【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】Local production of the world’s largest ZHP480 model (screw diameter of 486 mm) for devolatilization, extrusion, and granulation from 2016 to 2026
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Let’s give praise and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. Your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement**********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Recently, China has seen milestone breakthroughs in the field of high-end equipment manufacturing! Faced with the world-class challenge of \"deep devolatilization\" of high-end polymer materials, a problem that has long been under international monopoly, Sichuan Zhongwang Technology Co., Ltd. brought together top industry experts from around the globe. Adhering to the mission of achieving self-reliance in terms of equipment, and through relentless efforts day and night as well as original research at the fundamental level, the company successfully developed the world’s first \"synchronous regional continuous flexible online devolatilization\" technology for devolatilization and extrusion granulation. It also created the world’s largest-scale ZHP480 devolatilization and extrusion granulation unit, with a screw diameter of 486 mm, achieving 100% domestic production of its core components. The key performance indicators of the unit far exceed international top levels: depending on the specific materials used, VOC residues can be kept steadily within the range of 150–300 ppm ； High-end materials such as optical-grade POE and PMMA have a light transmittance of ≥93%. Having been tested using pilot-scale production units with capacities of thousands of tons and tens of thousands of tons, these materials have successfully broken through foreign technological blockades and standard monopolies. This marks a historic leap for China in the field of high-end, ultra-large-scale devolatilization extrusion granulation equipment – from following foreign technologies to keeping pace with them and now to leading globally. It lays a solid foundation for self-sufficient and controllable supply chains in strategic emerging industries such as aerospace, new energy, new display technologies, and photovoltaic materials.
Breaking the deadlock: Confronting the industry’s toughest challenges, bringing together the best minds from around the world to work round the clock to break monopolies. Advanced polyolefin materials, POE, PMMA, and other new materials are the backbone of modern industry. Achieving effective deep devolatilization is crucial for determining the purity, strength, and optical properties of these materials; it can be regarded as a process of \"deep purification\" of the materials. For a long time, this core processing equipment has been firmly monopolized by a few international giants, serving as the most difficult obstacle in the extrusion granulation industry; it is a critical technology that severely hinders the upgrading of China’s high-end new materials sector. “No following or imitation – blaze a new path by exploring the fundamental principles! ”Li Yi, the chief technical officer of Sichuan Zhongwang, made a vow to overcome the challenges. The company abandoned the shortcut of incremental improvements and embarked on a pursuit of original innovation at the fundamental level, establishing a top-tier R&D system that focuses on its own strengths while drawing on expertise from around the world. With international experts as the core, it brought in seasoned professionals from Japan and other parts of the world to form a high-performance team dedicated to overcoming challenges. To overcome this tough challenge, the R&D team worked day and night at the testing site, striving hard through countless process adjustments, parameter optimizations, and equipment verifications. In 2023, the Lanzhou facility of Sichuan Zhongwang built a full range of pilot-scale continuous devolatilization, extrusion, and granulation platforms with capacities ranging from 1,000 tons to 10,000 tons. All technical concepts were put to the test in a real production environment to ensure their effectiveness, and engineering data was used to lay a solid foundation for innovation. With the resilience of Chinese manufacturing, efforts were made to reach the pinnacle of global excellence.
Double Revolution: A globally pioneering technological revolution that enables simultaneous regional, flexible, continuous low-temperature devolatilization, setting new standards for the world. \"Let data speak, and let experiments prove it!\" ”After tens of thousands of dynamic analyses, software simulations, and thousands of consecutive tests, Sichuan Zhongwang has revolutionized traditional technical approaches by developing an original technology for simultaneous regional, continuous, flexible online devolatilization. This technology has led to three revolutionary breakthroughs, redefining the new standards for high-end polymer devolatilization and extrusion granulation worldwide: it overturns conventional approaches and addresses the long-standing problems in this industry. By introducing a globally unique combination of low-temperature devolatilization (30–40°C lower than traditional processes) + low shear forces + precise distribution for efficient operation, this technology eliminates the traditional high-temperature, high-shear methods used in devolatilization extrusion, thereby protecting the resin molecular chains from degradation and yellowing. Mechanical innovation at its peak: Thanks to the drive system equipped with a high-torque reducer of 18 Nm/cm³, it delivers stable power output. It combines powerful synchronous area devolatilization and continuous surface renewal with a multi-stage precise vacuum field for flexible integration, thereby enabling the targeted, forced, and thorough removal of impurities from the material. Improving quality and setting Chinese standards: With extremely pure and highly uniform product properties, it establishes new global benchmarks for optical-grade and medical-grade polymers, making Chinese technology a reference point for the world.
Three proofs: Leading the way with the world’s largest twin-screw devolatilization extrusion granulation unit; robust data that outperforms international competitors; addressing the industry’s pain points – facts speak, and strength ensures leadership. With its world-first, largest, and highest-quality solutions, Sichuan Zhongwang secured orders for high-end degassing extrusion granulation units for major projects within just two years. It successfully overcame the challenges related to the optical properties of high-end polymers and domestically produced POE materials. Within those same two years, it received orders for three such units for key projects in the field of advanced materials, thereby breaking through the restrictions imposed on high-end materials. The world’s best – the pinnacle of Chinese manufacturing: It is about to deliver to China National Petroleum Corporation’s Blue Sea New Materials the world’s largest co-rotating twin-screw degassing extrusion granulation unit, with a screw diameter of 486 mm and a production capacity of 40 tons per hour. This unit exceeds the global record of 200,000 tons per year in terms of degassed polymer production, and all of its core components are of domestic origin, setting a new record for the industry worldwide. Breaking through the current limitations on POE light transmittance: The project won by Hongdao New Materials/Zhongguangdian involves the production of 100,000 tons per year of photovoltaic-grade POE ZHP450, with screw diameters of 456 mm and a twin-screw devolatilization and extrusion granulation system. Under solvent concentrations of 15%–25%, the VOC residue level remains at ≤150 ppm, while the light transmittance is ≥93%, exceeding the average level of 92% for international mainstream products. This approach truly addresses the industry’s challenges related to poor quality in downstream granulation processes, even though polymerization is possible at the upstream stage. Its purity ranks among the highest, surpassing international standards: The optical-grade PMMA devolatilization extrusion granulation units delivered to Zhejiang Fine Materials have a light transmittance of ≥92% and a yellow index of ≤0, making their quality on par with that of the best products in the world. World-leading energy efficiency and reliability: fewer than 5 unplanned shutdowns per year, with overall performance on par with imported products. **Collaborative team efforts ensure reliable quality: Central State-owned enterprises such as CNPC, Sinopec, **Energy, and Lansi Group work together closely; industrial production is carried out at facilities in Sichuan and Lanzhou. This enables quality control and process assurance throughout the entire value chain, from advanced smelting and forging to component processing, thus ensuring the stable and reliable delivery of super-large-scale units.
[Common Issues in Haichuan Pipeline Design] – A compilation post; images and text are being updated. Feel free to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5705828 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum (Hua Haichuan Liu hcbbs))
[Common Issues in Haichuan Pipeline Design] – A compilation post; images and text are being updated. Feel free to join the discussion: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5705828 (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum (Hua Haichuan Liu hcbbs))