Tianjin Petrochemical Builds Ethylene Project with Environmental Safeguards     

The construction of infrastructures for a 1.0 million t/a ethylene unit and matching facilities for Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Company Ltd (Tianjin Petrochemical) is in full swing today. This is the biggest industrial project in the history of Tianjin.

No occupation of a single piece of cultivated land

The Eleventh Five-year Development Program (2006-2010) formulated by Sinopec includes Tianjin Petrochemical in its Bohai Ring refining and chemical production cluster. Tianjin Petrochemical started construction of a 1.0 million t/a ethylene unit and matching facilities in Dagang of Tianjin Binhai New Area on June 26th 2006. The project is expected to be completed in 2009. After the completion of the project, the ethylene production capacity will reach 1.2 million t/a in Tianjin Petrochemical and its refining capacity will be 12.5 million t/a. (CCR2006, No. 19) The project will promote an overall upgrade of the traditional chemical industry in Tianjin.
   "Products to be added by this project are mainly organic chemical raw materials with high added value and currently in very short supply," said the manager of Tianjin Petrochemical. "Most products to be produced such as resins are high-end products with strong market competitive edge. In addition, the quality of oil products will satisfy the European III standard and conform to environmental protection requirements. The construction of the new ethylene project will neither occupy a single piece of cultivated land nor consume one ton of fresh water. We will construct a large green ethylene project."
   From the very outset the project was intended to be a large ecologically responsible ethylene project. The investment in environmental protection is expected to reach RMB950 million. Land that has been acquired is all saline and alkaline wasteland. Water to be consumed will basically be desalinated sea water and intermediate water.

Short process flow, low cost, high quality and remarkable benefits

The ethylene project has given environmental requirements full consideration, rationally distributed the production structure through integrated design, and used well-developed, reliable and environment-friendly process technologies. The internally coordinated supply of materials, the optimization of resources and the target of "short process flow, low cost, high quality and remarkable benefits" will be achieved. The use of many advanced process technologies is intended to conserve energy, reduce materials consumption and take advantage of recycling. For example, methane generated in the ethylene cracking is used as fuel for crackers, and carbon dioxide generated in the ethylene oxide production is captured and used in food production.
   The ethylene oxide production in the project will use catalysts at an advanced technical level, reducing material consumption. The 450 000 t/a polypropylene unit is the facility with the biggest single unit scale in China and the material consumption and the energy consumption can be reduced through large-scale functioning.
   The project will also make full use of existing refining and ethylene production utilities. The utilization of water, power and steam, and the treatment of sewage will be optimized, yielding comprehensive economic benefits.

Creation of a green chemical industry

According to the development program for Dagang District where the ethylene project is located, by 2011 when the chemical industry park is completed, the ethylene capacity will reach 1.2 million t/a, crude oil processing capacity will reach 20.0 million t/a and sulfur dioxide discharge will be reduced by 10%.
   With this integrated project, Tianjin Petrochemical will take care of weak links in environmental protection facilities. The discharge of hydrocarbon gases will be further reduced through technical renovation and the desulfurization rate of sulfurous gases will exceed 95%. Sewage treatment capacity will be increased by 4.11 million tons, two new sewage treatment plants will be constructed and waste water streams with different components will each have suitable treatment. Special yards will be constructed for the burial of waste residues and catalyst scraps and precious metal scrap will be recovered.
   In the construction of the 1.0 million t/a ethylene project the principle of "simultaneous design, simultaneous construction and simultaneous operation of environmental protection units and principal units" will be observed to ensure that the discharge of waste gases, waste water and waste residues do not increase significantly and the environmental protection level in existing units also have further upgrading.
   "The large ethylene project to be completed in 2009 will not only be extremely competitive, but will also be an energy-saving, ecological and environment-friendly project," promised the manager of Tianjin Petrochemical.
　　It is also reported that PetroChina plans to construct a 1.0 million t/a ethylene and 10.0 million t/a refining project in collaboration with Rosneft of Russia.