【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】China’s first ultra-large-scale flue gas turbine disc was successfully applied at Guangxi Petrochemical from 2014 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】Regular updates and summaries are available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html *****************On April 28th, the main fan unit of the flue gas turbine at Guangxi Petrochemical’s 3.5 million tons per year heavy oil catalytic cracking plant was successfully brought up to operating temperature and speed, and the main fan was reactivated. The 18-day maintenance period for this fan unit came to a successful conclusion. In China, the first domestically produced flue gas turbine rotor with a diameter of 1380 mm was put into use at this company, thereby breaking the long-standing foreign monopoly and achieving a significant breakthrough in replacing imported key components. This development provides strong impetus for China to achieve self-sufficiency in its petrochemical equipment. As the \"core component\" of the energy recovery system in a refinery’s catalytic cracking unit, the flue gas turbine is a key device that enables the unit to save energy, reduce consumption, and improve efficiency. The rotor of the flue gas turbine, being the \"heart of the entire machine,\" operates under extreme conditions such as high temperatures, high speeds, heavy loads, and corrosion from particulate-containing flue gases. Its stability is directly related to the safe operation, efficient functioning, and economic viability of the entire catalytic cracking unit; therefore, it demands extremely high standards in terms of design precision, manufacturing processes, and material properties. For a long time, the discs for very large-scale flue gas turbines have had to be imported due to high technical barriers and great manufacturing difficulties. The issue of shortages in key components is particularly severe; not only are the supply cycles long and procurement costs high, but there are also risks to supply continuity, which severely hinders the consistency and stability of production. This has become one of the bottlenecks hindering the independent and sustainable development of China’s petrochemical industry. Under the policy guidance aimed at vigorously promoting technological innovation and overcoming critical bottlenecks, Guangxi Petrochemical has taken on its responsibilities as a state-owned enterprise, actively implementing a strategy for the use of domestic equipment. It selected a 3.5 million tons per year heavy oil catalytic cracking unit as the first industrial application platform for domestically produced turbine discs with a diameter of 1,380 mm, and worked together with companies such as Bohai Equipment to facilitate the use of these domestically manufactured core components. Faced with the numerous uncertainties in the early stages of adopting domestic products, the company promptly established a dedicated task force that brought together resources from various departments and units involved in production, equipment, maintenance, etc., to create a collaborative problem-solving framework. The team conducted comprehensive technical evaluations, condition adaptations, and repeated tests and adjustments focusing on key aspects such as the material properties, precision, installation compatibility, and operational stability of the domestically produced wheels. By identifying potential risks one by one and optimizing various processes, they succeeded in overcoming a series of technical challenges, including the integration of these domestic wheels with existing equipment and maintaining performance under extreme conditions. Rigorous practical testing confirmed the reliability and superiority of these domestically produced products. This successful application represents a landmark achievement of Guangxi Petrochemical in its efforts to drive technological innovation and overcome critical bottlenecks. It has significantly improved the safe and stable operation of the facilities as well as their ability to rely on self-sufficiency, while effectively reducing operational costs and supply chain risks. It provides a replicable and scalable \"Guangxi Petrochemical model\" for the localization of large-scale equipment in China’s petrochemical industry. At present, the unit is operating smoothly and in an orderly manner, with all parameters showing continuous improvement. The performance of the domestically produced rotors meets and even exceeds the standards of international counterparts, providing a solid foundation in terms of equipment for the high-quality development of Guangxi Petrochemical’s projects involving 10 million tons of oil refining and 1 million tons of ethylene production. Technological innovation is being utilized to drive the transformation and upgrading of the petrochemical industry.