【Hai Chuan opens his eyes】Give a thumbs up to China’s equipment manufacturing industry! 4,606 tons of raffinate tower installed at Guangdong Petrochemical!

The world’s largest MYQ 5,000-ton gantry crane, developed under the leadership of the First Construction Company of China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation (CPECC), worked together for the first time with the \"world’s most powerful crane\" – the XCMG XGC88000 4,000-ton crawler crane. Over a period of 3 hours and 30 minutes, they successfully lifted a 4,606-ton residue liquid tower into place, setting a new record for the heaviest tower structure ever lifted in Asia and demonstrating China’s capabilities in equipment manufacturing and lifting technology.

The construction scale of the Guangdong Petrochemical Integration project is 20 million tons per year for oil refining, 2.6 million tons per year for aromatics, and 1.2 million tons per year for ethylene. It also includes a crude oil terminal with a capacity of 300,000 tons, as well as a product terminal with a maximum berthing capacity of 100,000 tons. The project covers an area of 953 hectares, and its preliminary cost estimate is 65.4 billion yuan. Among them, the 2.6 million tons per year aromatic compounds complex is currently the largest aromatic compounds processing facility in the world in terms of production capacity; it consists of 689 pieces of equipment, and is characterized by a high degree of thermal integration, numerous high-temperature large-diameter pipelines, many large-scale pieces of equipment, as well as substantial requirements for civil engineering and steel structure construction. Once it is completed and put into operation, it will **reduce China’s reliance on foreign imports for aromatics needs and enhance its self-sufficiency in raw materials.

The distillate tower being lifted this time is a key piece of equipment in the aromatic compounds complex; it is 116 meters tall, which is equivalent to the height of 41 floors； With a diameter of 13.8 meters and a maximum wall thickness of 145 millimeters ； Its lifting capacity is 4,606 tons, equivalent to the weight of over 900 adult African elephants—it is not only the heaviest tower equipment in Asia but also the tallest of its kind. The successful lifting of the residue liquid tower this time has laid a solid foundation for the timely commissioning of the aromatic compounds complex.

To lift such a massive structure as a whole, the crane used must also be exceptionally powerful. The MYQ5000-ton gantry crane is the world’s largest of its kind, developed under the leadership of CPECC First Construction Company. It utilizes internationally advanced full-hydraulic jacking technology for vertical lifting, and served as the \"main lifting device\" in this mission. Responsible for \"lifting the tail\" is the XCMG XGC88000 crawler crane, often regarded as the \"best crane in the world\"; it is also the only 4,000-ton class crawler crane in China to have obtained EU CE certification. It is worth mentioning the main lifting lugs; lifting lugs of 5,000-ton class do not currently exist in **standard specifications**. It was designed and manufactured by CPECC First Construction Company in collaboration with research institutions. Finite element analysis was used to evaluate the strength and stability of the lugs and tower walls based on the theory of thin plates, thereby determining parameters such as the placement of the equipment, the orientation of the lugs, and their diameter. As many as 72 stress monitoring points were installed at the points where the lugs come into contact with the equipment itself, in order to monitor the lifting process on site.

The entire lifting process is made information-based and intelligent, with GPS monitoring, sensor signal transmission, computerized automated operation, and intelligent wireless control used throughout to ensure a safe, smooth process that succeeds on the first attempt. It also generates technical data that can be utilized for lifting large-scale equipment in the future.