Successful Commercial Application of Hexene-1 Package Technology at PetroChina

On October 29, 2014 the hexene-1 package technology independently developed by the PetroChina Petrochemical Research Institute (PRI) has been applied in commercial scale at the new hexane-1 unit of the Dushanzhi Petrochemical Company while cranking out qualified product with the purity of hexane-1 exceeding 99%. It is learned that the main techno-economic indicators of this unit are better than those achieved by the overseas similar production units.

The PetroChina PRI has successively completed the bench scale and pilot scale tests and the commercial tests in a 5 kt/a hexane-1 unit prior to successful development of the PDP for a 20 kt/a hxene-1 package technology. In 2012 a 20 kt/a hexane-1 unit was set up at the Dushanzhi Petrochemical Company. This package technology uses a dedicated high-selectivity catalyst for synthesis of hexene-1, the ethylene premixing process, a kettle type reactor with high mass transfer rate of heterogeneous phase, as well as the non-stick kettle and the special technique for removal of lower polymers to realize the online removal of resins without shutdown of equipment to ensure a safe, stable and long-cycle operation of the process unit.