The first commissioning of Zhejiang Baling Hengyi’s project for upgrading the traditional coal-based hydrogen production process and improving the combined facility for producing synthetic ammonia as a by-product was successful

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Successful First Commissioning of Zhejiang Baling Hengyi’s Project to Upgrade Traditional Coal-based Hydrogen Production and Improve the Combined Plant for Synthetic Ammonia Production; Author/Source: Gasification World; Date: December 7, 2022; Clicks: 22. On December 6, 2022, Zhejiang Baling Hengyi Nylon Monomer Co., Ltd. successfully completed the first commissioning of its project to upgrade traditional coal-based hydrogen production and enhance the combined plant for synthetic ammonia production, resulting in high-quality products. This project makes use of the existing land and production facilities on site to invest in the construction of a production facility capable of producing 240,000 tons of synthetic ammonia per year and 30,000 standard cubic meters of hydrogen per hour. The air separation unit employs a new type of internal compression process, while the gasification unit uses a green and clean pressurized semi-boiler gasification process that recovers waste heat. The purification units utilize advanced green and recyclable processes such as isothermal shift technology, as well as a dual-purification system involving low-temperature methanol washing and liquid nitrogen washing. The ammonia synthesis unit adopts a radial synthesis process, and advanced intelligent monitoring technologies are used to ensure efficient operation, resulting in an annual production capacity of 240,000 tons of synthetic ammonia and 30,000 standard cubic meters of hydrogen per hour. Project Review: On November 22, 2022, the air separation unit supplied qualified oxygen and nitrogen. On November 23, 2022, the first feeding of the MaWei furnace in the gasification unit was successful. On November 25, 2022, the purification unit produced qualified hydrogen. On November 28, 2022, the catalyst in the synthesis tower began the heating and reduction process. On December 6, 2022, the entire process was successfully completed. Once the project for producing high-quality liquid ammonia is put into operation, it will be able to effectively reduce the unit operating costs and production costs of caprolactam, thereby enhancing the market competitiveness of caprolactam products. At the same time, the project utilizes clean and efficient MaWei furnace gasification technology as well as liquid slag discharge technology, which is beneficial for environmental protection and the comprehensive utilization of resources. It offers significant economic and social benefits, and will serve as a new source of profit growth for the company, contributing more substantially to the high-quality development of the regional economy. Project Overview: The expansion project for Zhejiang Baling Hengyi’s 400,000 tons per year caprolactam production capacity is located in the Linjiang Industrial Park, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Building on the existing 400,000 tons per year caprolactam production facility, this project aims to utilize advanced coal chemical technologies to construct a new hydrogen production unit with a capacity of 50,000 Nm3/h. At the same time, a 300,000 tons per year ammonia production plant as well as an associated air separation unit with a capacity of 60,000 Nm3/h will be built. Total investment: 2,478.85 million yuan. The project is constructed in two phases. In the first phase, the existing benzene hydrogenation process using the cyclohexane method, the ammonium oxime formation process, two-stage rearrangement, and multi-stage purification processes are utilized. By adding some key production equipment to the existing facilities for oximes, caprolactam, coal-derived hydrogen, etc., the technical upgrades necessary to increase the capacity to 300,000 tons per year of caprolactam are carried out ； The second phase of the project utilizes a new benzene hydrogenation process based on cyclohexene, as well as Sinopec’s latest gas-phase rearrangement technology. New production lines for cyclohexene-based processes, ammonia oximation processes, and gas-phase rearrangement for caprolactam are established, along with additional auxiliary facilities to support these operations, thereby enabling an expansion of caprolactam production capacity to 400,000 tons per year.