【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】857-2023: The Largest Domesticly Produced Heat Exchangers for Styrene Plants – Quad-heat exchanger units
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The last edit to this post was made by Desert Fish on 2023-3-2 at 16:08. There has been significant development in chemical processing equipment over the past decade; may China continue to thrive and prosper. This is just a starting point – more participation from everyone will make things even more interesting. Haichuan becomes even better with your involvement; we welcome everyone to engage more in discussions on this forum. ********************************************* On February 17, 2023, the largest domestically produced heat exchanger of its kind, as well as the first set of such equipment in China – the four-unit heat exchanger for Yu Long Petrochemical’s Lummus process 500,000 tons/year ethylbenzene/styrene plant – was successfully developed through domestic efforts at Maoming Gravity Petrochemical Equipment Co., Ltd., and was then shipped out. This marks another historic achievement by Maoming Gravity in the field of manufacturing large-scale, high-end pressure vessel equipment in China; it has broken the foreign monopoly, filled a gap in domestic production, and resolved the critical challenges associated with the design and manufacture of petrochemical equipment.
The largest heat exchanger produced in China, as well as the first set of domestically manufactured equipment of its kind, were developed at the Yulong Petrochemical ethylbenzene/styrene plant in Maoming Gravity. This plant utilizes styrene production technology from Lummus, one of the world’s renowned patent holders; the design was carried out by Sinopec Engineering Corporation, while the equipment was manufactured by Maoming Gravity. The quad-tube heat exchanger is a key core equipment in the 500,000 tons/year ethylbenzene/styrene plant; it is also the largest heat exchanger currently manufactured in China. With a maximum diameter of 5.6 meters, a total length of 40 meters, and a weight of over 1,000 tons, it consists of an ethylbenzene/steam superheater, a high-pressure waste heat heat exchanger, an ethylbenzene/steam heater, and a low-pressure waste heat heat exchanger. Multi-connected heat exchangers require high technical standards and present significant manufacturing challenges; they belong to the top-tier products in the world’s petrochemical industry. The core equipment for such systems has always relied on imports, and currently, it is monopolized by a few foreign suppliers. Maoming Gravity has long been engaged in the development of domestic alternatives for major petrochemical equipment and key technologies. With the trust and support of clients, engineering companies, and patent holders, it has taken on the task of developing domestic versions of quad-connected heat exchangers.
The total weight of a single quad-exchanger unit exceeds 1,000 tons; it is made of special materials, and its sealing methods and structure are unique, requiring the resolution of a series of technical challenges related to design and manufacturing. In the face of numerous challenges, Maoming Gravity began conducting thousands of process simulation analyses and welding tests prior to equipment manufacturing, collecting a large amount of accurate and reliable data to ensure perfection throughout the product manufacturing process. Experts from the industry were also invited to Mao Ming Gravity Company for multiple sessions of project research and demonstration, where in-depth discussions took place on aspects such as the technical approaches and design concepts for the design and manufacture of this equipment, as well as quality control during equipment production. Detailed discussions were held on analyzing the challenges in design and manufacturing, exploring solutions, and pursuing technological upgrades. During the manufacturing process, Maoming Gravity Organization mobilized its top technical resources and, over the course of a year, overcame the severe impacts of pandemics both domestically and internationally. It succeeded in addressing various technical challenges, including control of welding deformation in large thick-walled tube sheets, prevention of deformation during welding of large openings in stainless steel, installation and fabrication of floating tube sheets, development of sealing technologies for large stuffing box structures, surfacing with Stellite 6# wear-resistant alloy, and overall heat treatment of large-diameter thick-walled shell sections. The final products met all design requirements, resulting in the high-quality completion of the equipment manufacturing process. At the same time, multiple patents were developed, a set of independent technologies for design and manufacturing was created, and the task of achieving domestic production was successfully completed.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】858-2023 Impregnated PTFE Special Graphite Heat Exchanger Equipment https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=3593905 (Source: Haichuan Network – Chemical Industry Trends)
What does “quadruplet” mean? Are they four streams of fluid?
The quad-tube heat exchanger is a key core equipment in the 500,000 tons/year ethylbenzene/styrene plant; it is also the largest heat exchanger currently manufactured in China. With a maximum diameter of 5.6 meters, a total length of 40 meters, and a weight of over 1,000 tons, it consists of an ethylbenzene/steam superheater, a high-pressure waste heat heat exchanger, an ethylbenzene/steam heater, and a low-pressure waste heat heat exchanger.