What are the particularities of coal chemical operations in the cold region of Inner Mongolia?
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Many large-scale coal chemical projects have been established in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. The cold climate poses many difficulties for operations and maintenance, especially at night. I would appreciate it if those of you who have experience on site could share some representative incidents you have encountered. Thank you.
Pay attention to preventing freezing in pipelines, as well as at temperature and level monitoring points; in some cases, electric heating is even required； Also, the steam pipelines need to be protected from freezing and require drainage. It’s not all covered; everyone should participate actively.
In Inner Mongolia, it snows at night in winter. If there are ladders used with equipment that is exposed to the elements, care must be taken to prevent slipping. Also, due to the low temperatures, if the ladders are old, could they become brittle at minus 20 degrees, increasing the risk of accidents?
The most important aspect when operating coal chemical equipment in the harsh cold seasons of the north is freeze protection; temperature points, pressure points, flow meters, level gauges, water pipelines, and steam pipelines are all key areas that need to be protected from freezing. Heat tracing should be installed in advance, an anti-freezing organization should be established, anti-freezing operating procedures should be drafted, and detailed anti-freezing flowcharts should be created. Once winter arrives, regular inspections of all anti-freezing points are necessary to ensure the proper operation of the equipment.
On this issue, I believe the users from the Northeast have the most say. Special attention should be paid to the insulation and anti-freezing of the equipment; furthermore, all moving equipment should be located indoors. Only in this way can one withstand the bitter north winds.
Indeed, in the northern regions, the temperature difference between winter and summer is significant – it can reach 30 degrees in summer, while it drops as low as minus 31 degrees in winter – which poses many challenges and requires additional work during operation. Therefore, proper insulation and heat tracing are very important tasks. Insulation for pipes and equipment, as well as for instrument pressure lead pipes and gauges, must not be neglected in any way. For example, in instruments whose pressure transmitters are exposed to moisture in the medium, if there is any part where heating is not properly provided, or even if heating is present but insulation is lacking, the system will freeze within less than half an hour in winter, resulting in inaccurate readings from the instruments ； In insulation systems, the lack of heat tracing can easily lead to damage to transmitters and other instruments due to freezing. Other actuators and cylinders also need to be equipped with steam or electric heating; otherwise, the cylinders will not be able to function and the valve spools will freeze ； Some pipes will crack uniformly along their axis due to freezing. I am an instrument maintenance technician for a coal gasification project operated by Shenhua in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Last winter, I worked many overtime hours to maintain the instruments in this facility; often, the instruments would freeze up, forcing me to use steam to clear them.
I’m from Inner Mongolia. I want to go back and work there, but I don’t know if they’ll hire me, and I also don’t have any acquaintances there. It’s very troublesome