【Ten Years of Great Progress in Chemical Technology】From 2015 to 2023: Nanjing Zhongke Kangrun’s Annual Production of 3,000 Tons of High-Performance Vinyl Materials

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In August 2023, the Nanjing Zhongke Kangrun project, which has an annual production capacity of 3,000 tons of high-performance vinyl materials and was designed by Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Company, began to operate at a steady and continuous pace. 　　The project began trial production on March 14, 2023; on April 6, the entire production process was successfully completed and qualified products were produced. By mid-June, it received approval from downstream users for use, and bulk delivery of the products began, until now when stable and continuous production has been achieved. The project achieved multiple \"firsts\": the first to use digital application for project submissions, the first to adopt a one-phase design engineering approach, and the first project to simultaneously create a functional vertical factory for new technology installations. 　　This project utilizes the one-step synthesis technology for lubricant base oils from ethylene, developed jointly by the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Engineering Corporation. It offers advantages such as a short production process, high product yield, environmental friendliness, intrinsic safety, and significant economic benefits. The successful application of this technology has opened up a new route for the synthesis of high-end lubricant base oils, providing a new direction for the value-added development of products derived from ethylene. 　　Since the project was initiated in March 2018, Shanghai Engineering Company has worked closely with the R&D team to overcome various challenges. They have successfully developed multiple key technologies, and have created reactors and separation equipment suitable for this material system, as well as a streamlined solvent recovery process, safe and reliable control interlock systems, and environmental treatment facilities – thus forming a complete set of industrial-scale process technologies. To optimize the design, multiple seminars were held to discuss plans for the optimization and integration of the equipment, supporting facilities, and the area in front of the factory; as a result, an energy-efficient, compact, and functionally optimized vertical factory was designed and built. During the vehicle-based material feeding process, the team from Shanghai Engineering Company worked closely with the R&D and production teams to identify problems and risks, develop corrective actions, and provided professional, safe, and reliable technical services to ensure the successful production of qualified products, thus facilitating the steady progress of the project.