【Haichuan Engineering Updates】Jilin Petrochemical’s 600,000 tons/year styrene plant: Erection of low-pressure crude styrene tower and high-pressure crude styrene tower
Thread Content
On November 6 and 9, 2024, the two key units of Jilin Petrochemical’s 600,000-ton/year styrene production facility – the low-pressure crude styrene tower and the high-pressure crude styrene tower – which are the tallest, heaviest and largest in diameter – were successfully installed in one go, thanks to careful planning and efficient execution by Huanqiu Jilin Chemical Construction. It is reported that the low-pressure crude styrene tower is 81.9 meters tall, 6.4 meters in diameter, and has a lifting weight of 453 tons ； The high-pressure crude styrene tower is 78.25 meters tall, 5.3 meters in diameter, and has a lifting weight of 376 tons. Due to the tower’s extremely high height and heavy weight, along with the limited working space at the construction site, transporting, storing, and lifting the tower present significant difficulties. The project team carried out scientific planning and meticulous organization, formulating a detailed construction plan in advance; the work was done using a 2000-ton crawler crane as the main crane and a 650-ton crawler crane as an auxiliary crane. Before the lifting operation, technicians verified each step repeatedly and addressed any potential issues that could affect the progress of the lifting process in a timely manner. The lifting process was supervised throughout, with close attention paid to weather changes; the lifting amplitude and angle were adjusted in a timely manner, ensuring a smooth and orderly lifting process. Thanks to the close cooperation and teamwork between the project management team and the crew members, the two heavy tower structures were installed safely and accurately, earning high praise from the client. Their perfect installation laid the foundation for the construction during the subsequent peak period for equipment installation.
Recently, the renovation of the new area of Jilin Petrochemical’s 700,000-ton-per-year ethylene production facility was completed, and it was brought online successfully on the first attempt, producing qualified ethylene products. This major maintenance campaign primarily includes the maintenance of 5 large-scale units such as the pyrolysis gas compressors, as well as various technical upgrades and measures such as pressure pipeline inspections, small connection inspections, heat exchanger cleaning, tower maintenance, tank maintenance, and valve replacement. During the maintenance process, the company strengthened quality control over the maintenance work, strictly implementing the \"four standardizations\" approach of \"quantifying quality management, using forms for process management, documenting key stages via images, and standardizing on-site maintenance.\" This enabled it to identify and address potential issues promptly, ensuring that the equipment could be started successfully after maintenance and operate stably, efficiently, and at full capacity. During maintenance operations, Jilin Petrochemical strictly adheres to the ticket and certification management system. The managers responsible for approving work permits for the ethylene plant’s maintenance tasks always make sure to go to the site in person to verify that all necessary measures are in place and that operation safety is maintained ； Strictly enforce the inspection and monitoring system, and intensify inspections of key areas such as the compressor plant and warehouse doors and windows, as well as critical positions, to prevent damage and theft ； Strictly implement control measures such as hierarchical management of critical operations, vote-based confirmation, lockout/tagout, and dual-person dual-instrument analysis. The First Ethylene Plant’s Ethylene Production Unit has strengthened on-site supervision, managing tools and equipment in strict accordance with the requirements for designated storage locations, and carefully verifying the qualifications and identities of external workers. Before the start-up of the ethylene plant, Jilin Petrochemical made every effort to ensure the gas-tightness of the plant, carry out purging and replacement operations, and verify the proper installation of blind flanges. It organized process engineers to thoroughly discuss the key operations at critical positions, improved the start-up plan, and clarified the responsibilities to be fulfilled ； Allocate personnel reasonably and develop a detailed staffing plan to ensure close cooperation among employees in internal and external operations roles ； The management personnel at all levels of the ethylene plant perform their respective duties, working together to address the difficulties and key issues that arise during the commissioning of the plant. During the startup of the plant, the crew members follow the operating procedures strictly, using cards for operations and implementing multiple levels of verification to ensure that responsibilities are properly assigned and all operations are confirmed, thereby guaranteeing a successful first startup after maintenance of the ethylene plant.
A styrene plant with a capacity of 600,000 tons per year is undoubtedly very large; in China it would likely rank among the top 6. At present, the largest styrene plant is Zhejiang Petrochemical’s plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year. Plants with a capacity of 700,000 to 800,000 tons per year represent the upper limit in terms of production volume.