PDP for MTBE Production Developed Successfully by PetroChina

The process design package (PDP) for the 100 kt/a MTBE unit provided by the Jinzhou Design Institute (JDI) under the PetroChina Northeastern Engineering Company has demonstrated its outstanding performance, because the MTBE unit, which has been put on stream at the fi rst attempt, operates smoothly, with the sulfur content in MTBE reaching less than 10 ppm to meet the national V automotive gasoline standard. The successful startup of the said MTBE unit has symbolized the project design capability of PetroChina to make the PDP of MTBE unit to be successfully applied in projects, which has put an end to the previous situation of purchasing PDP from the outside source.

Starting 2011, JDI as the leading institution has been engaging in the R&D work associated with “Development of package technology and commercial application of the 200 kt/a MTBE unit”, comprising a part of the PetroChina’s key science and technology project “R&D of package technology and commercial application of the 10-Mt/a-class petroleum re fi nery”.

The 100 kt/a MTBE unit at the Jinzhou Petrochemical Company serves as the basic process unit, on which this key scientific research project is buttressed, while JDI has performed the whole design work, including the development of PDP documents, the feasibility study, the basic design, and the detailed engineering design of 200 kt/a MTBE unit. The application of this technology not only can meet the spec for sulfur content in fi nished gasoline, but also can greatly increase the recovery of petroleum products to create good economic bene fi ts to the oil re fi ning enterprise.

In the course of R&D work related with this project, the project team of JDI has made strenuous efforts to tackle key technical problems and engage in innovations, resulting in the development of seven new techniques such as the manufacture of ultralow-sulfur MTBE, among which three new techniques have been granted Chinese patents.