The reconstruction and expansion project for the 700kt/a ethane unit at Lanzhou Petrochemical Branch of CNPC was completed and became operational on November 20.
The reconstruction and expansion project was launched on April 8, 2005. It includes six sets of petrochemical production installations, namely ethane, high-pressure polyethylene, perchlore-ethlyene, polypropylene, gasoline hydrogenation and butadiene extraction, as well as 14 auxiliary facilities, 12 public works and four works outside the plant. The productivity of the three sets of polyolefine installations and the cracking furnace of the ethane installation are the largest of those currently in active service in China.
The technologies for deethanization, online coke cleaning, tower flushing by oil, and fore depropane and fore hydrogenation short flow schemes applied in the ethane installation are the only ones in the country. Techniques and catalysts independently researched and developed by Lanzhou Petrochemical are used in the gasoline hydrogenation and butadiene extraction installations. The polypropylene installation can produce more than 100 types of products, while the high-pressure polyethylene installation can produce 16 types of products. In addition, the installations are all characterized by low energy consumption, low waste emissions and clean production.