On the morning of December 27, 2020, the 6th China Industry Awards, Commendation Awards and Nomination Awards were announced. Baling Petrochemical’s new caprolactam green production complete set of new technology project won the China Industrial Award and is the only award-winning unit of Sinopec. With the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Natural Science Foundation of China, Baling Petrochemical and Petrochemical Research Institute has transformed scientific research results obtained in basic research into new technologies. After 30 years, three generations have overcome countless setbacks and tribulations, developed a complete set of green technologies with independent intellectual property rights, successfully broke the foreign monopoly on caprolactam production technology for 70 years, and established the brand image of China’s independent innovation technology. At present, the domestic caprolactam self-sufficiency rate has risen from 30% to 94%, and my country’s dependence on foreign technology and imported products has dropped significantly.

1.30 years of independent innovation, successfully developed a complete set of new technologies for green production of caprolactam

Caprolactam is an important organic chemical raw material. As a monomer for the production of nylon-6 synthetic fibers and nylon-6 engineering plastics, it is widely used in textiles, automobiles, electronics and other fields that use new materials for innovation. The caprolactam industry is closely related to the country’s economic strength and people’s living standards, and occupies an important position in the development and continuous improvement of the national economy.

　　 In the early 1990s, Sinopec spent nearly 10 billion yuan to introduce 3 sets of 50,000 tons/year caprolactam production plants, which were built in Baling Petrochemical, Nanjing DSM Dongfang Chemical Co., Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Refinery. Subsequently, the Sinopec organization took the core technology of caprolactam production-the preparation of cyclohexanone oxime as a breakthrough, and carried out a complete set of new technologies for green caprolactam production at Baling Petrochemical. With the strong support of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the guidance of Academician Min Enze and Academician Shu Xingtian of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the research team has sincerely cooperated and worked hard. In the past 30 years, more than 100 domestic and foreign invention patents have been formed. A complete set of new technologies for green production of caprolactam integrated by new reaction pathways, new catalytic materials and new reaction engineering has been developed.

This complete set of new technologies has six core technologies, all of which have reached the international leading level. They are the single-reactor continuous slurry bed cyclohexanone ammoximation process technology to produce cyclohexanone oxime, the cyclohexanone oxime Beckman three-stage rearrangement technology, Ammonium sulfate neutralization crystallization technology, magnetically stabilized bed caprolactam hydrorefining technology, cyclohexanone oxime gas phase rearrangement to produce caprolactam technology, cyclohexene esterification hydrogenation to produce cyclohexanone new technology. Among them, the first 4 technologies have been industrially applied, and 137 domestic and foreign invention patents have been formed; 17 provincial and ministerial awards have been won, including 1 first prize for national technological invention and 1 second prize for national scientific and technological progress.

Baling Petrochemical’s “cyclohexanone oxime gas-phase rearrangement moving bed process without by-product ammonium sulfate” has also made breakthrough progress in catalyst preparation, reaction technology, product refining, etc., and completed small-scale and pilot-scale technology research. 50,000 tons/year industrial application. In addition, Sinopec pioneered the “Cyclohexene Esterification Hydrogenation to Cyclohexanone New Process”. The carbon atom utilization rate is close to 100%, which not only has low energy consumption, but also can co-produce absolute ethanol. The pilot study has been completed. 200,000 tons/year process package development, and 200,000 tons/year industrial application will be carried out soon.

2.New technology drives the vigorous development of new industries, relocation and upgrading protect a river of clear water

　　 Today, Baling Petrochemical has become a large-scale petrochemical and coal chemical combined enterprise, as well as the largest domestic caprolactam and lithium rubber production enterprise and an important epoxy resin production base. Among them, the caprolactam product chain includes 500,000 tons/year caprolactam (including joint ventures 200,000 tons), 450,000 tons/year cyclohexanone, and 800,000 tons/year ammonium sulfate. Caprolactam green production complete sets of new technologies have achieved leap-forward technological progress in traditional industries. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, the pollutant emission per unit product is reduced by 50%, and the unit production cost is reduced by 50%, and the investment in production capacity per 10,000 tons is reduced to less than 150 million yuan. A reduction of nearly 80% has produced significant economic and social benefits.

　　The new technology of green caprolactam production has greatly promoted the rapid development of caprolactam and its downstream industries. As of the end of 2019, Sinopec has built multiple caprolactam production facilities in Baling Petrochemical, Zhejiang Baling Hengyi and other companies, with a production scale of 900,000 tons/year, accounting for 12.16% of global caprolactam production capacity and domestic caprolactam production capacity Of 24.39%. At present, my country’s green caprolactam production capacity has reached 4 million tons, becoming the world’s largest producer, with a global market share of over 50%, forming a 40 billion yuan emerging industry, and driving the vigorous development of 400 billion downstream industries.

　　 In 2020, Baling Petrochemical’s caprolactam industrial chain relocation and upgrading development project with a total investment of 13.95 billion yuan will be launched in Hunan Yueyang Green Chemical Industrial Park. The project adopts a batch of new technologies independently developed by Sinopec to build a 600,000-ton/year caprolactam industrial chain. The project will be built as a demonstration project and a benchmark project for “guarding a river and clear water”, breaking the “chemical encirclement of the river”, and implementing the relocation of hazardous chemical production enterprises in densely populated urban areas across the country.