【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Equipment】1804–2024: Award for the development and application of a domestically designed large-scale loop reactor for polypropylene production with a capacity of 600,000 tons per year
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Happy May Day 2024! Safety first. Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】A continuously updated summary post is available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum) ***************** Development and application of large-scale loop reactor for polypropylene production with an annual capacity of 600,000 tons. Recently, the China Petroleum and Chemical Automation Application Association held the 2023 Awards Ceremony for Scientific and Technological Achievements and Patents in Anhui. The project \"Development and Application of a 600,000-ton/year Large-Scale Loop Reactor for Polypropylene\", jointly developed by Sinochem Hualu Company, Tianhua Chemical Machinery and Automation Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd., China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute, and Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., won the First Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Automation Application Association. This is the world’s largest polypropylene loop reactor, and it represents the first time that Hualu Company’s equipment division has received the highest industry award. It is understood that Hualu Company, in collaboration with relevant industry entities, has carried out continuous research and efforts to develop a large-scale loop reactor for polypropylene production with an annual capacity of 600,000 tons. The design, manufacturing, testing, and application of this reactor have been completed, resulting in a series of innovative achievements with independent intellectual property rights. The overall technology level has reached international leading standards, laying a foundation for China’s achievement of self-sufficiency in polypropylene production technology. This polypropylene loop reactor has an inner diameter of 800 millimeters and a straight section length of 60 meters. Finite element software was used for the overall modeling and analysis of the reactor framework, and stress analysis, deflection analysis, and modal analysis were conducted on the reactor framework under 21 loading conditions and 17 combined conditions. Technologies for the automatic polishing of the reactor inner wall and for the high-precision integrated machining of the ring-type reactor supports at the end face of the jacket have been developed. The imported low-temperature carbon steel material has passed the evaluation for pressure vessel materials by the China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute. Large-loop reactor technology was applied for the first time at Sinopec’s annual production capacity of 2*600,000 tons of copolymerized polypropylene facility (the largest of its kind in the world). Since it came online in December 2022, it has been operating safely and stably for two and a half years. This project incorporates the advanced Spheripol multi-compolymerized polypropylene technology from the Dutch company LyondellBasell. Leveraging its many years of experience in the polypropylene product sector, Hualu Company won the bid for the detailed design of this project in 2015.
The development and application of a 600,000-ton/year large-scale loop reactor for polypropylene produced by Tianhua Institute have passed the evaluation for technological achievements. Recently, the project titled “Development and Application of a 600,000-ton/year Large-Scale Loop Reactor for Polypropylene”, carried out jointly by Tianhua Chemical Machinery and Automation Research and Design Institute Co., Ltd., China Special Equipment Inspection and Research Institute, Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co., Ltd., and Hualu Engineering Technology Co., Ltd., passed the evaluation of technological achievements organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Automation Application Association. The 600,000 tons per year large-scale loop reactor developed as part of this achievement is currently the largest of its kind in the world, with international-leading overall technical standards; the precision of its integrated processing and molding is even superior to that of imported equipment. ““The development and application of a 600,000 tons/year polypropylene large-scale loop reactor” is a technical initiative undertaken by Tianhua Research Institute to address the shortage of experience in the design and manufacturing of ultra-large scale loop reactors in China. As the core equipment for large-scale polypropylene plants in our country, this equipment represents another breakthrough in drying technology by Tianhua Research Institute. Its innovations mainly lie in: the development of a digital model for \"flow field simulation and reaction\" in large loop reactor systems, as well as the design of a 600,000-ton/year large loop reactor that ensures proper distribution and diffusion of multiphase fluids within the reactor, thereby enabling more efficient mass and heat transfer during polymerization reactions ； An overall mechanical model of the large-scale loop reactor and its steel structure was established, and the strength of the reactor as well as the stiffness and vibration characteristics of the entire structure were analyzed, calculated, and designed to ensure the safe and reliable operation of the equipment under harsh operating conditions and complex loads ； An automatic polishing technology and equipment for the inner wall of loop reactors were developed, reducing the polishing cycle by half and lowering the roughness from 2.5 μm to 0.8 μm, thereby significantly improving the quality of the reactor’s inner surface ； A high-precision processing technology for the integrated fabrication of the fixed supports and sleeve end faces in loop reactor systems has been developed, significantly improving the installation accuracy of the reactors ； The elbow at the bottom of the reactor was also changed from 180° to 90°, effectively reducing the difficulties and costs associated with manufacturing and installation. At present, Tianhua Institute has achieved the commercialization of this technology, which has been successfully applied in two 600,000 tons per year polypropylene production units at Fujian Zhongjing Petrochemical Co., Ltd. Since its commissioning, this facility has withstood the challenges posed by severe weather conditions such as the powerful typhoons Doksuri, Sora, Haiyan, and Mangkhut, operating continuously and stably while producing high-quality polypropylene products. It has successfully ended China’s long-term reliance on imported large-scale loop reactors, bringing significant economic and social benefits.
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