On December 18, 2018 the project “Development and application of clean and high-efficiency package of one-million-ton class ethylene production unit” jointly undertaken by the Sinopec Engineering Incorporation and other nine institutions passed the appraisal of scientific and technical achievement organized by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.The members of the Appraisal Committee unanimously recognized that this technical achievement has been spearheading the continued innovation of ethylene technology to push forward the rapid development of ethylene industry and related downstream industrial sectors and command a leading position among international rivaling peers. Owing to the apparent economic and social benefits, the experts attending the appraisal meeting have recommended to further strengthen and disseminate this technology.

It is reported that this project has achieved a lot of technical innovations, such as the establishment of platform, model and data base for R&D of the whole process flow diagram of ethylene production, the development of associated comprehensive technology related with steam cracking, the high-efficiency separation, the novel catalysts, the efficient energy conservation and emission reduction measures, as well as the design of major equipment including the large pyrolysis gas compressor and the propylene refrigeration compressor.

At present, a total of 12 steam cracking units are being constructed or revamped by using the said package technology to boast a total ethylene production capacity of 9.73 Mt/a. A total of 167 steam cracking furnaces were licensed globally with a total production capacity of 17.29 Mt/a, while the catalyst technology has been successfully applied in 67 steam cracking units worldwide.

By taking advantage of the strong support from the relevant ministries and commissions of the state and the enhanced organizational capability of SINOPEC, the institutions engaging in R&D, design, ethylene production,and equipment fabrication by virtue of the uninterrupted joint efforts to tackle key technological challenges in a period spanning more than 30 years, have made key breakthroughs to accomplish the integrated innovation of the green and high-efficiency million-ton-class ethylene production technology, making China one of the world’s front-runners grasping the independent package ethylene production technology, with Sinopec Corp. ranking among the world’s five leading ethylene patentees.