【Major Industrial Equipment in the Chemical Industry】251 – Domestic production of semi-ammonia-rich liquid pumps for high-sulfur gas fields achieved
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Red May for chemical industry workers! Reply reward! ---------------------------------------------- The past decade has been a period of rapid development in 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 discuss these topics together; let’s cheer for Made in China and support the development of chemical processing equipment! In December 2021, the domestically developed semi-amine-rich liquid pump, developed under the leadership of Sinopec Puguang Branch, was successfully installed at the third combined unit of the natural gas purification plant, with operation scheduled to begin by the end of the month. The semi-rich amine liquid pump is a key device in the purification process; its role is to transport the semi-rich amine liquid, which has lost its energy in the exhaust gas absorption tower, to the primary absorption tower for regeneration, thereby restoring its ability to remove toxins. It is understood that when the Puguang gas field was put into operation, 24 semi-ammonium liquid pumps with high safety factors were purchased from foreign companies. However, as the gas field continued to operate at high capacity, these delicate equipment began to develop problems one after another. In 2013, during maintenance work on the combined units, technicians at the natural gas purification plant discovered corrosion and perforations in the volute of the semi-ammonia-rich liquid pump in the fifth combined unit. In 2016, the energy accumulator of the mechanical seal for the semi-ammonia-rich liquid pump in the third combined unit suddenly burst. In 2017, technicians discovered that the semi-ammonia-rich liquid pumps in the second and sixth combined units were severely corroded... These pumps began to fail more frequently, resulting in high additional costs for purchase and maintenance at the Puguang gas field, while also posing a serious threat to safe and efficient production. At the end of 2017, Sinopec Group officially designated the project of \"developing domestic high-pressure multi-stage centrifugal pumps for natural gas purification units\" as a key initiative under the 13th Five-Year Plan, assigning it to the Puguang Gas Field for implementation.
“There are thousands of internal components in semi-rich amine liquid pumps, making it extremely difficult to overcome the technical challenges involved; this is the first time such work is being carried out in China. ”said Shang Jianfeng, deputy manager of Puguang Branch. Experts from the Puguang branch held several consultations and decided to address both the symptoms and the root causes. The Puguang branch makes full use of methods such as \"assessment mechanisms\" and \"Party member-led problem-solving\" to further enhance the sense of responsibility among its staff, and to understand the behavior of this equipment under various operating conditions. The technical staff identified the optimal operating parameters for the semi-ammonia-rich liquid pump, and compiled a \"Standardized Management Manual for Equipment Operation, Inspection, and Maintenance.\" Contractors, operation workshops, and maintenance stations carry out inspections at different levels, while simultaneously implementing \"preventive maintenance\" measures. The stability of this equipment has been significantly improved; the failure rate has decreased by 70%, and annual maintenance costs have been reduced by 1.5 million yuan. The Puguang Branch, in collaboration with well-known domestic enterprises, established several task force teams. After conducting a comprehensive analysis of the properties of the process fluids and the operating conditions on site, the tasks were broken down step by step according to the specialized areas of each task force team. It is understood that since the project was approved, each task force has established a reverse schedule and entered a \"focused work mode,\" determined to overcome the challenges as quickly as possible. Especially in addressing the problem of frequent failure of mechanical seals, the research team considered various factors such as improving the circulation of the sealing fluid, optimizing the compensating rings, and enhancing the interchangeability of wear-prone components. After hundreds of tests, they developed a domestically produced double-face mechanical seal with excellent seismic resistance, overcoming the industry-wide challenge of providing better compensation for rotor component vibration and verticality errors, and thus extending the service life of mechanical seals. After three years of continuous efforts, all the challenges were overcome one by one, and the semi-ammonia liquid pump was successfully developed domestically. Field tests have shown that the instrument parameters, process parameters, and sealing performance of the shafting systems for domestically produced semi-ammonium rich liquid pumps are all at the leading level in the industry, allowing them to fully replace the original imported equipment. “The Puguang gas field will further strengthen its management, develop management methods that are better suited to actual production conditions as soon as possible, and provide more technical support to other domestic refining and chemical enterprises. ”Shang Jianfeng said.
On July 2, 2021, the project titled “Development of Domestic Semi-ammonia-rich liquid pumps for high-sulfur natural gas purification units,” carried out by Shenyang Blower Group Petrochemical Pump Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Petrochemical Pump Company”), a subsidiary under China National Automation Group, passed the evaluation for scientific and technological achievements. The third-party professional institution for evaluating scientific and technological achievements, Zhongke Hechuang (Beijing) Scientific and Technological Achievements Evaluation Center, conducted an evaluation of the project in Shenyang in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s \"Measures for the Evaluation of Science and Technology\", following the standards and procedures for evaluating such achievements, and upholding the principles of science, independence, objectivity, and fairness. The expert committee for evaluating these achievements was composed of experts such as Zhao Guixia, a professor-level senior engineer and deputy director at the Shenyang Pump Research Institute; Hou Jihai, a senior engineer and chief engineer at Shenyang Sankē Nuclear Power Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd.; Zhang Bo, a researcher at the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Li He, a professor at Northeastern University; Zhao Haifeng, a professor-level senior engineer and deputy director of a **key laboratory at North Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd.; Luo Heping, a senior engineer at Shenyang Machine Tool (Group) Co., Ltd.; and Gao Yifei, an associate professor at Shenyang University of Technology. After evaluation by experts, it was determined that the results of the project \"Development of domestically produced semi-ammonia-enriched liquid pumps for high-sulfur natural gas purification units\" feature advanced design, reasonable structure, and appropriate material selection, meeting the technical specifications and user requirements. Key innovation: An independently developed model stage suitable for field operating conditions (low flow rate, high head) with a wide range of high efficiency, which significantly reduces the power consumption of the unit and greatly improves its cavitation resistance ； Optimize the structure of the water inlet chamber for the core package to ensure that the flow areas on both sides of the dual channels are equal, resulting in similar liquid flow velocities and thus stable and reliable operation of the unit ； By utilizing surface strengthening technology for ultra-small clearance seals, cobalt-based alloys are laser-clad on the inner surface of the housing seal ring, the outer surface of the impeller seal ring, and the surface of the balancing device, thereby enhancing the scratch resistance of these seal rings and balancing device. This equipment has been successfully applied in the natural gas purification plant of the Puguang Gas Field, operating stably with reliable performance. It has enabled the substitution of imported products, yielding significant economic and social benefits. This product fills a gap in the domestic market; its overall technical specifications are at the advanced level of similar international products, giving it broad application prospects.