Tianhua Institute contributes to a major breakthrough in the localization of waste heat recovery equipment for coal-to-gas production

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On August 27, reporters learned from the Lanzhou Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology that recently, two sets of methanation waste heat recovery units for a coal-to-natural gas project with an annual capacity of 5.5 billion standard cubic meters, which were independently developed and manufactured by Tianhua Chemical Machinery and Automation Research and Design Institute, were successfully commissioned and are now operating stably. The successful commissioning of this key equipment not only sets a new record for supply speed in the industry but also represents a milestone achievement for China in achieving full autonomy and control over core high-end equipment for coal-to-natural gas production. It is understood that the methanation waste heat recovery unit put into operation this time is the core heat recovery device in the coal-to-natural gas system; such equipment has to face severe challenges from extreme operating conditions such as high temperatures and pressures over extended periods of time. In the past, the core design technologies for such critical equipment often relied on imports; domestically manufactured equipment was primarily produced based on imported foreign design drawings, lacking original innovation capabilities. The equipment manufactured by Tianhua Institute was designed and produced for the first time using technologies and production processes with entirely independent intellectual property rights, achieving domestic substitution across the entire process from materials to manufacturing, inspection, and acceptance. The successful operation of this equipment marks that China now possesses complete independent technical capabilities and supply chains in the field of core equipment for coal-to-gas conversion, representing a decisive step forward in the process of localization.