【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】138-2021: Sinopec’s First High-Temperature Synthetic Heat Transfer Oil Plant Put into Operation
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Ten years of rapid development in chemical technology – praise for China’s prosperity and strength. This is just a starting point; more participation from everyone will make things even more lively. HaiChuan becomes even better with you here; we welcome everyone to join in the forum discussions. Be careful with fire risks as the heat increases in July. ----------------------------------------------December 24, 2021: The project for the development and industrial application of high-temperature synthetic heat transfer oils, developed independently by Sinopec, was successfully launched at Jingmen Petrochemical after more than half a year of construction. The official commissioning of another major project at Jingmen Petrochemical aimed at shifting from oil production to specialty products will significantly enhance the company’s economic efficiency and profitability, thereby supporting its strategic transformation into a company focused on specialty products. This project is Sinopec’s first high-temperature synthetic heat transfer oil project, and its technology and products have broken the import monopoly. The high-temperature heat transfer oil products manufactured by this project can meet the heat transfer requirements at temperatures of 350°C and below; they possess energy-saving and environmental-friendly properties, and can be widely applied in industries such as petroleum and petrochemicals, chemicals, textiles, papermaking, textiles, food processing, and new energy storage. During the project construction and commissioning phase, the Refining Division coordinated the progress of the work through various channels, and assigned experts to the site to provide guidance during the critical stages of commissioning. Jingmen Petrochemical overcame difficulties such as recurring outbreaks of the pandemic, and carefully coordinated with the technology R&D institution, the Shanghai Research Institute of Petroleum Chemistry, as well as the design firms, to carry out the engineering conversion of the process packages. It addressed the challenges associated with the first-time engineering implementation of these technologies, and completed the design of the construction drawings on schedule ； Relevant units should prepare in advance plans for on-site lifting and installation, ensure strict control at key stages such as equipment inspection and delivery to the site, coordinate all relevant processes effectively, strictly implement the safety grading management system for on-site work, enforce safety measures such as proper isolation during concurrent operations and fall prevention, and work together to establish a multi-level safety control framework in order to advance project construction by meeting all scheduled milestones. The startup plan should be refined through repeated simulations, efforts should be made to accelerate the start-up process, all operational procedures must be followed strictly, and every stage of the work process needs to be closely monitored in order to push forward the startup efforts.
Synthetic high-temperature heat transfer oils are widely used in industries such as petroleum, chemicals, chemical fibers, papermaking, textiles, food, and solar thermal energy. However, the synthesis technology for this oil has been monopolized by foreign countries for a long time, and most domestic products rely on imports. Therefore, it is of great significance to innovate high-temperature heat transfer oil synthesis technology and increase the application rate of domestic technologies. In the field of aromatic alkylation catalysts and related processes, the innovative team specializing in synthetic high-temperature heat transfer oils at the Shanghai Institute possesses decades of experience in technology research and development as well as industrial application. The developed cumene catalyst and its related technology, as well as the deolefin catalyst and its related technology, have been applied in more than a dozen plants both domestically and internationally, providing a technical foundation for the development and application of synthetic high-temperature heat transfer oil technologies.
Since its initiation in 2020, the team has leveraged its strengths in traditional technologies while integrating new ones. In less than two years, it successfully developed dual-functional catalysts and new processes, using integrated innovation to overcome technical barriers. By applying techniques from the chemical industry to solve problems in the oil refining sector, it achieved a high level of \"cross-sectoral\" innovation, providing technical support for Sinopec’s initiatives in oil conversion and the production of specialty oils. In April 2020, the team responded to the call of the group company and took on the task of developing synthetic high-temperature heat transfer oil technologies. Leveraging the \"matrix-based problem-solving\" approach of the Shanghai Institute, it integrates efforts from various departments, disciplines, and specialties. Through coordinated action by multiple teams involved in catalyst development, characterization analysis, catalyst evaluation, process design, and plant construction, a collaborative platform is established that fosters unity and drives innovation. During the pilot-scale testing phase of the project, the team faced the challenge of modifying old equipment into pilot-scale units. The existing equipment has been out of use for a long time, and some critical facilities and devices require maintenance; therefore, a thorough and precise transformation of these existing devices is necessary. Faced with the challenges, the team members voluntarily worked overtime, working continuously at the pilot plant for over 40 days, and ultimately completed the pilot test successfully.
Through persistent dedication and a willingness to take risks, the team managed to complete the laboratory development of the technology, as well as the pilot-scale testing and the design of the process packages for industrial plants with a capacity of 10,000 tons, within less than two years. A series of breakthroughs in key technologies were achieved, laying a solid foundation for the rapid industrialization of the project. In 2021, the project commenced facility construction at Jingmen Petrochemical. By making full use of the advantages of the \"large-scale team approach,\" and with the overall coordination of the group company and the support of related units, the project was completed, put into operation, and began producing qualified products in the same year. The successful operation of this device has broken the long-standing foreign monopoly in the field of high-temperature heat transfer oils, filling a gap in China’s industry. It signifies that China now possesses independent intellectual property rights in this area, contributing positively to the advancement of China’s petrochemical and refining industries toward higher levels of the industrial and value chains.