【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】1044–2020: Self-developed third-generation internal components for large-scale hydrogenation reactors

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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 your involvement; we welcome everyone to take an active part in the forum discussions. With the hot weather in July, be careful to prevent fires. ---------------------------------------------- Guangzhou (Luoyang) Engineering Company reports that the third-generation large-scale hydrogenation reactor internals it developed have performed steadily after 6 months of industrial use in the 4.4 million tons per year fixed-bed residue hydrogenation unit and the 2 million tons per year diesel hydrogenation unit at Zhongke Refining & Chemical. The radial temperature difference within the reactors was less than 3°C, and various technical parameters such as bed pressure drop were all better than the design values, thus laying a solid foundation for the stable, efficient operation of all units in the process chain. 　　It is reported that the internal components for the third-generation large-scale hydrogenation reactors represent a new generation of products developed by this company over a period of 3 years, using the \"lift pipe + cold hydrogen tank + redistribution\" engineering technology. To date, **8 invention patents and 6 utility model patents have been filed for these products. This technology primarily addresses issues such as poor distribution at the edges of large fixed reactors through CFD numerical simulation analysis, improved arrangements of lift pipes, and engineering design optimizations. Compared with second-generation technology, the opening rate of the distribution disc in the new generation increases by 2%~5%, the space occupied by the internal components is reduced by over 18%, and the operational flexibility of the device can be controlled within the range of 60%~110%. 　　In June 2020, once Sinopec Refining and Chemicals began operations, the units with a capacity of 2 million tons per year for hydrocracking and similar processes utilized the company’s advanced second-generation hydrogenation reactor internals. The units for residue hydrogenation and diesel hydrogenation refining, on the other hand, adopted the newly developed third-generation technology products for the first time. Last October, industrial application was carried out at the newly built 2.6 million tons per year residue hydrogenation unit at Luoyang Petrochemical, achieving the expected results. 　　According to the company’s R&D personnel, when compared with similar foreign technologies, the new generation of technology results in a similar radial temperature difference across the bed layer; it reduces space occupancy by 2% to 5%, and allows for cost savings of over 30%. Currently, the company is working on the development of fourth-generation internal components technology, striving to maintain its leading position in the world in this field.