Hubei Fertilizer ensures a seamless supply of ethylene glycol products

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Hubei Fertilizer Ensures a Seamless Supply of Ethylene Glycol Products Author/Source: Sinopec News Network Date: February 25, 2020 Clicks: 23 Recently, the Wanjiang 66 cargo ship, loaded with 1,200 tons of ethylene glycol, set off from the dock of Hubei Fertilizer Company and headed for Yizheng Chemical Fibers, where it will be used in the production of materials for important medical and protective equipment. Ethylene glycol is an important basic organic raw material in the petrochemical industry, primarily used in combination with PTA to produce polyesters and polyester fibers. It is widely employed in the manufacture of medical protective products such as protective clothing, medical gauze, mask interiors, and wound dressings. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hubei Fertilizer has focused on ensuring the safety of its employees and strengthening collective prevention measures. At the same time, it has worked to improve the coordination between the production and sales of ethylene glycol, thereby ensuring a steady supply of raw materials for key medical and protective equipment used downstream. Since January 22, the company has shipped over 9,900 tons of ethylene glycol products to support the prevention and control of COVID-19. To ensure a balance between production and sales, the company reduced its inventory of ethylene glycol products to a minimum before the holiday period, thereby maximizing available storage capacity. It also adhered to the principle of producing based on sales volume, reporting daily on product inventory and sales figures, and adjusting production levels accordingly to avoid pressure from rising inventory levels. They use video surveillance systems to monitor the production process of the equipment in real time, enabling precise control over production and optimization of system operations; they strictly regulate parameters such as pressure, temperature, and liquid level to ensure optimal operating conditions and minimize material and energy consumption ； Insist on holding daily end-of-shift meetings and shift handover meetings, keep a close eye on the key aspects and weak points of production, identify and address deficiencies, and ensure follow-up action ； By utilizing real-time data systems and EM system information, the efficiency of responding to process abnormalities and equipment failures is improved; potential issues are resolved without delay, ensuring that the installation can operate successfully at low loads, with stability and optimal performance. They monitor in real time the trends in the data from the ethylene glycol online analyzer, and in combination with manual sampling analyses conducted every 4 hours, they closely track and compare the analysis results from the 6 sampling points to ensure that the important quality indicator, the UV value, meets the required standards; this guarantees that the industrial-grade polyester ethylene glycol has a purity of 99.9%, thus ensuring high quality and sufficient quantity. In response to adverse factors such as traffic restrictions and disrupted transportation due to the pandemic, the company paid close attention to the orders and delivery routes of its chemical sales branch in Central China, accelerated the pace of product shipment, and arranged for 5 cargo ships to load the products at the company’s dock. During the low-water season, the water depth is shallow, forcing ships that come to the company to load ethylene glycol to reduce their cargo volume, which affects the product delivery schedule. They urgently consulted the local relevant departments to establish a fast-track process and issue permits for passage. At the same time, refine each stage of production, filling, and transportation to ensure seamless integration ； The shipping staff are on standby at all times to speed up the delivery process, ensure smooth production operations, maintain a steady supply for downstream markets, and strive to minimize the impact of the pandemic on business activities.