【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】2238–2025: The world’s first application of molten salt energy storage technology in oil field steam injection applications
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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 ***************** As of the end of February 2025, the electrically heated molten salt energy storage steam injection test station at China National Petroleum Corporation’s Liaohe Oilfield had been in operation for 313 days in total. This represents the first time that molten salt energy storage technology has been applied in the field of steam injection in oilfields worldwide. According to statistics, the testing station has injected a total of 33,000 tons of steam, replacing 2.15 million cubic meters of natural gas and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 4,639 tons. As determined by the expert panel from the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Safety Science, the thermal efficiency of the electric thermally melted salt heat storage steam injection system reaches 92.28%, meeting the design requirements. The Liaohe Oil Field is China’s largest heavy oil production base, primarily utilizing steam injection as a thermal development method. Traditional methods generate steam by burning natural gas; producing steam in this way requires about 1.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, resulting in the emission of 3.03 million tons of carbon dioxide. Under the backdrop of the \"dual carbon\" goals, high-energy-consuming and high-carbon-emission models severely hinder the transformation of oil fields toward a green and low-carbon path, making it urgent to find clean alternative solutions.
In December 2022, the research team from the New Energy Engineering Institute began research and experiments on steam injection for electrothermal molten salt energy storage. The research team pooled their expertise, conducted repeated experiments, and successfully overcame three key technical challenges: the research and design of the heat exchange cycle for molten salt energy storage, the heat-resistant design of the foundations for molten salt storage tanks, and the material selection as well as high-temperature resistance design for these tanks ； An independently developed DC-type wet-saturated steam generator using electrically heated molten salt for heating enables the direct use of wet-saturated steam generated by heat exchange between the softened water obtained from oil field production and high-temperature molten salt in steam injection processes in oil fields. This approach effectively reduces energy losses, increasing the overall efficiency from 35% in electrically heated molten salt energy storage power generation systems to over 90%. A steam injection process technology suitable for heavy oil production has been developed, encompassing 14 core technologies across 5 categories, including molten salt process technology and high-temperature storage tank technology. One international invention patent and 20 domestic invention patents have been applied for, of which 4 patents have been granted. After 11 months of work, the world’s first new type of green energy storage steam injection test station was successfully completed. Covering an area of 4,000 square meters, it has a heat storage capacity of 15 MW, an annual steam production capacity of 48,000 tons, and its digitalization level enables operation without human intervention. It began trial operation on December 6, 2023. The establishment and operation of the test station represent the first step toward changing the methods used for producing steam in the thermal recovery of heavy oil; it opens up new avenues for reducing fossil fuel consumption, increasing the capacity to utilize green electricity, and helping to balance power supply and demand in the grid. Currently, the team is working on the design for the molten salt energy storage micro-superheating project at the Karamay Oil Field in Xinjiang, as well as the molten salt energy storage solutions for the Special Oil Development Company at the Liaohe Oil Field. At the same time, efforts are made to address the production and application scenarios in refining and chemical enterprises.
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【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2241-2025: China’s first project for the in-depth processing of C5 compounds in the coal chemical industry was completed and put into operation in Yulin https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-5681588-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Industry Forum)