【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】China’s First Integrated Turbine-Driven Pump from 2012 to 2023

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Looking at the development of chemical technology over the past decade, we celebrate the prosperity and strength of modern China. This is just a starting point to encourage further discussion among everyone; with your participation, things will become even more interesting. [Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Equipment] – continuous updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions at https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html. Prevention first, life above all. ----------------------------------------- On October 29, 2023, the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association organized experts to conduct an evaluation of the technological achievements related to the project \"Use of hydraulic turbines for utilizing residual pressure and driving processes in low-temperature methanol washing semi-poor liquid streams\", jointly developed by Jiangxi Xinlianxin Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and Dalian Liohua Energy Pump Co., Ltd., in Jiujiang, Jiangxi. The appraisal expert group, led by Gu Zongqin, president of the China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association, unanimously agreed that this technology and process are advanced, operate stably, and offer significant economic and environmental benefits. In particular, the integrated turbine-driven pump is the first of its kind in China, and the overall technology reaches a leading level in the country. Agree to pass the appraisal. It is also recommended that this technology be further promoted and applied. It is reported that the main technical innovations of this project are as follows: first, the equipment is capable of achieving full energy recovery under eight different operating conditions. Secondly, an integrated sulfur-free and sulfur-containing methanol-rich turbine is used to directly drive the pump. Third, reliable system control is employed to achieve the intrinsical safety of the unit. 　　It is reported that the project was launched in August 2021, construction was completed in January 2023, and it was successfully commissioned on February 21. Based on the current operating conditions, calculations show that the designed energy-saving targets can also be achieved under the other 7 operating conditions. In addition to the energy-saving metrics, all other operational parameters of the hydraulic turbine unit are also within the design specifications, resulting in an overall energy savings of 922.3 kW/h. This unit has been in continuous operation at Jiangxi Xinlianxin Company for 250 days. The operation results show that a total energy savings of 5.53 million kWh has been achieved, yielding an economic benefit of 4.15 million yuan (at an electricity price of 0.75 yuan/kWh). Additionally, 1,686 tons of standard coal were saved, and 4,409 tons of carbon dioxide were reduced. 　The environmental benefits of this project are significant; as the units in the project utilize the residual pressure of the process medium to drive pumps and for other purposes, there is no additional energy consumption in this process. The electricity generated from this residual pressure can directly reduce the amount of electricity produced by coal-fired units. At the same time, it reduces coal consumption in coal-fired power plants and cuts greenhouse gas emissions resulting from coal-based power generation. Based on the assumption that 1 kW of electricity generated saves 286.8 g of standard coal, and that this results in a reduction of 0.75 kg of CO₂ emissions, with 8,000 hours of operation per year, it is possible to save 2,116 tons of standard coal equivalent, as well as reduce CO₂ emissions by 5,530 tons. 　　The low-temperature methanol washing purification process: the effect of pressure reduction by pressure valves on the methanol-rich stream. On one hand, pressure reduction via these valves results in a loss of the cooling capacity associated with that methanol. On the other hand, the gas that is released or flashed after depressurization using rich methanol results in different flow speeds before and after the pipeline, which reduces the stability of the pipeline system; recovering this energy can have an adverse effect on the stability of the equipment. Its energy-saving technical solution differs from the traditional approach in which equipment is designed and used based solely on process parameters. It features 8 different process operating conditions, resulting in a wide range of flow rates and numerous operational scenarios; this means that conventional supporting equipment is unable to ensure efficient operation under such a wide variety of conditions.