A Record of the Construction of China National Petroleum’s First PO/SM Plant

The engineering expertise embodied in a furnace lies in its ability to perform condensation processes. Within the petrochemical industry chain, PO/SM units play an indispensable role as key components; using ethylene and propylene produced through integrated refining processes as raw materials, these units manufacture high-value products such as propylene oxide and styrene, thereby forming an integrated industrial cluster that combines refining, olefins, and high-end chemicals. The industry generally believes that the process flow for PO/SM plants is long, the unit operations are complex, and the engineering challenges are extremely high. “The PO/SM plant alone has 35 towers, in addition to 21 reactors and over 400 rotating equipment units; its floor area is even larger than that of an ethylene plant. More importantly, the process route chosen for the project is not yet fully mature, and any improper handling of details could affect the operation of the facility. ”The words of Li Yiming, the project manager at Global Beijing, reflect the severe challenges faced by the project. Among the many challenges, the waste alkali incinerator is a \"boulder\" weighing on the project team. Among the similar units in use domestically, waste alkali incinerators find it difficult to operate stably over long periods for various reasons, which becomes a major constraint on the effective operation of these units. In 2024, the project team formed a technical research group and traveled to Yantai, Ningbo, Quanzhou and other places to conduct in-depth, detailed investigations of the devices that were experiencing problems. The survey results show that many problems are not due to defects in the core manufacturing process, but rather result from flaws caused by improper equipment integration, detailed design, or cost control. Based on this first-hand information, the project team decided to shift from passive review to proactive action. Before issuing the tender for the entire set of equipment, they transformed all the risk factors identified through their research into specific, detailed, and stringent technical requirements, established non-negotiable design parameters for key aspects, and used technical specifications to select high-quality suppliers, thereby eliminating quality risks at the source. Ultimately, the winning supplier completed the design and manufacturing within the \"technical framework\" established by the project team, and the waste alkali incinerator delivered has been operating smoothly since its commissioning. Similarly, to address the common issue of equipment corrosion, the project team adopted a continuously optimized injection system through process simulation, thereby providing a \"preventive measure\" for the equipment” ； To eliminate abnormal vibration in the vacuum pump, 5 versions of solutions were compared. It is this ultimate attention to detail that enabled the PO/SM unit to achieve a \"high+\\" rating in its first major test, with energy efficiency metrics superior to those of similar units.

The construction speed witnessed by the two reactors – if the waste alkali incinerator is the “liver” of the PO/SM plant, then the two oxidation reactors are its “heart”. Each oxidation reactor is 45 meters long, has a diameter of over 9 meters, and weighs more than 700 tons – making them true giants. Their design, manufacturing, and installation involve a race against time in terms of engineering complexity. “Following the traditional layout, the oxidation reactor is deeply embedded within the device frame, resulting in limited construction space and difficulties in ensuring the project timeline. ”The project team was bold in its innovation, proposing a surgical-style optimization approach: removing the “heart” from the framework of the “chest cavity” and placing it separately in an open area at the edge of the device zone. This layout adjustment created conditions for concurrent construction. “At least recover two months of construction time. ”Li Yiming said. Design optimization is just the prologue; the real challenge lies in transporting it over long distances. The equipment manufacturing site is located on the banks of the Yangtze River, and at the time of shipment it was during the dry season, when tankers of 10,000 tons could not dock there. The project team was on-site to coordinate the emergency dredging of the harbor basin, and it took 5 days before the giant ship was able to set sail. Encountering a typhoon that forced them to seek shelter in port, and with the deadline for entering the port approaching, Li Yiming led his team to stay at Qinzhou Port for 48 hours straight, coordinating and giving instructions, working non-stop for 24 hours. On December 31, 2024, before the new year’s bells rang, the two \"steel giants\" were successfully installed at the project site as scheduled. Behind the speed lies an unwavering commitment to quality. During the inspection of vacuum valves upon arrival at the warehouse, the on-site team found a discrepancy in the materials used for the valve body and the valve cover. Further investigation revealed that the raw materials were out of stock, so the manufacturer replaced them with higher-grade materials. “Although using a higher value instead of a lower one meets the specifications, we cannot overlook any doubts. ”Lin Ziran, the project procurement manager at Global Beijing Company, promptly established a joint inspection team which, despite the scorching heat, completed re-inspections using non-destructive testing on 70 already installed valves within one day, confirming that all of them were qualified. This move also deeply shocked the suppliers, making them understand what it means to strive for excellence. A rapid response mechanism is in place throughout the project. During the critical phase of work on compressor K-0330, the contractor reported that it was not possible to connect the smoke exhaust pipes. Han Yanhai, the chief project design representative for Global Beijing Company, immediately initiated an emergency response: on one hand, he contacted the manufacturer to have the missing parts sent out, and on the other hand, he worked through the night to modify the design plans, ensuring that the new drawings could be delivered to the construction team by the next day. During the final phase of construction in the tank farm, faced with the urgent situation where 26 pipelines could not be connected due to unclear interfaces, design and procurement teams worked together by sending the drawings to the manufacturers, accelerating the production of the prefabricated pipelines on an hourly basis. At the same time, the construction unit is instructed to carry out the scaffold installation in advance to ensure that all pipelines are installed in place before the handover. This ability for seamless cross-departmental coordination in responding has become the \"key to success\" in overcoming obstacles in projects. Ultimately, it took only 12 months from manufacturing to installation of the oxidation reactor, and the entire project took nearly a year less time from design to commissioning compared to similar installations.

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