【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】Domestic Production of Butadiene Extraction Gas Compressors from 1981 to 2015
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Witnessing the decade-long rapid development of chemical processing equipment, I admire the prosperity and strength of modern China. Wishing everyone a happy New Year, and may their families enjoy peace and health. I hope this contribution will inspire further participation from others; with you all, Haichuan becomes even better. Everyone is welcome to join in the discussions on this forum. ------------------------------------------------------------------The butadiene screw compressor units are the core equipment in butadiene production facilities. Previously, there were no manufacturers of such compressors in China, so all screw compressors used in these facilities had to be imported from abroad. Imported units not only have high prices, long delivery times, and inadequate after-sales service, but also suffer from significant sealing leaks; generally, they need to be shut down for maintenance and seal replacement after 3 to 6 months of operation. These issues have had a significant impact on the development of the domestic styrene industry. In 2009, commissioned by the Sinopec Office for the Localization of Major Equipment, Institute 711 took on the project to develop domestically produced DMF-extracted butadiene gas compressors, marking the beginning of the localization of butadiene units. With the strong support of Sinopec, Maoming Petrochemical and the 711 Research Institute have overcome the key technologies related to butadiene gas screw compressors through long-term technical research, evaluation, and technical exchanges. Starting with temperature control and sealing technologies, they adopted two-stage dry compression, selected appropriate meshing clearances, volume ratios, and rotation speeds to develop temperature control techniques for butadiene screw compressors; by using a combination of carbon ring seals and double-end fluid dynamic mechanical seals, they developed key sealing technologies for butadiene screw compressors, thereby successfully overcoming the technical challenges related to preventing polymerization and explosion in such compressors. After going through stages such as preliminary research, scheme design, construction design, unit manufacturing, on-site facility construction, installation and commissioning, as well as on-site testing, the first prototype of the butadiene screw compressor unit developed by the project team was put into operation as a backup unit at Maoming Petrochemical’s No. 2 butadiene plant on March 1, 2011; by July 2015, its total effective operating time had exceeded 600 days.
On July 31, 2015, the domestic technology for the butadiene screw compressors in Maoming Petrochemical’s No. 2 butadiene unit passed the technical appraisal organized by Sinopec Group. Based on the analysis of the actual operation conditions, the technical appraisal committee unanimously agreed that the domestically produced compressors perform well, with all their key performance indicators reaching the level of similar imported units. This has achieved the intended goal of local production of butadiene screw compressors, bringing significant economic and social benefits. This technology was jointly developed by Maoming Petrochemical and the 711th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The main performance indicators of its products match those of imported units of the same type, thereby ending the history in which butadiene screw compressors had to be imported. In terms of production capacity, domestic compressors have a rated flow rate of 24 tons per hour, meaning their output is 20% higher than that of imported compressors, which enables the plants to operate at full capacity steadily. The annual production of butadiene using these domestic compressors is 32,000 tons higher than that achieved with imported compressors, resulting in an annual cost savings of 31.2 million yuan. In terms of adiabatic efficiency, domestic compressors reach 68.7%, which is 6.3% higher than that of imported compressors, giving them better reliability. Moreover, the key spare parts for these units are manufactured domestically, and their price is only 40% of that of foreign-made units, which significantly reduces the costs associated with purchasing spare parts and yields notable economic benefits. According to the novelty search and analysis conducted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, this project is innovative and practical, with its design and development reaching a leading level in China.
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