difference between the supply and return water. Thirdly, a technology for balanced water distribution in cooling towers was developed, which, in conjunction with efficient variable-frequency operation of fans, enables balanced load distribution within the cooling towers and improves their cooling efficiency. Fourth, an integrated intelligent control platform for the circulating water system was developed, enabling the autonomous optimization of the operating parameters of this system and significantly improving its overall energy efficiency under varying operating conditions. Wu Qingguo, vice president of Hangzhou Zheda Technology Co., Ltd., explained that this technology has been successfully applied at Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Xinghua Chemical Co., Ltd. and Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Pucheng Clean Energy Chemical Co., Ltd. Its main advantages are reflected in four aspects. Firstly, it is necessary to accurately address the issue of hydraulic imbalance, eliminate competition for water among different plant areas, and ensure that the water flow to the heat exchangers is supplied as needed for precise heat exchange. This helps to maintain continuous and stable operation of the production process; in particular, it enables stable and increased production during high-temperature conditions in summer, while reducing consumption and emissions as well as improving product yield. Next is the achievement of fully automated and digital operation for the circulating water system, which enables low-manpower or even unmanned operation, thereby significantly simplifying procedures and improving maintenance efficiency. Third is to fully digitize and transparentize underground hidden pipeline networks, enabling the status of water distribution pipelines to be visualized, measured, and controlled, thus providing a scientific basis for the intelligent management of the system. Fourthly, it offers significant benefits in terms of water and energy conservation; the circulating water volume in the two demonstration projects was reduced by 12%–15%, while the system’s energy savings rate reached 32%–50%, resulting in notable advantages in terms of energy conservation and carbon reduction. Pei Shuangli, head of the production department at Shaanxi Xinghua, said that the digitalization and energy-saving renovation project for the methamine circulating water system, developed by Hangzhou Zheda Technology specifically for the company in 2025, has achieved remarkable results. Through a series of precisely implemented measures—such as installing explosion-proof smart valves throughout the system, integrating the DCS control system, deploying a smart energy and carbon cloud platform, and installing an intelligent variable-frequency speed control system as well as high-efficiency pumps converted from steam to electric power—the project has effectively ensured the safe, stable, and efficient operation of the facility. Facing challenges such as complex operating conditions and the need for seamless continuous production, the team at Hangzhou ZheDa Technology planned systematically and advanced steadily, ensuring zero interruptions throughout the project construction process. This transformation not only achieved the expected goals of energy savings and cost reduction, effectively lowering overall operating costs, but also set a benchmark in the industry by improving the level of system automation, enhancing operational reliability, and enabling improvements in quality and production volume. Yang Junwei, manager of the Water Treatment Center at Pu Jieneng Chemical Company, said that since the operation of this project began, thanks to overall optimization of the system, several key indicators have seen significant improvements: the total volume of water circulating in the production system has decreased by about 6,000 m³/h compared to before the renovation, and the average temperature of the circulating water is 0.5°C–1.5°C lower than it was during the same period last year as well as compared to the two other systems in the company℃ ； From July to December 2025, a total of approximately 13 million kWh of electricity was saved, demonstrating highly significant energy-saving and carbon-reduction benefits. The upgraded system ensures the stable and continuous operation of the dual-polymerization system under high-temperature conditions in summer. It has completely resolved the previous bottleneck in the supply of circulating water during summer. An efficient, energy-saving, and stably operating intelligent circulating water system has thus been established, providing a solid guarantee for the enterprise to successfully fulfill its annual production targets. Furthermore, it injects strong momentum into the enterprise’s high-quality development. According to Wu Qingguo, the company’s core technical advantages are the fundamental guarantee for achieving outstanding results in its projects. Relying on its smart valve products with independent intellectual property rights, as well as the smart distribution and control technology for circulating water based on WECS 4.0, ZheDa Technology not only optimizes the supply of circulating water with precision to ensure continuous and stable production, but also helps users significantly improve their digital management capabilities, enabling a significant upgrade in the automated control and intelligent operation of plant areas. The company’s explosion-proof smart valve products have been granted over 20 invention patents, demonstrating its strong capabilities in technological innovation; these products are well-suited to help customers achieve their goals of developing green and intelligent factories. As the first domestic enterprise to focus on intelligent end-point management and control, and to achieve intelligent regulation of circulating water systems through integrated commissioning of pumps and valves—thereby enabling on-demand production and supply as well as digital and intelligent management—Zheda Technology not only offers advanced and mature overall solutions. Thanks to its comprehensive risk prevention system and excellent engineering implementation capabilities, it ensures that users reap the benefits of cutting-edge technology while enjoying all-round safety protection. This fully demonstrates the core advantages of its technical solutions in terms of safety, advancement, and energy efficiency. When evaluating the effectiveness of ZheDa Technology’s smart circulating water system, Pei Shuangli said that through intelligent and precise control, heat exchangers with different installation heights and varying temperature control requirements enable more accurate water usage, more rational distribution, easier operation, and faster adjustment. The system not only completely resolved the water competition issue between the company’s methamine and ethanol production units, but also achieved a daily electricity savings of over 40,000 kWh, with an overall energy-saving efficiency of nearly 50% – demonstrating highly significant energy-saving effects. Yang Junwei commented that this digital and intelligent transformation of the circulating water system can be regarded as a technological revolution, marking a leap in the industrial circulating water sector from manual control to AI-driven smart control. While achieving energy savings and reduced consumption, the system has also brought about historic breakthroughs in production optimization and efficiency improvement. Just in terms of power savings, it far outperforms others; its energy-saving efficiency is significantly higher than that of existing similar technologies in China, placing it at the top of the industry.