Let professionals talk about Jinling Petrochemical

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This post was last edited by I am kind on 2016-10-11 at 14:39. Experts speak on Jinling Petrochemical: Jinling Petrochemical refers to both the Jinling Branch of Sinopec Corporation and Jinling Petrochemical Co., Ltd. under the Sinopec Group. The company was established in 1982 and is primarily engaged in oil refining as well as the processing, production, and sales of petrochemical products. Its refining operations date back to the 1950s, having been part of a key project during the First Five-Year Plan period. After 34 years of reform and development, particularly through rapid progress during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the company has achieved a significant leap in its technical and economic capabilities as well as its overall competitiveness. It is the third-largest crude oil processing facility in Sinopec, the largest producer of clean gasoline and aviation kerosene in China, and also the largest production base for detergent raw materials in Asia. The company currently has a comprehensive crude oil processing capacity of 18 million tons per year. It possesses over 70 advanced production units for refining, aromatics production, thermal power generation, and alkylbenzene manufacturing. The main facilities utilize the world’s most advanced and sophisticated processes and control technologies, with their technical and economic performance reaching leading levels in China as well as international advanced standards. The company holds an important position in the petrochemical industry landscape of East China and the areas along the river valleys. In 2015, the company processed 17.5049 million tons of crude oil, generating sales revenue of 73.518 billion yuan, a profit of 2.462 billion yuan, and paying 24.292 billion yuan in taxes. The unit where the accident occurred is located in the southwest part of the plant; it is a continuous reforming unit with a nominal processing capacity of 1 million tons per year. This unit underwent regular maintenance in August, and it was originally scheduled to resume operation at the end of September. However, due to the difficulties in arranging personnel for operations during the National Day holiday, the restart of the unit was delayed to October 9th. II. Impact of continuous reforming units on Jinling Petrochemical: Currently, Jinling Petrochemical has two reforming units. One of them is a continuous reforming unit with a capacity of 600,000 tons per year; its capacity has been increased to 800,000 tons per year, with a hydrogen production rate of 34,000 NM3 per hour. The other unit is a continuous reforming unit with a capacity of 1,000,000 tons per year, producing approximately 45,000 NM3 of hydrogen per hour. In addition, Jinling Petrochemical has another hydrogen production unit based on coal, with a nominal capacity of 90,000 tons per year; historically, its hydrogen production rate has been around 100,000 NM3 per hour. There is also a PSA unit that produces about 10,000 NM3 of hydrogen per hour. Thus, the total hydrogen production capacity of Jinling Petrochemical is approximately 190,000 NM3 per hour. Yangzi and Jinling Petrochemical together have a hydrogen deficit of around 60,000–80,000 NM3 per hour. It can be seen that Jinling Petrochemical operates at a tight balance in terms of hydrogen supply. “\"Earth,\" let’s take another look at Jinling Petrochemical’s main hydrogen-using facilities. As can be seen from the figure above, Jinling Petrochemical’s total hydrogen consumption is approximately 230,000 NM3/h, with a total hydrogen deficit of around 30,000–50,000 NM3/h (taking into account the types of oil processed and the peak periods of hydrogen usage). “Based on his over a decade of experience in the refining industry, Dadi preliminarily estimates that Jinling Petrochemical’s processing capacity is 18 million tons per year; it has the capability to produce 7 million tons of diesel per year, around 3 million tons of gasoline per year, about 1.5 million tons of aviation fuel per year, 200,000 tons of benzene per year, 300,000 tons of toluene per year, and approximately 700,000 tons of mixed xylene per year. Below is an analysis of the possible actions that can be taken: 1) Each unit should operate at a reduced load, with its capacity being utilized at around 70–80% of its normal level. In other words, if the overall load at Jinling Petrochemical is reduced to 70–80%, then the plant’s diesel production will decrease by 110,000 tons per month, gasoline production by 50,000 tons per month, jet fuel production by 10,000 tons per month, benzene production by 6,000 tons per month, toluene production by 10,000 tons per month, and mixed xylene production by 25,000 tons per month. (This action has a significant impact and is generally not adopted.) 2) Reduce the load on the two hydrocracking units to 60%, while keeping the load on the other units unchanged; this reduces the impact of the continuous reforming unit on the entire plant, ensuring that the enterprise can operate at high capacity. As a result, the total diesel production across the plant will decrease by 20,000 tons, jet fuel production will drop by 20,000 tons, while gasoline production can remain at full capacity. Benzene production will decrease by 6,000 tons per month, toluene production will fall by 10,000 tons per month, and xylene production will decrease by 25,000 tons per month. (This action has a significant impact and is generally adopted.) III. Further analysis: Jinling Petrochemical is expected to commission its third continuous reforming unit by the end of this year or early in 2017. With a capacity of 1.5 million tons per year, this unit will be able to produce around 60,000–80,000 NM3/h of hydrogen; once built, it will meet Jinling Petrochemical’s hydrogen demand. IV. A brief analysis of UOP and IFP: In terms of reaction products, the continuous reforming units using the UOP process produce more aromatics compared to those using the IFP process. Additionally, the UOP process yields relatively lower amounts of olefins and naphthenes, which is advantageous for companies that need to produce large quantities of aromatics ； Secondly, parameters such as the operating pressure and hydrogen-to-oil ratio of the UOP process are also superior to those of the IFP process, making it a cost-effective option in terms of value for money. However, the IFP process also has its technical advantages: first, it requires less floor space, making it suitable for companies with limited land; second, the catalyst has a relatively long lifespan, which helps to reduce the amount of catalyst needed. V. Summary: It is estimated that after this incident, the maintenance of the entire continuous reforming unit will take 30–45 days. Jinling Petrochemical will reduce the operating load of the two hydrocracking units to 60%, while keeping the load of the other units unchanged, thereby minimizing the impact of the continuous reforming unit on the entire plant and ensuring that the company can operate at full capacity. As a result, the total diesel production across the plant will decrease by 20,000 tons, jet fuel production will drop by 20,000 tons, while gasoline production can remain at full capacity. Benzene production will decrease by 6,000 tons per month, toluene production will fall by 10,000 tons per month, and xylene production will decrease by 25,000 tons per month.