【Eastern Furnace】China Petrochemical’s first set! Commissioning of gasification unit for the relocation and upgrading project of Baling Petrochemical’s caprolactam production facility

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【Eastern Furnace】China Petrochemical’s first set! Commissioning of the Gasification Unit in Baling Petrochemical’s Caprolactam Production Upgrade Project Author/Source: Gasification World Date: November 28, 2023 Clicks: 12 On November 25, 2023, at the site of the gasification unit as part of Baling Petrochemical’s project to relocate and upgrade its caprolactam production facility with an annual capacity of 600,000 tons, natural gas was successfully introduced into the integrated burner. The operator in the control room pressed the “ignition” button, and the pilot burner ignited the main burner, thereby enabling the successful commissioning of the first gasification furnace in this project. Coal was fed into the furnace for the first time at 12:08. Thus, the gasification unit was successfully started up for the first time. This is Sinopec’s first industrial coal gasification unit to adopt the SE water-coal slurry water-cooled wall technology; it was constructed by Sinopec’s Tenth Construction Company. The gasification unit is the main equipment in the upstream part of the relocation, upgrading, and transformation project for Balin Petrochemical’s caprolactam production chain; it consists of an air separation unit and a gasification unit. In this process, the gasification unit utilizes the SE water-coal slurry gasification technology, developed through a collaboration between Sinopec and East China University of Science and Technology, to produce syngas; this syngas is then used to generate raw materials such as hydrogen and ammonia required for the caprolactam production chain. Compared with traditional water-coal slurry gasification technology, this technique can improve the carbon conversion rate and the composition of the useful gases, offering significant savings in coal and oxygen usage while expanding the range of coal types that can be used as feedstock in gasification units. The gasification unit of this project consists of 3 gasifiers; each gasifier uses 1,500 tons of raw coal per day. There are three units associated with it: slurry preparation, gasification and washing, and slag treatment. The operation mode is \"two in use and one on standby\". The Baling Petrochemical caprolactam industry chain relocation, upgrading, and transformation project utilizes SE water-coal slurry gasification to produce 333,000 tons of liquid ammonia per year, 240,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide, 660,000 tons of sulfuric acid, 600,000 tons of caprolactam per year, and 150,000 tons of polycaprolactam. Project Overview: According to the environmental impact assessment documents published by the Hunan Department of Ecology and Environment, the Baling Petrochemical caprolactam production project involves the construction of a facility with an annual capacity of 600,000 tons of caprolactam. It mainly includes air separation, coal gasification, hydrogen peroxide, **, ammonia oximation, caprolactam, polyamides, and sulfuric acid plants. The caprolactam production units are located in the central part of the plant area, divided into Line A and Line B. Line A and Line B are arranged parallel to each other. Process technology and equipment configuration: Air separation. The scale of the air separation unit is 90,000 m3/h of oxygen. Construction of Line A. Coal-to-hydrogen capacity: 192,000 m3/h (CO+H2). Gas is produced using water-coal slurry, with ammonia synthesis gas and hydrogen generated as by-products for supply to downstream industries. Construction of Line A. The ammonia synthesis plant uses nitrogen and hydrogen from the coal-based hydrogen production unit as raw materials, with an annual output of 333,000 tons of liquid ammonia. Construction of Line A. Hydrogen peroxide is produced using the “slurry-bed palladium-catalyzed anthraquinone process”. Line A is constructed to produce 120,000 tons of hydrogen peroxide per year. The scale and process of the B-line hydrogen peroxide facility are the same as those of the A-line. A total of 240,000 tons per year. The sulfur-based sulfuric acid production utilizes the “two conversions and two absorptions” process, with an annual output of 660,000 tons of 104.5% sulfuric acid. Construction of Line A. Caprolactam is synthesized from raw materials such as benzene, hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia, through processes including esterification, amination (including rearrangement), ammonium sulfate recovery, and caprolactam purification. Line A is constructed to produce 300,000 tons of caprolactam per year. The scale and process of Line B caprolactam are basically the same as those of Line A. A new oxidation **unit** has been added to produce **in-house**, thereby eliminating the need to purchase it from Line A. A total of 600,000 tons per year. Polyamides are produced using caprolactam as a raw material, with an annual output of 150,000 tons of polycaprolactam. Construction of Line A. The total investment in Baling Petrochemical’s project for the relocation, upgrading, and transformation of its caprolactam production chain amounts to 13.95 billion yuan. This project aims to establish a caprolactam production capacity of 600,000 tons per year, covering the entire production chain from coal-to-hydrogen production to polyamide manufacturing. The process equipment used in this project incorporates new technologies developed by Sinopec, including those related to hydrogen peroxide production. This project has been included by the headquarters in the list of key projects for 2020, and it is also listed as a key project in Hunan Province as well as one of the \"Five 100\" major industrial projects. The full name of Baling Petrochemical is Baling Branch of Sinopec Corporation. As a subsidiary of Sinopec, and a large-scale petrochemical complex that integrates oil processing, chemical production, fiber manufacturing, and fertilizer production, Balin Petrochemical is currently the largest producer of SBS, epoxy resins, caprolactam, and other related products in China, with an annual production volume of 4 million tons.