【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】In 2006–2024, China’s first facility for processing resources associated with gas field water was put into operation in Weiyuan, Sichuan

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Safety first. Prevention first – let’s give praise and support to the achievements in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Rapid Development 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) ***************** On November 21, 2024, with the first batch of qualified products being produced, the Weiyuan facility for the comprehensive utilization and treatment of 100 cubic meters per day of gas field associated resources passed its acceptance tests successfully. This is the first facility of its kind in the country, marking a new breakthrough by CNPC’s Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company in the field of green energy development using “natural gas + associated resources”. Designed by Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company and possessing independent intellectual property rights, this device is aimed at the selective extraction and recovery of associated resources such as lithium, bromine, sodium, and potassium from gas field water. It utilizes advanced pre-treatment processes, a domestically leading lithium extraction adsorption technique, a chlorine-free bromine extraction method, evaporation for the separation of sodium and potassium, as well as step-by-step impurity removal processes. The lithium carbonate produced by this device is one of the key raw materials for new energy batteries. It plays a vital role in ensuring the clean treatment and efficient utilization of gas field water, while also contributing to the expansion of the known types and reserves of lithium, bromine, potassium, and sodium mineral resources in China. The Weiyuan gas field was the first large-scale integrated gas field discovered in New China in the 1960s. Its Sinian Dengying gas reservoir is rich in associated resources; the water temperature in this gas field is high, and it is also abundant in important trace elements such as lithium, bromine, sodium, and potassium. To achieve low-cost treatment of gas field water to meet regulatory standards and its comprehensive resource utilization, Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company formed a joint technical research team to work on process design and development of appropriate technical approaches. This team succeeded in overcoming various challenges such as high sulfur content, high levels of impurity ions, high organic matter concentration, as well as low lithium levels and high hardness in the gas field water. As a result, new technical processes were developed, including pre-treatment of the gas field water, lithium extraction using high-performance lithium adsorbents, and chlorine-free bromine extraction. These processes enabled the production of four main products: lithium carbonate, sodium bromide, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride, marking a significant breakthrough. Next, Southwest Oil and Gas Field Company will take the commissioning of the experimental facility for the comprehensive utilization and standardized treatment of water associated with resources in the Weiyuan gas field as a new starting point. It will continue to work on the research, development, iteration, and improvement of core technologies, as well as on the simplification and optimization of relevant processes. This will help address issues such as the insufficient capacity for reinjecting water from the Weiyuan gas field and the high costs associated with its treatment. By doing so, the company will make new contributions to advancing the secondary development of the Weiyuan gas field, improving the recovery rate of gas reserves, reducing the costs related to gas field water treatment, and further tapping into the potential advantages of combining natural gas with new energy sources.