【Haichuan’s Best Practices】Jinling Petrochemical optimized its MTBE plant’s steam system and implemented energy-saving upgrades to reduce steam consumption

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In the first quarter, the methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) plant of Jinling Petrochemical reduced its steam consumption by optimizing the steam system and implementing energy-saving upgrades; as a result, the plant’s overall energy consumption dropped by 14.4% on a year-on-year basis, reaching the lowest level in nearly 10 years. 　　Since the beginning of this year, Jinling Petrochemical has established a task force to compare itself with the operating levels of similar advanced facilities as well as their historical best performance metrics. It has conducted in-depth analyses of the issues related to the operation of the steam system and worked on developing energy-saving technologies. By optimizing the heat exchanger network, the heat generated by steam condensate heat exchangers is used to heat the feed to the catalytic distillation tower, resulting in a reduction of steam consumption of about 2 tons per hour. The process flow was also optimized: the waste heat from the S-Zorb unit’s condensate water is now used as a heat source for the raw material preheater, thereby eliminating the need to supplement steam due to insufficient heat supply, which leads to a reduction of steam consumption of 0.5 tons per hour. Additionally, efforts have been made to improve 5S management on site, with problems being identified and addressed promptly to prevent leaks. As a result, steam consumption at the facility decreased by more than 5,500 tons over the first three months of the year.