【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】From 1996 to 2024: The world’s largest domestic 1.5-million-ton CCUS compressor was produced for the first time

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Safety first. Prevention first – let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** On November 15, 2024, Shengli Steam Turbine Group held a ceremony to mark the completion of production of China’s first set of compressors for CCUS plants with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per line. This unit is used in the world’s largest, most advanced, and lowest-cost single-line carbon capture project with a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year. It represents a **major scientific and technological demonstration project**, as well as a project under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s key research and development program. It is also considered the **first major technical equipment project in the energy sector by the National Energy Administration**. The implementation of this project will drive the high-quality development of China’s CCUS technology industry and contribute to building a strong energy nation. This project is based on the full-scale CCUS technology demonstration project for 3 million tons per year coal-fired power plants carried out by China Huaneng Group. CO₂ is captured from the exhaust gases; the captured CO₂ is at low pressure and is compressed using a compressor. The centrifugal compressor compresses CO₂ to a supercritical state, significantly reducing its volume and facilitating transportation and storage. To open up new markets for carbon dioxide and break foreign monopolies, there is an urgent need in China to develop highly efficient multi-axis, multi-stage supercritical carbon dioxide compressors. Experts from SHENGU Group explained that the group took on the task of developing compressors for this project, using 8-stage integral gear-driven centrifugal compressors. Previously, only two manufacturers worldwide were capable of designing and producing such compressors. The successful development of these compressors not only signifies that SHENGU has reached a new level in its capabilities for researching, developing, and manufacturing heavy equipment, but it also represents a new breakthrough in the field of carbon capture, utilization, and storage. “To achieve breakthrough technologies in compressor manufacturing, the team overcame numerous challenges. ”Li Peng, assistant to the president of SHENGU Group and general manager of the Gear Company, said that first, the design pressure for the compressor’s output is 12.6 MPa, which exceeds the critical pressure of carbon dioxide; this is very rare in modular compressors, and it makes it extremely difficult to select a suitable pneumatic solution. To this end, SHENGU conducted extensive fundamental research and experimental verification, and successfully developed specialized property calculation programs to ensure the accuracy of the pneumatic design for multi-stage compression of carbon dioxide in its supercritical state. Secondly, multi-stage high-speed complex shafting systems pose significant challenges to rotor stability. To address the difficulties in dynamic analysis and evaluation of such multi-axis, multi-speed systems, a comprehensive model of the shafting dynamics system was developed, taking into account the effects of the rotor, bearings, seals, and the aerodynamic properties of the impeller. A new type of bag-type damping seal was created to reduce the excitation effects caused by the sealing fluid, providing key technical support for the long-term stable operation of the machinery. Third, during the development and manufacturing of impellers, the composite machining technology of CNC milling and electrical discharge machining for narrow-channel three-dimensional closed impellers was overcome, enabling high-precision and efficient overall machining of such impellers. Fourth, to verify the actual performance of the unit, a high-pressure closed-cycle testing system was developed for conducting closed-co2 tests on the entire unit; the maximum pressure during these tests reached 12.8 MPa, and the aerodynamic and mechanical properties of the unit were evaluated under conditions of full speed, full pressure, and full power. It is understood that domestic manufacturers previously had no experience in producing grade-8 integral gear-type CO₂ compressors; this is the first such compressor of its kind in China. Developing multi-axis compressors tailored to the needs of CCUS projects represents a filling of a gap in the industry and sets a new standard. This plays a very important role in promoting technological progress in China’s compressor industry and the development of new industries, as well as accelerating the transformation and upgrading of equipment manufacturing toward higher-end, smarter, greener, and more service-oriented models.