In recent years, large-scale ethylene plants have become a global trend, with capacities increasing from 800,000 to 900,000 tons per year to over 1 million tons annually. To meet this growing demand, Hangzhou Oxygen Co., Ltd. has been actively enhancing its capabilities by integrating fundamental technologies of plate-fin heat exchangers and advancing thermal design research for ethylene cold boxes. The company has optimized and upgraded its existing computer design and calculation software systems, while also developing new, high-efficiency, and high-strength fins tailored for large-scale plate-fin heat exchangers. Combined with the construction of an ultra-large plate-fin heat exchanger brazing plant, Hangzhou Oxygen has developed advanced performance testing methods and equipment, ensuring the reliability required for ethylene cold boxes.
During the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, Hangzhou Oxygen initiated R&D on million-ton-class ethylene cold boxes in alignment with the company’s relocation efforts. It now possesses the capability to independently develop and manufacture such critical equipment, marking a significant step toward domestic localization.
In March of this year, the 800,000-ton/year ethylene cold box for the Fujian 12 million-ton oil refining and 800,000-ton ethylene project was officially launched in Hangzhou. This unit, designed using American Lums’ binary refrigerant technology, features a maximum pressure of 5.4MPa, dimensions of 6250mm × 4000mm × 30000mm, and a total weight of approximately 280 tons, capable of handling 14 fluids simultaneously. In May, Hangzhou Oxygen signed a commercial contract with Sinopec Tianjin Branch for a one-million-ton ethylene cold box, scheduled for delivery in August 2008.
According to Zhu Xiyuan, chief engineer at Hangzhou Oxygen, only a few companies worldwide—such as American CHART, French Norton, Japanese Sumitomo and Kobelco, German Linde, and Chinese Hangzhou Oxygen—are capable of producing the world’s largest ethylene cold boxes and high-pressure plate-fin heat exchangers. Before Hangzhou Oxygen achieved breakthroughs in localizing these systems, China had relied entirely on imports.
In December 2003, the company’s large-scale ethylene cold box domestication project passed expert evaluations by Sinopec, the China National Machinery Industry Federation, and several leading petrochemical enterprises. This marked a milestone, as it demonstrated that China had mastered the key technologies for designing and manufacturing large-scale ethylene cold boxes, achieving independent intellectual property rights and international-level technical standards. Today, Hangzhou Oxygen holds a 50% market share in the domestic cold box sector, having supplied 10 sets of ethylene cold boxes to major companies such as Yanshan, Yangzi, Shanghai, Qilu, and Maoming Petrochemicals.
The 640,000-ton/year ethylene cold box for Maoming Petrochemical’s second-round transformation project was completed successfully in December 2005. This was the largest cold box produced by Hangzhou Oxygen since the start of its independent R&D efforts. Designed using U.S. Lums technology, it operates at a maximum pressure of 3.96MPa and weighs about 410 tons, making it the world's largest ethylene cold box using a three-way refrigeration process.
In addition to its success in ethylene cold boxes, Hangzhou Oxygen is a major supplier of air separation equipment in China. The company is currently accelerating its relocation and expansion project, aiming to build a new facility and complete the move by the end of next year. By 2010, it plans to increase its oxygen production capacity to 720,000 cubic meters per hour, with the largest single unit reaching 80,000 cubic meters per hour. This expansion underscores the company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and growth in the industrial gas and petrochemical sectors.
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