SRDI O&G Peton LLC and Aliter-Aksi LLC signed an agreement on the start of pyrolysis furnace production.
At present, the primary feedstock for petrochemical production is unsaturated hydrocarbons (olefins), primarily ethylene and propylene. They are employed to synthesize most of critical plastic types, synthetic resins, rubbers, man-made fibres and solvents.
The primary unsaturated hydrocarbons production process is thermal pyrolysis of raw hydrocarbons.
A more advanced type of feedstock for industrial pyrolysis processes is gas feedstock.
The basic and most complex unit for thermal pyrolysis is the reactor representing a pipe-still heater with coils, in which dehydration processes occur at high temperatures (up to 900 ⁰С) and high pressures.
The straight-run gasoline fraction in a water steam medium was employed as pyrolysis feedstock in the Soviet Union. In the 1950-60s, pipe-still heaters for pyrolysis were designed by Giprokauchuk and VNIPIneft research institutes. Their efficiency, however, was not proved by a long run life, so after the 1970s, our country took advantage of technologies and hardware of foreign licensors from West Germany, Japan and the U.S.A.
Today, Russia has no engineering companies competent and equipped enough to design and start pyrolysis furnaces.
After the management and specialists of both companies jointly discussed the outlooks for cooperation in developing and implementing gas feedstock pyrolysis technologies, Peton and Aliter-Aksi decided to pool their efforts to set up a joint high-tech production facility. It is supposed to manufacture equipment to the latest world standards. This project will become a new stage in promoting import substitution in the area of gas chemical technologies.
The nameplate capacity of furnaces is up to 250MW. It is planned to develop and localize solutions for manufacturing furnaces with a capacity of up to 500MW.
The project’s partner will be a European industrial holding company, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial gases, which has patented technologies for similar processes.
“One of Peton’s priorities is to promote domestic engineering as a part of the import substitution programme. I’m sure the Russian companies have the necessary competences and capacities to launch high-tech projects, such as the pyrolysis furnace project. Another important point is cooperation with a foreign licensor. Our company is experienced enough in adapting foreign technologies - for example, in Amursky GPP and LNG Plant (Leningrad Region) projects,” SDGI O&G Peton General Director Igor Mnushkin said.
“This is an important step both for Peton and Aliter-Aksi and for the Russian business in general because assimilating this layer of knowledge will be a graphic example of import substitution and will strengthen the Russian business through uniting major market players,” Aliter-Aksi General Director Andrey Zhidkov said.