【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Domestic production of steam generators (waste heat boilers) for natural gas hydrogen production at 100,000 Nm3/h from 2012 to 2020

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At the outset of the 100,000 Nm3/h natural gas hydrogen production project at Sinopec Tianjin Branch, the leadership of Tianhua Research Institute attached great importance to it and actively promoted the localization of the conversion gas steam generator, a key equipment component. A dedicated working group was formed to handle the design and technical development aspects, and as a result, the company was able to win the contract for this important localization project amid fierce international bidding competition. The design and supply contract was signed on May 9, 2019. To meet the user’s urgent deadline and complete this design and supply task on time, with high quality and in full volume, various departments at Tianhua Institute—including design, procurement, and manufacturing—worked together efficiently. The production workshops operated at full capacity, with all workstations collaborating closely. The General Engineering Design Institute and its Tianjin branch provided active cooperation: a kick-off meeting was held on June 12, 2019, to address the key technical issues related to the plan ； The construction drawings were completed and delivered for production on July 10, 2019 ； The staff at Tianhua Yuan’s manufacturing facility in Nanjing remained determined, unafraid of challenges, and worked tirelessly, managing to reduce the originally 8-month production cycle to 6 months. It passed the joint inspection on January 9, 2020, by Sinopec’s Materials and Equipment Department, Sinopec Tianjin Branch, Sinopec Luoyang Engineering Co., Ltd., Hefei Tongan Supervision Company, and other relevant parties ； On March 16, 2020, delivery was made to the customer’s site despite the impact of the pandemic. In June 2020, the steam generator (waste heat boiler) for natural gas-to-hydrogen conversion, with a capacity of 100,000 Nm3/h, which was designed and supplied by Tianhua Institute for Sinopec Tianjin Branch, was installed on site; thus, the entire hydrogen production facility was completed.