【Major Equipment in the Chemical Equipment Industry】Domestic production of the quad-exchanger for the 148-styrene plant

Thread Content

Happy May Day! Reply reward! ---------------------------------------------- The past decade has been a period of rapid development for China’s chemical industry, marked by the emergence of many new processes, products, and equipment. There has also been significant progress in China’s chemical processing equipment, which has contributed to the swift advancement of the petrochemical sector. Here, we have compiled some of the achievements and breakthroughs made by Chinese equipment manufacturers in terms of larger-scale production and increased use of domestic equipment. We invite everyone to share their insights and engage in discussions, to cheer for Made in China and to support the development of chemical processing equipment! ******************In June 2021, Maoming Gravity Company held a meeting to initiate the domestic development of the quad-exchanger for the 500,000 tons per year styrene plant using the LUMMUS process, as well as a meeting to launch efforts to address related challenges. In-depth discussions were held on aspects such as the technical approaches and design concepts for the design and manufacture of this equipment, as well as quality control during production. Detailed analyses were conducted on the difficulties involved in design and manufacturing, strategies to overcome them, and opportunities for technological upgrades. This marks the official launch in Maoming of domestic production efforts for the quad-exchanger in Shandong Yulong Petrochemical’s 500,000 tons per year styrene plant equipped with the LUM MUS process. The domestic development of the quad-exchanger for the 500,000 tons per year styrene plant using the LUMMUS process represents the advanced technological level of petrochemical equipment in the world today. The core components of such devices have always relied on imports, and currently they are monopolized by a few foreign suppliers. As these devices become larger and larger, it has become imperative to develop domestic versions of such equipment. Especially given the increasing technical restrictions imposed by countries in Europe and the United States, and against the backdrop of efforts to promote a \"dual circulation\" strategy, it is necessary to boost the development of domestic versions of key equipment and critical technologies in order to break foreign technological monopolies and address the challenges associated with the design and manufacturing of petrochemical equipment that requires high levels of technical expertise. A quad-exchanger is composed of four ultra-large heat exchangers combined together according to specific technical requirements; its total weight exceeds 1,000 tons. The materials used are special, and the high-temperature static pipe joints have specific requirements regarding their microstructure. Its thermal expansion mechanism is unique, which imposes strict demands on the design and structure of the seals. A range of technical challenges related to design and manufacturing must be overcome. After nearly a decade of intensive research efforts and significant investment in resources, Maoming Gravity Company has achieved a series of innovative results as well as numerous proprietary technologies. It has accumulated extensive experience in areas such as sealing under high temperature and pressure conditions, welding of high-temperature and wear-resistant pipe fittings, automated welding of high-performance materials, and integrated assembly of heavy equipment. It has made positive contributions to the localization of core equipment in China’s petrochemical industry, through its work on ethylene cracking furnaces, quenching heat exchangers, polyolefin reactors, and styrene production systems.