300-ton thermal regeneration tower for the Baling Petrochemical caprolactam relocation project

The tower is 65 meters tall, 4 meters in diameter, and weighs about 300 tons. Two crawler cranes, with capacities of 800 tons and 400 tons respectively, are used as the main crane and the auxiliary crane for lifting it. It is understood that the project plans to lift 173 large-scale pieces of equipment, and 51 of them have been lifted so far; the thermal regeneration tower is the largest piece of equipment to be lifted to date.

In September 2020, the overall design for the relocation, upgrading, and transformation project of the caprolactam industry chain at Baling Petrochemical was approved by the headquarters. The approval grants general consent to the overall project framework, the scale of construction, and the product design; it authorizes the development of a caprolactam production chain with an annual capacity of 600,000 tons. It also approves the change in the implementation plan, from constructing the project in two phases as originally planned to carrying out the construction in parallel phases. The total investment in the project for the relocation, upgrading, and transformation of the caprolactam industry chain amounts to 13.95 billion yuan, making it the largest investment project in the history of Baling Petrochemical. The project is located on the north side of the Hunan Yueyang Green Chemical Industry Park. Its construction scope covers the entire industrial chain, from coal-to-hydrogen production to polyamide manufacturing. The process units to be built utilize new technologies developed by Sinopec, including those related to ** and hydrogen peroxide. This project has been included by the headquarters in the list of key projects for 2020, and it is also listed as a key project in Hunan Province as well as one of the \"Five 100\" major industrial projects. On the basis of the approval of the project’s overall design, on September 17, the headquarters held a coordination meeting for the project’s basic design, to coordinate with various design firms regarding the implementation of the project’s design requirements, design schedule, and planning for the ordering of long-term-use equipment. The meeting was also used to ensure proper coordination between technology development and design, as well as between design and procurement/construction activities, and to outline the key tasks for the next phase. It is reported that 95% of the land grading work for this project has been completed, and trial pile driving and soil investigation have been carried out; the bidding process for foundation treatment has also been finalized. At present, the company is accelerating the specific planning for the project construction, aiming to have it completed and put into operation by December 2022.