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Yan’an Energy Chemicals: Technological Innovation Revitalizes Production Potential Author/Source: Yan’an Petroleum Energy Chemicals Date: 2022-04-26 Clicks: 24 In the packaging warehouse for polyolefin products at Yan’an Energy Chemicals, bags of these products are neatly stacked, waiting to be loaded and shipped across the country. This is as part of the company’s efforts to maximize production of its key product, PE23050. Customers have rated this product as an option that is “comparable in performance to Nordic chemical products, with a better cost-performance ratio.” ” In recent years, Yan’an Energy & Chemical Company has relied on technological innovation to drive high-quality development, continuously increasing efforts in product research and development. By promoting production and expanding its market share, it has seen a rising demand for its high-end products, achieving notable results as a result. The First Prize for Technical Invention awarded by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation, awards from Shaanxi Province’s enterprise \"Three New and Three Small\" innovation competition, the Second Prize for scientific and technological achievements at the group company level, 11 authorized utility model patents, and 1 invention patent… These achievements in scientific and technological innovation paint a picture of how such innovation drives high-quality development. Dedicated to improving the quality and efficiency of its \"core products,\" Yan’an Energy Chemical Company has always aimed to strengthen itself through technology. Its goal is to help its products shed the labels of \"mid-to-low end\" and \"cheap,\" and to move toward higher-end, differentiated, and customized products. In April 2021, the PE23050 material specifically designed for high-density polyethylene pipes produced by this company passed the hydrostatic strength test conducted by the **Chemical Building Materials Testing Center, and a certification report was issued; it thus became the first domestically produced multi-peak PE100 grade pipe material to receive certification from an authoritative institution. This certification has paved the way for PE23050 to establish itself as a brand in the pipe industry; based on an annual production capacity of 350,000 tons of pipe materials, it can generate annual economic benefits of around 17.5 million to 35 million yuan. Recently, the company has independently developed and started trial production of high-quality polypropylene impact-resistant materials specifically designed for use in automobiles, namely K9015, K9820H, and K9829H. It has also produced the polypropylene pipe material PPRT4401, which is widely used in fields such as drinking water supply systems. Additionally, the high-end heat-resistant polyethylene pipe materials YANH3547RT and YNAH4547RT, which have long relied on imports, have been sent to the **Plastic Testing Center for certification. Overcoming difficulties and breaking through the operational \"bottlenecks\": The hexane purification system in high-density polyethylene plants frequently gets clogged, preventing the plants from operating at full capacity to produce pipe materials – a common problem faced by plants using this same production process around the world. Li Zebuo, assistant supervisor of the olefin polymerization team, explained that we sought help from German manufacturers and relevant experts regarding this issue, but to no avail. The research team had to rely on its own efforts, conducting on-site observations, taking samples for testing, and analyzing data. After more than 5 months of effort, they finally resolved the problem by adding a thin steam pipeline, which allowed for precise control of steam injection and prevented secondary reactions within the system, thus effectively avoiding blockages. This technical upgrade cost less than 5,000 yuan, yet it more than doubled the high-load operation cycle of the hexane refining system. The polyethylene plant was able to operate continuously for over 600 days, far exceeding the 4–6 month operation cycle of similar plants in China. In its 2020 annual report, the technology patent holder LyondellBasell of Germany stated that the high-density polyethylene production facility in Yan’an ranks among the best in the world in terms of operational performance. Through continuous technical efforts, the operating cycle of the company’s ACO unit has been extended from less than 40 days initially to 211 days, with the operating load remaining above 95%, and the yield of dienes reaching 55–58% ； The feed load to the polymerization unit of the EPDM plant was increased to 83%, and the continuous stable operation time of the plant was extended from several dozen days to 125 days. Breaking monopolies and achieving self-reliance with outstanding results: It is essential to strive to break foreign monopolies in low-carbon olefin hydroformylation technology, by using domestically produced NORMAX catalysts to regulate the activity and selectivity of the olefin hydroformylation reaction. ”The head of the Technology and Quality Management Department said that from the outset of the efforts to develop domestic catalysts, every member of the team was committed to the goal of enabling Chinese manufacturing to break through foreign technological monopolies and overcome technical barriers. Through continuous efforts, Yan’an Energy Chemical, in collaboration with relevant scientific research institutes, developed bis-phosphite ligands with a new structure, achieving one-pass conversion rates of 99% for propylene and 79% for mixed butylenes. Compared with similar advanced products at home and abroad, the consumption of ligands is reduced by 20%, and the consumption of buffer solutions is also reduced by 20%, achieving an internationally leading level overall. It is reported that this technological achievement, titled \"Development and Application of a Low-Temperature, High-Selectivity Catalytic System for the Hydroformylation of Low-Carbon Olefins,\" won the first prize for technical invention awarded by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation. Through minor adjustments and reforms, the company made careful efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency. It contacted design institutes 11 times, held 9 review meetings, and conducted 4 site inspections; as a result, the design work for 46 projects was completed. Issues such as scheme selection, on-site layout, interface connections, pipe materials, and pressure levels were resolved, ensuring the smooth implementation of all technical improvement projects. According to statistics, a total of 99 technical upgrades and minor improvements were carried out throughout the year. Among them, the 2-PH unit operates membrane separation facilities, while the coal gasification, butanol/2-PH, and natural gas conversion synthesis units operate in optimal coordination; this allows the overall load to operate at over 105%, resulting in annual cost savings of 90 million yuan. A new flare gas recovery compressor has been added, increasing the annual recovery of flare gas by 16 million cubic meters. The ACO unit uses self-produced fuel gas and aromatic gasoline to replace part of the fuel oil, saving 40 million yuan in costs throughout the year. The coal gasification plant successfully underwent modifications to improve the concentration of water-coal slurry; as a result, it can produce an additional 40 million Nm3 of coal-based gas per year. With an investment of less than 60,000 yuan, this measure yields annual savings of 32 million yuan... Through such minor improvement projects, not only are costs reduced and efficiency increased, but these efforts also have a positive impact on product quality, operational performance, and work efficiency. Yan’an Energy Chemicals has utilized innovative approaches to minor improvements to boost productivity.