The reporter learned from Sinopec on the 17th that Sinopec’s key research project “Development and Industrial Application of Technology for Ethylene Cracking from Light Crude Oil” was successfully tested, which can directly convert crude oil into ethylene, propylene and other chemicals, realizing steam cracking of crude oil. The first domestic industrial application of the technology is of great significance to the transformation and upgrading of my country’s petrochemical industry and helping to achieve the “double carbon” goal.
Zi Zong, deputy chief engineer of Sinopec, said that crude oil steam cracking technology is one of the “oil conversion” routes. It skips the traditional crude oil refining process and directly converts crude oil into ethylene. , propylene and other chemicals, equivalent to wheat can be directly made into bread, eliminating the need to grind it into flour. This will shorten the production process, reduce production costs, and significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
At present, only ExxonMobil and Sinopec in the world have successfully realized the industrial application of this technology. It is estimated that for every one million tons of crude oil processed using this technology, nearly 500,000 tons of chemicals can be produced, including nearly 400,000 tons of high-value products such as ethylene, propylene, light aromatics and hydrogen. The overall technology has reached the internationally advanced level.
Ethylene is the basic raw material for chemical products and is known as the “mother of the petrochemical industry”. It is one of the important indicators to measure the development level of a country’s petrochemical industry. Usually, the raw materials required for the production of ethylene and propylene need to go through the crude oil refining process in the refinery, and the production process is long.
Wizizong said that in the next step, Sinopec is preparing to carry out the development and engineering design of a million tons of crude oil steam cracking to produce ethylene at Xinjiang Tahe Refining and Chemical Company, and build a direct production system from crude oil. Industrial demonstration unit for chemicals. In the large-scale ethylene projects planned in the future, crude oil steam cracking technology will be included in the important technology comparison and selection plan, providing strong support to alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand in the industry, assisting the transformation and upgrading of enterprises, and contributing to the realization of the “double carbon” goal. </p
