【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Processing Equipment】30,000-class all-liquid expansion generator sets for air separation units from 1072 to 2023
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Ten years of rapid development in chemical engineering technology; praise for the prosperous and strong China. This is just a starting point to encourage more participation from everyone. HaiChuan becomes even better with your involvement – we welcome all to join in the forum discussions. Be careful with fire risks as the heat increases in July. --------------------------------------------- On June 24, 2023, through the joint efforts of various parties, and after a series of tests including pre-cooling, startup, grid connection, and loading, the all-liquid expansion generator set used in Sichuan’s 30,000-class air separation plant was successfully started on-site at Liyang Xingang Chuan Air Separation Co., Ltd. It was able to connect to the power grid and generate electricity successfully, with all technical parameters meeting the design requirements; thus it was put into industrial operation. It is reported that the use of full-liquid expanders to replace high-pressure liquid air throttle valves in this air separation unit represents an advanced energy-saving measure. By using a all-liquid expansion unit to convert the pressure energy of high-pressure liquid air into electrical energy, the overall energy consumption of the air separation plant can generally be reduced by 2–3%; at the same time, the liquid output of the plant increases, resulting in significant savings in energy use. Taking into account the characteristics of full-liquid expansion generator sets, Sichuan Air Separation has conducted research and experimental tests on a range of key technologies, including pneumatic design, flow cavitation control, flow field simulation, materials, heat leakage and sealing, multi-axis rotor dynamics, power generation and grid connection, as well as system coordination. Through the implementation of multiple projects, a complete design methodology for full-liquid expansion generator sets has been developed, further enhancing the core competitiveness of these products.
Sichuan Air Separation has been engaged in the development, design, and manufacturing of various types of expansion units for over fifty years. As a core product of the company, expansion units are the subject of continuous research into key technologies, product development, and equipment upgrades. Focusing on the various key technologies related to expanders, specialized laboratories such as an expander performance research laboratory and a turbine machinery modal analysis laboratory have been established in recent years. A dedicated design software platform for expanders was developed, and the manufacturing equipment and production facilities for expanders were significantly upgraded, resulting in a marked improvement in product development and design capabilities, manufacturing inspection and testing skills, as well as the level of automation. In recent years, significant breakthroughs have been achieved in series of equipment developed by Sichuan Air Separation Institute, such as high-pressure, high-expansion-ratio turboexpander units, natural gas turboexpanders with a capacity of 10 million cubic meters, ethylene expanders, and expansion generator sets; these devices have all been put into industrial operation successfully.
【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】The First Ultra-Large-Diameter Long-Distance Heating Pipeline DN1600: Full-Bore Welded Ball Valve, 1071–2023 https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-4334530-1-1.html (Source: Haichuan Chemical Engineering Forum)
In recent years, with the development of coal chemical technology, the market demand for large-scale air separation equipment, especially ultra-large-scale ones, has been increasing, and the use of liquid expanders will become more widespread. By replacing liquid high-pressure throttling valves with liquid expanders, vaporization can be avoided, the product extraction rate can be improved, and the oxygen production cost per unit in air separation equipment can be reduced by about 3%, resulting in significant economic and social benefits. In February 2013, the all-liquid expander jointly designed and developed by Hangyang and Xi’an Jiaotong University was successfully designed and manufactured. Modular testing was carried out by the Product Supervision and Testing Center for Gas Separation and Liquefaction Equipment in the machinery industry, and it passed the expert review by the experts of the **863 project team. On February 9, 2018, the all-liquid expansion generator set developed by Hangzhou Hangyang Expander Co., Ltd. was successfully commissioned at Henan Junhua’s 40,000 Nm3/h air separation plant! It is understood that this unit features a self-designed planetary gear reducer, which boasts high precision, low power consumption, and compact size. The generator automatically closes and connects to the grid when the speed of the expander reaches 20,376 r/min, entering power generation mode and operating stably. The pressure and temperature at the inlet and outlet of the expander meet the design requirements, satisfying the process needs. All measurement values such as speed, bearing temperature, and oil pressure are within normal ranges; the vibration level at the expansion end is 8 μm, while that on the generator side is 5 μm. The actual isentropic efficiency of the expander is ≥82.5%, which matches the efficiency levels of foreign liquid expanders.