Modular installation of the 450,000-ton/year polypropylene unit in Tarim’s 1.2 million tons/year Phase II ethylene project

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Major breakthrough! China National Petroleum Corporation’s modular polypropylene loop reactor developed using domestic technology was successfully installed 2025-07-24 15:20·China National Petroleum Corporation. On the morning of July 16, at the Tarim 1.2 million tons/year Phase II ethylene project site operated by CNPC’s Dushanzi Petrochemical Company, China’s first loop reactor (R3002) for a polypropylene production facility with a capacity of 450,000 tons per year, designed and constructed using domestic technology in a modular fashion, was successfully installed. This marks an important breakthrough for China in the field of modular construction of key equipment for large-scale chemical industries. This lifting operation was carried out with a 2,000-ton crawler crane as the main lifter, and a 400-ton crawler crane to assist with the tail end. The reactor has a net weight of 350 tons, with a total lifting weight of 385 tons. It was designed by the Beijing branch of China Global Engineering Co., Ltd., while Maoming Gravity Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd. was responsible for its manufacturing, transportation, and installation guidance. Its core innovation lies in the first-time implementation of deep modular construction for large loop reactors, whereby the reactor body, supporting steel structures, ladders, platforms, guardrails, insulation layers, and electrical lighting systems are integrated and prefabricated together. Compared to the traditional method of installing components one by one at great heights using vertical pipes, this highly integrated modular construction approach significantly reduces the risks associated with working at height, shortens the construction period, and improves the overall accuracy of installation. To ensure a flawless lifting process, the project team conducted precise calculations and repeated simulations for verification. The forces acting on the balance beam, the position of the pipeline’s center point, and the spacing between the lifting lugs were accurately calculated, and additional reinforcement beams were added to ensure absolute stability of the equipment structure during lifting. Through multiple high-precision instrument measurements and rigorous level adjustments, the installation deviation of the equipment platform was kept strictly within 2 millimeters, laying a solid foundation for the long-term stable operation of the reactor.