【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】2000–2024: Localization of Molten Salt Electric Heaters in Lanzhou Petrochemical’s Acrylic Acid Plant

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Safety first. Prevention first: Let’s give praise and support to the achievements made in China’s chemical industry in terms of technology and equipment. **********************【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Forum Website) ***************** Success achieved in replacing imported equipment with domestic alternatives at Lanzhou Petrochemical Company. According to Sinochem News, on November 18th, the acrylic production unit at Lanzhou Petrochemical resumed normal operation after maintenance. The newly installed 24 sets of electric heating elements in the molten salt electric heaters H-1102 worked properly, with all parameters meeting the requirements for production. This marks a success in the effort to replace imported equipment with domestic alternatives at this company. Molten salt electric heaters are key heating equipment in the production process of acrylic plants. Over the 20 years since the acrylic production plant began operating, failures and damages to the electric heating tubes have increased year by year, resulting in low thermal efficiency of these heaters and affecting the normal operation of the acrylic production plant. The components of this equipment are all supplied by foreign parties, resulting in issues such as long delivery times and high production costs. “The long procurement cycle and high costs of imported components affect the production pace. ”Liu Yinsong, deputy director of Production Department 3 in the Electrical Engineering Unit of Lanzhou Petrochemical Mechanical and Electrical Maintenance Center, said, “Rather than being at someone else’s mercy, it’s better to take action ourselves and overcome this challenge!” ” To address this challenge, the Mechanical, Electrical and Instrumentation Operations Center promptly established a task force to explore the best ways to transform \"foreign-made equipment\" into \"Chinese-made products\". At the beginning of 2024, the domestic substitution of the molten salt electric heater H-1102 in the acrylic plant was put on the agenda. During the process of overcoming these challenges, the center developed and implemented domestic substitution plans, investigated and evaluated the performance and application conditions of similar domestic equipment, and carried out the substitution in accordance with the standards related to equipment performance, to ensure that the performance of domestic equipment was at least on par with the cost-effectiveness of imported equipment. From scheme demonstration and safety analysis to on-site verification, the research team repeated measurements and calculations multiple times. On November 15, after the 6 newly installed electric heating control cabinets were powered on, they carried out tests on the control circuits of the electric heaters as well as operation tests, and conducted remote start-up trials using the DCS auxiliary control panel. On November 16, the electric heater was fully tested after being connected to the power supply, and its heating performance far exceeded that of foreign products and technologies; it not only helped increase productivity but also contributed to energy savings and emission reduction.