New Sinopec EO/EG plant based on process from Dow
8 Nov 2010
Midland, Michigan - Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd. (ZRCC) has launched a new ethylene oxide/ethylene glycol (EO/EG) plant in China using Meteor technology licensed through Dow Chemical Co.
The ZRCC plant, which first started up in April 2010, is the second plant in China to utilise the Dow process. The first, operated by Sinopec-SABIC (Tianjin) Petrochemical Co. (SSTPC), began production in February 2010.
The Meteor process is claimed to integrate process simplicity, inherent safety and superior catalyst technology into a single reactor design.
Based on 2010 figures to date, Dow claims that these plants will curb feedstock consumption and greenhouse gas emissions over the course of a calendar year as follows:
- Ethylene feedstock reduced approximately 50ktpa
- Oxygen feedstock reduced approximately 165ktpa
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduced approximately 150ktpa
“The ZRCC project required incredible coordination from the companies involved, which were working under great pressure to meet challenging deadlines for both plants,” said Hugo Gonzalez, global commercial manager for Dow Technology Licensing.
The ZRCC plant located in Ningbo, in China’s Zhejiang province, is the first Meteor dual-reactor plant ever built. With a capacity of 650ktpa of EG and 100ktpa of pure ethylene oxide (EO), Dow said it has been operating reliably since initial start-up in April.
Aker Solutions assisted on the preparation and expansion of the process design package, while Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Co. Ltd. (SSEC) completed the detailed engineering for the facility.
“As a Sinopec engineering company, SSEC worked as engineering procurement and construction contractor and completed the detailed engineering for ZRCC and SSTPC facilities,” said Xue Hongqing, SSEC vice chief engineer and project manager for ZRCC & SSTPC projects.
Commercialised in 1994, the Meteor EO/EG process is designed to allow manufacturers to produce ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol with fewer steps, less equipment and smaller plot size requirements than competitive technologies.
Features of the process include the single ethylene oxide (EO) reactor, instead of the conventionally used multiple reactors and associated support equipment.
The simplified design has resulted in a 20% reduction in major equipment, 50% reduction in control valves, 30% reduction in safety valves, 40% reduction in flow elements and a 40% reduction in plot plan size, said Dow.
The single-reactor design requires no reaction cycle gas isolation or flow control, virtually eliminating the risks associated with cycle gas flow disruptions or variations. There are no effluents requiring wastewater treatment.
There is no isolation or handling of concentrated EO, while fewer major and bulk equipment items mean fewer fugitive and episodic emission points, noted Dow. With an Emergency Shutdown System (ESS) that spans the entire range of catalyst life, no re-setting of system trip points is required as the catalyst ages.
