After nearly two years of construction, recently, the 200,000Nm³/h and the 65000Nm³/h PSA hydrogen purification plants for Sinochem Quanzhou Petrochemical were completed and successfully commissioned, producing qualified hydrogen product on the first trail. The 200,000Nm³/h PSA project is part of a continuous reforming unit of an ethylene and refinery plant that underwent capacity expansion from 1 million to 2.6 million tons/a. The 65000Nm³/h hydrogen purification PSA project is part of a dry gas pre-purification plant of a 560,000 tons/year refinery.
The two plants were both contracted to Southwest Chemical Institute (SWRCHEM) through an engineering and procurement contract. The plants used high-performance absorbents and skid-mounted program-controlled valves developed by SWRCHEM, SWRCHEM's internationally leading twin-sequential flow tank PSA process technology was also featured in the project. The hydrogen recovery rate is higher compared with similar PSA plants both at home and abroad, many performance indicators are better than their designed values.
Phase 1 of Quanzhou Petrochemical uses PSA process equipment from the United States, which had issues with high failure rates and low hydrogen recovery rate. Phase 2 project uses technology powered by SWRCHEM over international suppliers, the PSA plant operated smoothly and the performance indicators were better than the imported plant. This marks that SWRCHEM had once again successfully constructed a large scale PSA plant of excellence. The two PSA plants of Quanzhou Petrochemical are successful industrial applications of SWRCHEM's PSA technology, which helped improving quality and efficiency of oil refining and modern coal chemical industries, with significant economic and social benefits.
