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Shaanxi Blower’s new generation of 100,000-class air separation compressor units have been successfully tested! Author/Source: Gasification World Date: 2022-05-17 Clicks: 6 On May 16, the compressor unit designed for the new type of 100,000 Nm3/h class air separation plant featuring a \"3H axial flow + centrifugal\" configuration, which possesses independent intellectual property rights in China, was successfully tested at Xi’an Shanggu Power Co., Ltd. This represents another upgrade and innovation in large-scale air separation compressor technology by Shaanxi Gas Turbine Power, following the innovative development and successful trial operation of the first generation of 100,000 Nm3/h class air separation compressors 10 years ago. The resulting compressors reach a level that is leading in China and advanced on the international scale, marking a new breakthrough in the localization of key technical equipment. “6+1” consists of 6 stages of axial flow blades and 1 stage of centrifugal impeller ； “3H” refers to a high single-stage average pressure ratio, high efficiency, and high blade reliability. “We have adopted the 3H high-performance airfoil technology with a high pressure ratio, high reliability, and high efficiency in the axial flow section ； The centrifugal section utilizes upgraded basic centrifugal stage technology. At the same time, by fully integrating CFD numerical simulation techniques with experimental research methods, the capabilities in design and development as well as experimentation have been further enhanced. ”Lin Manxiang, a leading technical expert at Shaanxi Blower, said that this unit features significant advantages such as a small number of stages, a compact structure, high reliability, excellent overall operational efficiency, as well as reduced size and weight. It is estimated that a single power unit can save over 6 million kWh of electricity per year, reduce the use of 5,900 tons of standard coal, and cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 15,500 tons. This air separation unit, designated AEZ6+1 and rated at 100,000 Nm3/h, has recently passed the mechanical performance and thermodynamic performance tests conducted by Hefei General Machinery and Electrical Products Testing Institute and the **Compressor Refrigeration Equipment Quality Supervision and Inspection Center. Li Jinrong, deputy director of the Compressor and Separator Testing Laboratory at the center, explained that the unit operates stably, with all parameters such as flow rate, pressure, and efficiency meeting the design specifications, and complying with or exceeding relevant international standards such as API617. The compression units used in air separation plants are core and critical equipment widely employed in industries such as petrochemicals, deep coal processing, fertilizers, and metallurgy. They serve as essential driving equipment, especially in facilities for coal-to-gas, coal-to-oil, coal-to-hydrogen, coal-to-olefins, coal-to-ethylene glycol production within deep coal processing, as well as in steelmaking processes in the metallurgical sector. Air separation compression units are key equipment for supplying the oxygen required for the production of raw materials in the energy and chemical industries, as well as instrument air and nitrogen. They have a significant impact on the energy consumption metrics of entire air separation plants, and represent one of the technical barriers to achieving green, low-carbon, and high-quality development in industries such as petrochemicals, coal processing, fertilizer production, and metallurgy. As early as 2012, Shaanxi Gas Turbine Power developed China’s first large-scale air separation compressor of the 100,000 Nm3/h class and completed tests on the prototype. The second-generation axial-flow + centrifugal composite large-scale air separation compressor with a capacity of 100,000 Nm3/h is an upgraded version resulting from SHANGU’s continuous commitment to technological innovation through system integration and optimization. Shanxi Gas has driven a series of significant technological innovations in the field of air separation. Its independently developed series of fully domestic air separation units offer comprehensive solutions for all aspects of this industry, covering oxygen production systems with capacities ranging from 10,000 to 150,000 Nm3/h. Currently, SHANGGU’s market performance in the air separation unit sector amounts to 328 units, with domestic units accounting for nearly 80% of the market share. Among them, large air separation units of 80,000 class and above are widely used in domestic and international coal chemical, oil and gas chemical, and other fields. On that day, industry users and representatives from design institutes visited the test site of Shaanxi Gas’s entirely new air separation compressor unit with a capacity of 100,000 Nm3/h. Shanxi Gas Turbine signed a relevant agreement with a client; entirely new air separation compressors with a capacity of 100,000 Nm3/h will be used in fields such as the deep processing of coal. It is understood that as a provider of system solutions and services in the field of distributed energy, Shangdu has innovatively developed over 12,000 sets of high-efficiency energy-saving equipment, which are widely used in industries such as petroleum, chemicals, coal chemistry, and metallurgy. In recent years, in particular, Shaanxi Gas Turbine has seized the opportunities for industry integration, clustering, larger-scale development, and greener practices. It has continued to carry out research and development on ethylene production units, and the technical specifications for its 1–1.5 million tons per year ethylene production facilities fall at an internationally advanced level. The compression units used in Shaanxi Blower’s large-scale ammonia synthesis plants, large-scale nitric acid production units, and large-scale PTA facilities are continuously upgraded technologically, reaching international advanced levels. Meanwhile, Shaanxi Gear has continued to innovate in the field of ultra-large axial flow compressors. It developed 3H high-pressure ratio axial flow compressor technology, successfully created the world’s largest and most advanced AV140 axial flow compressor, and established an experimental research platform for the performance of basic stages of axial flow compressors, featuring high efficiency, high performance, and high reliability. This has ensured its leadership in axial flow compressor and air separation unit technologies, providing strong support for the continuous improvement of domestic large-scale high-end equipment technologies. Focusing on cutting-edge technologies related to the goals of carbon neutrality, Shaanxi Gas Turbine Co. holds a significant advantage in the field of compressed air energy storage. It possesses three core technologies essential for this sector: compression unit technology, expansion generator set technology, and heat storage and exchange technology. For the entire lifecycle of compressed air energy storage systems, it offers customers \"professionalized + integrated\" system solutions across the grid side, power generation side, and user side.