On December 5, 2019 the package technology for hydrotreating and utilizing the light pyrolysis oil(LPO) developed by the SINOPEC Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology (SRIPT) had been successfully applied in the newly constructed 60 KTA unit for converting inferior heavy aromatic oil into light distillate at the Jinjiang Oil Chemical Plant under the Jilin Chemical Group, with the unit being put on stream successfully at the first attempt.

After the hydrotreating unit has been operating smoothly over a definite period of time, it is learned that the temperature distribution in catalyst beds of reactors is reasonable and the technical indicators related with the opeation of process facilities are outstanding, with the product quality exceeding the design target, which has symbolized the first successful domestic application of SRIPT’s package technology for hydrotreating and utilizing LPO in comercial scale.

It is told that the process unit at the Jinjiang Oil Chemical Plan is designed to produce gasoline or BTX (serving as aromtic feedstocks) through selective hydrogenation or hydrotreatment of the inferior heavy aromatics, including the steam-cracked C9+ and C10+ fractions, the naphthalene-free light oil, and the naphthalene-free heavy oil, while retaining the monocyclic aromatics to a greatest extent. Since the feedstocks are quite complicated with high concentration of easily polymerizable components and impurities, the processing of these feedstocks is a tough problem, the commercial application of which has not been reported yet inside China.

The successful commercial application of SPRIT’s package technology for hydrotreating and utilizing the light pyrolysis oil (LPO) has opened up a new route to upgrade and utilize the low-value and inferior steamcracking by-products that are delivered by domestic ethylene industry,which can provide technical support to enhance the competitiveness of China’s ethylene industry.