【Haichuan Project Updates】CNOOC Huizhou Petrochemical’s 400,000 tons per year gasoline etherification plant project has commenced construction

(Zhang Yifeng, Reporter Zhao Xiaoming) On July 25, after a day of trial production, once the methanol content in the etherified light gasoline met the required standards, the plant entered a stable operating state. Jinzhou Petrochemical’s newly built light gasoline etherification facility with an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons achieved successful commissioning on its first attempt. The 400,000-ton-per-year catalytic light gasoline etherification unit at Jinzhou Petrochemical uses the LNE-3 process technology developed independently by China National Petroleum Corporation. It utilizes hydrogenated and desulfurized catalytic light gasoline along with methanol as raw materials; under the action of catalysts, it synthesizes C5 and C6 ethers. This unit is crucial for increasing the octane number of the gasoline components produced in the plant as well as the yield of higher-octane gasoline. Construction on this project began in September 2016. Jinzhou Petrochemical allocated various resources carefully, coordinated with technology providers, designers, and contractors, and ensured strict control over project quality ； \"Three inspections and four determinations\" were carried out in advance at the site, resulting in a 100% correction rate for the identified issues. After 10 months of intensive construction, it was successfully completed on June 30, 2017. Once the facility is completed and put into operation, it will bring significant economic benefits to Jinzhou Petrochemical through the adjustment of the gasoline product mix and quality improvements.

Before August 8, 2013, the catalytic light gasoline etherification (LNE) technology developed by the Petroleum Processing Research Institute together with Lanzhou Petrochemical Company, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), and East China Survey and Design Institute passed the evaluation of achievements conducted by the China National Petroleum Science and Technology Evaluation Center. Experts believe that the total conversion rate of tertiary carbon olefins and the increase in the octane number of catalytic gasoline achieved international advanced levels; they agree to approve the evaluation and recommend that industrial trials be carried out as soon as possible. The catalytic light gasoline etherification (LNE) technology, developed under the leadership of the China Petroleum and Petrochemical Research Institute, involves the creation of catalysts capable of selectively removing dienes through hydrogenation and alkenes through isomerization from catalytic light gasoline, thereby forming a catalytic light gasoline etherification process that utilizes \"two reactors and one tower\". Pilot test results show that this technology can reduce the diene content in catalyzed light gasoline to below 100 μg/g, achieve an isomerization rate of 3-methyl-1-butene of over 70%, increase the total amount of tertiary alkenes, and reduce the amount of monoenes by less than 3 percentage points. The 1.2 million tons per year gasoline quality improvement project at Hohhot Petrochemical Company plans to use LNE technology to build a 300,000 tons per year catalytic light gasoline etherification unit. Catalytic etherification of light gasoline is an effective supplementary technique for upgrading gasoline quality. It utilizes the tertiary alkene compounds in gasoline to undergo an etherification reaction with methanol to produce corresponding ether compounds, thereby reducing the olefin content in gasoline, increasing its octane rating, and lowering its vapor pressure; at the same time, it converts low-value methanol into high-value components for gasoline.

2016-05-26 11:01 International Online Recently, the 400,000-ton light gasoline etherification plant of Daqing Refining and Chemical Company came online. The light gasoline etherification unit was constructed to meet the requirements for upgrading gasoline quality, to address the issue of high olefin content in gasoline, and to ensure that all gasoline products produced meet the National V quality standards. (Reporter/Photographer: Su Qiang)

According to China Petroleum Network, on October 29, the 500,000-ton-per-year light gasoline etherification unit at Guangxi Petrochemical Company completed the intermediate handover successfully, following confirmation by all three parties involved. The facility utilizes the \"light gasoline catalytic distillation deep etherification technology\" package developed by Kerry Company. It was EPC-general contracted by the East China Design Branch of China National Petroleum Engineering Corporation, with CNPC Seventh Construction Company undertaking the construction work, and Jilin Mengxi Project Management Co., Ltd. responsible for supervision. Since the groundbreaking on March 23, 2015, all the parties involved in the project have overcome various difficulties such as the rainy season and extreme heat, and successfully completed the construction. Once the facility is put into operation, it will enable the conversion of low-value methanol into high-value gasoline, while also ensuring that all the gasoline produced by Guangxi Petrochemical meets the quality standards for National V vehicle gasoline, thus achieving both improved efficiency and environmental protection.

Significant progress made in the production of National V gasoline at Dushanzi Petrochemical; 200,000 tons per year capacity catalytic light gasoline etherification unit comes online 2015-09-26 18:32 Yaxin Network. Original title: Significant progress made in the production of National V gasoline at Dushanzi Petrochemical; 200,000 tons per year capacity catalytic light gasoline etherification unit comes online. According to Yaxin Network (reporters Liu Zhaoyang and Zhao Jianshuang), at 11 a.m. on September 24, the construction of Dushanzi Tianli Industrial Group’s 200,000 tons per year capacity catalytic light gasoline etherification unit began. This unit will provide the raw materials needed for Dushanzi Petrochemical Company to produce 93-octane gasoline that meets National V standards. The total investment in the project is 150 million yuan, and it utilizes an advanced integrated technology of \"etherification reaction + catalytic distillation reaction\". Carrying out an etherification reaction using light gasoline (LCN) and the raffinate components of light fractions can effectively reduce the olefin content in the etherified gasoline components, resulting in gasoline components with high octane numbers and low vapor pressures. It also enables the conversion of methanol, which is relatively inexpensive, into gasoline products with high added value. The project is scheduled to be completed and put into operation in September 2016; it will effectively improve the quality of catalytic light gasoline produced by Dushanbe Petrochemical Company and facilitate the production of cleaner gasoline. It represents one of the key components of the overall strategy for upgrading the products manufactured by this company.

Introduction to the gasoline etherification process: The gasoline etherification unit facilitates the reaction of olefins present in light gasoline from catalytic cracking – primarily active olefins such as isopentene and isohexene – with methanol to produce ethers (components with high octane number), thereby yielding automotive gasoline with a low olefin content and high octane rating. In recent years, gasoline etherification technology in China has developed rapidly, but it is still in the pilot stage at present, with no industrial production facilities available. Research and production of etherification abroad began early; the world’s first industrial unit for etherifying light gasoline was put into operation in 1986 at the second oil plant in Wörth, Germany. To date, several companies abroad possess this process technology, with each company’s approach having its own characteristics. Their common feature is that they all involve processes such as the separation of light and heavy gasoline, selective hydrogenation, etherification, and product separation. Currently, there are three companies abroad that possess mature typical etherification process technologies: FORTUM, UOP, and CDTECH.

(1) The NExTAME process of Finnish company Fortum: The raw material for the NExTAME process is the C5–C7 (32–100°C) fraction of FCC light gasoline. The process flow includes 1 light gasoline separation tower, 1 selective hydrogenation reactor, 3 etherification reactors, and 1 distillation tower equipped with a side stream for extracting the azeotrope formed by methanol and C5/C6 compounds. After selective hydrogenation pretreatment, the raw materials are fed into the etherification reactor for reaction. Following the reaction, they go into a distillation tower; the unreacted C5 and C6 olefins along with methanol are extracted from the side streams of the tower and sent back to the etherification reactor for further reaction. At the top of the tower is a small amount of an azeotrope of C4 and methanol. By mixing the distillates from the bottom and top of the tower, the etherified light gasoline is obtained.