Pilot testing is underway at China University of Petroleum (Beijing) on the technology for the directed conversion of light hydrocarbons into high-value chemicals

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As important by-products of petroleum refining and natural gas processing, light hydrocarbons can be utilized efficiently to produce chemicals with high added value, making this an important direction for the transformation of the energy and chemical industry. Expanding the downstream markets for C5+ light hydrocarbons and enhancing their utility have become key focuses. Currently, the main industrial methods for producing olefins include oil-based methods (primarily naphtha cracking), coal-based methods (involving purchased methanol), and light hydrocarbon cracking. Among these, naphtha cracking has long held a dominant position; this process is mainly divided into steam cracking and catalytic cracking. Traditional steam cracking requires high temperatures ranging from 750 to 900°C; the reaction conditions are quite stringent. At a time when carbon neutrality has become a global consensus and there is an urgent need to optimize the energy structure, this process faces significant challenges due to its high energy consumption and large carbon emission intensity ； In contrast, catalytic cracking enables the reaction to take place under milder conditions (usually below 800°C) by introducing a catalyst, resulting in lower energy consumption and higher selectivity for light olefins. It also exhibits good adaptability to various feedstocks, which is why it is increasingly favored. However, the catalysts used in this process tend to become deactivated easily, and the yield of light olefins is greatly limited by the catalyst’s activity, posing key constraints to the further development and application of this process. At present, China University of Petroleum (Beijing) has designed and developed an efficient catalyst process for the catalytic cracking of olefins, giving rise to the technology Para-Py for the targeted conversion of light hydrocarbons into high-value chemicals (Paraffin Pyrolysis, which refers to the cracking of long-chain alkanes). This technology has now completed its pilot-scale tests. Shandong Kegu Mesoscale Technology Co., Ltd. was established in October 2017, with a registered capital of 100 million yuan and an area of 17,666 square meters. Its production facility is located in the Dawang Economic Development Zone in Guangrao County, and the company is classified as a enterprise under strict chemical industry supervision. As a base for technological innovation and development as well as pilot testing, KeGuo Company is dedicated to the research and experimentation in petrochemical and carbon material technologies. Its core function is to provide reliable process packages and technical support for the industrial production of its parent company through experimental verification and data collection; it serves as a key platform that links laboratory innovations with large-scale production. The company has no existing or under-construction projects; there is one project planned for implementation during the same period, namely the “Petroleum-based High-End Carbon Materials and Carbon Fiber Pilot Plant Project”, which is located to the north of this project. As the R&D base of the parent company, KeGu Company has built standardized industrial facilities. At the request of its parent company, KeGu plans to carry out scale-up verification tests for this technology in collaboration with the technical team from China University of Petroleum (Beijing). The pilot-scale production materials for the project are provided by the parent company, and the 5555 product is also recovered and processed by it; KeGu Company is primarily responsible for providing the testing site and necessary facilities. Based on the pilot-scale results obtained at the Petroleum University, this project aims to build a pilot-scale catalytic cracking unit with a capacity of 125 kg/h. This will enable the verification of the stability of the two-reactor process flow and its continuous operation at an expanded scale. It will also provide technical support for subsequent industrialization efforts, including economic benefit analysis, determination of process parameters, and selection of equipment, thereby facilitating the rapid industrial transformation of the research results. The raw material for the pilot scale production comes from the raffinate oil generated by the parent company’s 1.2 million tons per year continuous reforming unit. The process involves a catalytic cracking unit, a unit for the initial separation of the cracking products, and a unit for the activation and regeneration of catalysts. Unlike the laboratory-scale tests, this project does not involve the separation of the final products (dry gas, liquefied gas, ethylene-propylene); instead, only the initial cracking products, namely C5+ fractions and olefin-rich gas, are obtained. The products obtained at the pilot scale are used as test samples for detection and analysis in order to gather key data, and they are not sold as products. The pilot period for this project is 2 years. Upon the expiration of the project’s operational period, the pilot plant and its main equipment will be retained. If it is necessary in the future to use these facilities to develop other pilot R&D projects, the relevant procedures must be followed again in accordance with applicable regulations. The implementation of this project is not merely a simple scaling up of experimental results; it also represents a complement, improvement, and upgrading of the experimental techniques. It can accumulate the necessary experience and experimental data for subsequent industrial production, which holds great significance. The project requires an investment of 4 million yuan, of which 490,000 yuan is allocated to environmental protection measures, accounting for 12.25% of the total investment. The workforce consists of 19 people, with 250 working days per year. The operation follows a four-shift, three-shift system, with 8 hours of work per shift, resulting in 6,000 hours of working time per year.