Anhui Zhongan United Coal Chemical reaches a key milestone in the trial operation of its 1.7 million-ton coal-to-olefins plant

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Anhui Zhongan United Coal Chemical’s 1.7 million tons per year coal-to-olefins project reaches an important milestone in its commissioning process. Author/Source: Huahua Network – Coal Chemicals. Date: April 29, 2019. Clicks: 32. On April 25, the commissioning of Zhongan United Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.’s project for producing 1.7 million tons per year of methanol and related olefins products reached a significant milestone, as Unit 1 for air separation generated qualified amounts of oxygen and nitrogen, thus fulfilling the interim goals set for the commissioning process of this unit. Since the construction of the air separation unit was completed, after carrying out tasks such as rectifying any defects in the unit, starting up the air compressors, filling the unit with perlite sand, performing cold insulation on the cold boxes, and conducting joint operations of the various components, Zhongan United made active preparations for the synchronized startup of the air separation unit. Thanks to the relentless efforts of all technical and production staff, Unit 1 is now ready for official operation. At 16:00 on the 22nd, Unit 1 of the air separation compressor was started, marking the beginning of the commissioning process for the air separation plant. After 3 days of stable operation, the plant was able to produce oxygen and nitrogen of qualified quality, and the commissioning of Unit 1 was a success. The air separation unit falls under the Gasification Department and includes an air compressor station, three sets of air separation units, as well as three backup systems for oxygen, argon, and nitrogen. The 1# air separation unit consists of a pre-cooling system, a purification system, a regeneration system, an expansion cooling system and its auxiliary systems, a heat exchange system, a distillation system, an argon system, a product transfer system, etc. The 1# air separation unit was successfully commissioned, providing experience for the commissioning of the two additional air separation units. The successful operation of this air separation unit will supply the high-pressure and low-pressure oxygen, nitrogen, instrument air, and plant air required for the commissioning of various major production units in coal chemical industries. It is a prerequisite and an important guarantee for achieving the overall goal of operating these coal chemical plants on a full scale as well as ensuring their stable operation in the future. On January 23, 2019, the handover ceremony for the MTO/OCC units of China Anlian Coal Chemical Co., Ltd.’s project for producing 1.7 million tons per year of methanol and related olefins was held. The last major production unit of this project completed its construction tasks successfully, transitioning from the construction phase to the preparation phase for operation; this marked the point at which all of the project’s main production units entered the commissioning stage. On December 27, 2018, the 350,000-ton/year polypropylene unit of China An Coal Chemical’s coal-to-methanol and olefin conversion project was successfully completed, with SEI of Sinopec Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. acting as the general contractor ； On December 26, the purification unit for the project, constructed by Sinopec Nanjing Engineering, was successfully completed and handed over to CCCC ； On November 28, the air separation unit of the project was fully completed; it has now entered the phase of joint commissioning and trial operation with feedstock introduced ； On November 20, the polyethylene unit of the Zhongan Coal Chemical Project, which was constructed under the general contract of Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Company, was completed and handed over ； On October 31, the methanol synthesis and sulfur recovery units of the Zhongan Coal Chemical Project, which were under the general contracting of Sinopec Nanjing Engineering Company, were successfully completed and handed over ； On the morning of October 28, the gasification unit of Zhongan Coal Chemical, constructed by Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Company, was handed over. It utilizes the original patent developed by Sinopec and East China University of Science and Technology, namely the \"Single-nozzle cold-wall pulverized coal pressurized gasification technology\" (SE-Eastern Furnace). The 1.7 million tons per year coal-to-methanol and converted olefins project of Zhongan United Coal Chemical Co., Ltd. is a key construction project of Sinopec and Anhui Province. The core process of the project utilizes S-MTO patented technology owned by Sinopec, while the gasification unit employs SE-Eastern Furnace technology also owned by Sinopec. Using coal from the Zhujixi mine as raw material, methanol and converted olefins (LDPE/PP), ethylene glycol (MEG) and other products are produced. Sinopec Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. is responsible for the overall management of the design, procurement, and construction of the MTO/OCC and PP units in this project, as well as six supporting facilities including the control room and 110 kV substation ； Sinopec Ningbo Engineering Co., Ltd. is responsible for the design and construction of the gasification unit for the contracted project ； Design and construction of the air separation unit, purification unit, and circulating water system for Sinopec’s Nanjing engineering contracting project. As a base for the automotive and home appliance industries, Anhui has a strong demand for raw materials used in the production of olefin-based chemical products. In the future, the addition of Zhongan United Chemical Products will help fill the gap in demand for chemical raw materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene in the surrounding markets.