Under the "double carbon" situation, the five major development directions of my country's refining and chemical industry

Under the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, China's refining and chemical industry faces the dual challenges of development and carbon reduction
.
On the one hand, with economic development and changes in market demand, the demand for chemicals and new materials continues to grow rapidly, driving the rapid growth of production capacity
.
During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, China will still have several integrated refining and chemical projects completed and put into operation.
It is estimated that in 2025, China's oil refining capacity will reach 980 million tons, and the total ethylene production capacity will exceed 50 million tons, making it the world's largest oil refining and ethylene producer.

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On the other hand, China has set the goal of achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, which means that low-carbon development of the refining and chemical industry is an inevitable choice
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To take into account the carbon reduction and development of China's refining and chemical industry, scientific and technological progress is the foundation.
Only by effectively combining technology and industry, and strengthening the integration with emerging technologies such as new energy, new-generation information technology, and biotechnology, can we accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading and achieve refining.
Green, low-carbon and sustainable development of the chemical industry
.

1.
Raw materials are developing towards diversification

In the medium and long term (the next 10 to 15 years), oil will still be the main raw material for the refining and chemical industry
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Driven by the "two-carbon" goal, the proportion of ethane, propane and butane in raw materials has increased; non-food biomass raw materials such as cellulose are widely used; waste polymer materials, mainly waste plastics, are recycled at low cost ; The use of carbon-one raw materials such as methane and carbon dioxide is expected to achieve breakthroughs
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In short, refining and chemical production will present a diversified supply pattern of raw materials such as petroleum, oilfield light hydrocarbons, ethane, biomass, waste polymer materials, carbon dioxide, and methane
.

Bio-manufacturing reduces carbon emissions from the source of raw materials, which is one of the important ways for the green and low-carbon transformation and upgrading of the traditional refining and chemical industry
.
The first-generation bio-manufacturing represented by starch and oil is in the mature commercialization stage
.
The second-generation bio-manufacturing using lignocellulose (such as corn stover) as raw material has gradually entered the pilot-scale and industrialized demonstration stage
.
Cellulose is a typical non-grain biomass raw material, mainly composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements.
It has a great similarity in structure with petroleum hydrocarbons.
It can be used to produce liquid fuels such as ethanol and jet fuel through biological fermentation or chemical conversion.
It can be converted into lactic acid, glycerol, succinic acid, furfural and other platform compounds through sugar, and finally generate downstream products in the C2-C6 industry chain
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Biocatalysts (cellulase) are the core of biomanufacturing and one of the main factors affecting production costs.
At present, the technology is mainly monopolized by companies such as Novozymes and DuPont
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Cellulose itself has low energy density and high cost of cellulase, so economy has always been the bottleneck restricting the development of biomanufacturing industry
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Poet-DSM, DuPont, Abengoa, Iogen and other companies have successively conducted commercial demonstrations of 10,000-ton cellulosic ethanol, but none of them have carried out large-scale production
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In the future, it is necessary to develop high-efficiency and low-cost industrial enzyme preparations, and establish a stable raw material supply system to support the healthy development of the bio-manufacturing industry and help the refining and chemical industry achieve low-carbon green development
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Waste plastic recycling has the synergistic effect of both pollution reduction and carbon reduction, and has become one of the important measures to reduce plastic pollution and help the refining and chemical industry move towards carbon neutrality
.
In 2019 and 2020, the cumulative amount of waste plastics in China was 63 million tons and 74.
1 million tons, respectively, and the recycling volume was 18.
9 million tons and 16 million tons, respectively.
The recycling method is mainly physical recycling, and the recycling rate is only 30% and 21%
.
Since the beginning of this year, the state has issued the "Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment and Improvement of a Green, Low-Carbon and Circular Development Economic System", "The 14th Five-Year Plan for Circular Economy Development", and "Notice on Printing and Distributing the Pilot Implementation Plan for the Extended Responsibility of Auto Product Producers", etc.
This policy and regulation emphasizes strengthening the recycling of waste plastics and other renewable resources and building a circular economy development model
.
Driven by policies, waste plastic recycling technology has received high attention.
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), ExxonMobil, Beijing Aerospace 11, Ke Mao Environment and other domestic and foreign companies have developed chemical products through independent research and development or strategic cooperation.
Recycling technology, among which SabicTRUCIRCLE is the world's first technology to realize the large-scale application of chemical recycling of mixed waste plastics to produce polymers
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The aerospace waste plastic thermal cracking technology (SHCP) developed by Beijing Aerospace 11 uses waste plastics with low residual value as raw materials to produce pyrolysis oil, and has completed a 3,000-ton/year demonstration device test
.
The maturity and promotion of chemical recycling technology can reduce the consumption of raw materials, thereby reducing the demand for chemical raw materials, thereby reducing carbon emissions
.
In addition, the development and application of high-efficiency and green technologies using waste plastics with low residual value as raw materials is also the most direct and effective way for refining and chemical enterprises to practice the extension of producer responsibility
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Methane one-step ethylene technology has the advantages of short process flow, low energy consumption, and the reaction process itself realizes zero emission of greenhouse gases, and has always attracted much attention
.
This technology mainly includes two routes: oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene (OCM for short) and methane-free one-step production of ethylene, aromatics and hydrogen.
The core is catalyst.
Many research institutions at home and abroad have done a lot of work and made some new progress.
, but has not achieved the desired effect
.
The latest progress reported by the former is that in 2015, Siluria, in cooperation with Brazil's Braskem, Germany's Linde and SAEV, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, completed and put into operation a 365-ton/year OCM test facility in Texas
.
The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and PetroChina have conducted in-depth research on the latter, and developed a single-site iron catalyst with a silicide (silicon oxide or silicon carbide) lattice confined, but no pilot experiments have been reported so far.

