Shanghai Petrochemical invests 21.3 billion yuan in core upgrades: 18 units are shut down, 17 new units are built, and a new ethylene production facility with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons comes online

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Recently, new progress has been made on the comprehensive technical renovation project of Shanghai Petrochemical, with a total investment of 21.307 billion yuan. Zhongyi Wood Engineering Co., Ltd. and Shandong Sanwei Chemical Group Co., Ltd. were respectively selected as the top candidates for the basic design of key facilities such as C5 separation and sulfur recovery, indicating that this established petrochemical complex is undergoing a thorough transformation and upgrade. The core logic behind this upgrade is not simply expansion, but a complete \"technological generation shift\" for the equipment. The most crucial signal is the shutdown of the 700,000 tons per year ethylene plant that has been in operation for many years, and the construction of a new 1.2 million tons per year ethylene plant to serve as the new \"core chemical facility\" of the entire plant. This is by no means a simple increase in production capacity. The new generation of 1.2 million tons per year ethylene cracking units will feature more advanced furnace designs, greater levels of thermal integration, and more precise intelligent control technologies. This means a qualitative leap will be achieved in terms of raw material adaptability, olefin yield, energy consumption control (especially carbon emission intensity), and long-term operational stability. Downstream, it will be equipped with new high-end material production facilities, including 300,000 tons per year of vinyl acetate, 400,000 tons per year of polyethylene, and 100,000 tons per year of carbonates, thereby maximizing the value of ethylene and extending it further downstream. Similarly, the refining sector is also undergoing profound structural adjustments. One of the highlights is the construction of a new POX (partial oxidation) hydrogen production plant with a capacity of 200,000 standard cubic meters per hour, to replace the older hydrogen production facilities. POX technology enables the efficient production of hydrogen from heavy feedstocks such as petroleum coke or residue, thereby significantly reducing hydrogen costs. It provides a cheap source of hydrogen for plants with annual hydrocracking capacities of 3 million tons, which is key to making refinery products cleaner and lighter in composition. This renovation has raised safety and environmental protection to an unprecedented level. On the one hand, by constructing new 20,000 tons per year sulfur recovery units, along with associated acidic water stripping and solvent regeneration systems, comprehensive and efficient recovery of sulfur resources is achieved, ensuring ultra-low emissions of flue gases. On the other hand, by systematically shutting down 18 outdated units, high-energy-consuming and high-risk production units were eliminated at the source, thereby improving the overall \"inherent safety\" level of the plant. The newly designed device will integrate deeply with the existing system to maximize the synergistic benefits of \"integration of refining and chemical processing,\" optimize material and energy flows, and improve overall resource utilization efficiency.