Construction of the world’s largest single-unit MTO plant and olefin separation unit is advancing at full speed
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Recently, the chimney of the MTO combined unit – the world’s largest single-unit MTO facility and olefin separation plant project, constructed by China State Construction Installation Engineering Corporation – was successfully completed, marking a milestone in the project’s construction. Moving forward, every effort will be made to meet the deadline of November 30th for completing the civil engineering framework for the catalyst tank foundation. Thanks to its excellent management of safe and civilized construction practices, the project team has been repeatedly awarded the title of “Standardized Model Construction Site” by Ningxia Coal Group, and it was also featured in a special report by the Economic 30 Minutes program on Ningxia TV’s economic channel. Located in the Modern Coal Chemical Industry Zone of the Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base in Ningxia, this project will, upon completion, effectively improve the energy conversion efficiency and the comprehensive utilization of resources in existing olefin production plants. It will enable the savings of 4.79 million tons of raw water, 860,000 tons of standard coal, and 100 million cubic meters of natural gas per year, while also reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 2.2 million tons. It holds great significance as a model for the development of modern coal chemical industry zones. International companies are responsible for constructing projects related to olefin separation, butene-1 units, and methanol-to-olefins (MTO) plants. Among them, the MTO unit can process 3.6 million tons of methanol per year, while the olefin separation unit produces 1.35 million tons of olefins annually (ethylene + propylene); both are the largest of their kind in the world.
The chimney, standing at 99.5 meters tall, is the tallest single structure in the MTO unit area. Its cylinder body is of reinforced concrete structure; the outer diameter at the bottom is 17 meters, the total volume of concrete is approximately 974 cubic meters, and the amount of reinforcement used is 124 tons. In the harsh environment of Ningdong, where strong winds occur frequently, delivering such a massive structure to a height of 100 meters poses serious challenges. Any minor deviation is significantly amplified at a height of 100 meters. To effectively control the verticality of the cylinder under wind loads, the project team adopted a construction method involving hydraulic lifting platforms for sliding and formwork rotation. During construction, settlement measurements and verticality checks were carried out every 15 meters; real-time data was used to make precise adjustments to the formwork system, ensuring that the overall verticality deviation remained within 60 millimeters. At the same time, by lifting the operating platform and formwork together using hydraulic jacks, the need for repeated formwork support and scaffold erection is eliminated, which not only saves a large amount of materials and labor but also enables continuous and rapid progress through various construction stages. Compared with traditional slip-forming processes, the surface of the cylinder after inversion molding is smooth and free of slip marks; there are few construction joints, the cylinder body does not twist, and both the visual quality and dimensional accuracy are effectively controlled.
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