On November 21, 2022, at the Zhongjing Petrochemical Technology Park, Jiangyin Town, Fuqing, the propane-propylene separation tower of the 1,000,000t/a PDH project of Zhongjing Petrochemical was successfully hoisted, laying a solid foundation for the interim delivery of the project in 2023. Tianhua Institute of Chemical Machinery & Automation (Tianhua Institute) has taken part in the production of the separation tower.
With a total investment of RMB4 billion and an annual output value of RMB10 billion, the PDH project is expected to stimulate the upstream and downstream industry chains to reach an output value of RMB20 billion. The project introduces the state-of-the-art PDH technology of Lummus to produce high-purity propylene raw materials, meets the downstream demands in the park for COPP, and makes up for the industrial chain of the internal loop. The propane-propylene separation tower, which is the core equipment of the project, has an effective height of 138m, an unloaded weight of 2,250 tons, a total weight of 3,400 tons, and a capacity of 11,000 cubic meters. Among all separation towers of this type in the world, it is the highest and has the greatest capacity and is hailed as a giant in the industry.
Since it won the bid in 2021, Tianhua Institute has taken effective and coordinated actions to overcome difficulties in technical innovation, engineering design, procurement of materials and equipment manufacturing, etc. Tianhua Institute Party Secretary, Executive Director and General Manager Sun Zhongxin visited the project site to give instructions on and coordinate design, manufacturing and installation. Onsite management is carried out on HSE professionals, technical, production and quality testing professionals assigned by Tianhua Institute Nanjing Company, and an extensive grid safety management system covering company, department and local government has been established to ensure workplace safety. Meanwhile, for key links, Tianhua Institute implements the dual prevention mechanism, has taken a series of actions for improving contractor management, lifting operation, pressure testing, high-place operations, gas cylinder pipelines, and heat treatment operations, etc., detailed the management in terms of division of responsibility and rights, site setting, job isolation and personnel capability matching, comprehensively checked the manufacturing sites in terms of safety, quality and progress, etc., rectified the problems found one by one, actively communicated and coordinated with relevant parties of the project, and worked together with them to ensure that the project goes into operation on schedule and in line with the requirements on quality, reliability and stability.
In the future, Tianhua Institute will continue to stay true to its original aspiration for research and development, seize the strategic opportunities, assume its responsibilities as a state-owned enterprise directly under the central government, continue to strengthen technical communication and R&D cooperation with Zhongjing Petrochemical and relevant customers in the fields of PDH and polypropylene, shoulder the glorious mission of China’s chemical industry under new circumstances, pursue common development, and contribute to fulfilling the dream of making China strong in the petrochemical industry.