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It is necessary to increase investment in research and development of methane to ethylene, strive for breakthroughs in core technologies such as catalysts, and solve problems in special reactors, separation and purification processes, and engineering amplification technologies, so as to realize industrial application as soon as possible
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The resource utilization of carbon dioxide can achieve the best balance between development and carbon reduction, and play a huge role in the process of carbon neutralization
.
The utilization of carbon dioxide resources mainly includes biotransformation (photosynthesis), mineralization utilization, chemical synthesis and so on
.
The establishment of carbon peaking and carbon neutralization goals has attracted more attention to carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies.
Production technologies such as carbon dioxide hydrogenation to methanol and carbon dioxide directional conversion to synthetic polyester are becoming more and more mature.
The reduction of carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide with coke, Furthermore, research on the process route of producing methanol, ethanol and subsequent products through biological fermentation and the reverse synthesis of hydrocarbons from carbon dioxide are also being carried out
.
The International Energy Agency predicts that carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies will contribute about 14% of carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 2050
.
At present, the annual carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage in China accounts for less than 2/10,000 of the annual emissions.
High cost and low efficiency are important constraints
.
Promoting the large-scale development of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies is inseparable from the coordinated efforts of policy support, technology research and development, and model innovation
.

2.
Products are developing towards high-end refinement and customization

With the rapid development of the renewable energy industry and the continuous advancement of electrification in the transportation sector, the production focus of China's refining and chemical industry will gradually shift from ensuring refined oil demand and quality upgrades to producing chemical products, new chemical materials, and cleaner transportation.
Equal emphasis was placed on energy and special refining products, and the degree of refining and chemical integration was further enhanced
.
At the same time, by shutting down and transferring and surviving the fittest, the production capacity that matches the market demand structure will finally be formed
.

China's transportation oil will peak around 2025, as shown in Figure 1
.
It is estimated that in 2035, the total consumption of gasoline and diesel will drop from 280 million tons in 2020 to about 220 million tons; aviation kerosene demand will maintain rapid growth, from 50 million tons to about 80 million tons; 29 million tons to 39 million tons
.
The demand for special refining products such as lubricating oil, asphalt, carbon materials and paraffin is still growing steadily, especially high-quality III/IV lubricating base oil, environmentally friendly asphalt and special asphalt, high value-added paraffin, low-sulfur and high-value-added petroleum coke and other high-end products will maintain rapid growth
.

In 2035, China's per capita GDP will double from that in 2020.
The demand for chemicals and new materials will maintain rapid growth, promoting production capacity expansion.
The proportion of petrochemical raw materials in the oil consumption structure will increase from 18% in 2020 to 2035.
of about 30%
.
The rapid development of strategic emerging industries such as high-end equipment, automobile manufacturing, electronic information, new energy, energy conservation and environmental protection, new buildings, biomedicine, smart grid, and 3D printing has driven high-end synthetic resins, high-performance synthetic rubber, engineering plastics, and degradable materials.
The demand for new materials such as electronic chemicals and high-performance membrane materials continues to grow, which also makes the research and development of related new chemical materials a hot spot
.

At the same time, with the development of the economy and the improvement of human living standards, and the increasing awareness of health and environmental protection, the market will have higher, updated and more refined requirements for the quality, variety and function of products.
The demand for green materials such as environmental protection and new construction is also increasing
.
In the "Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue (2019 Version)" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, it is clearly stated that encouragement plays an important role in promoting economic and social development, and is conducive to meeting the people's needs for a better life and promoting high-quality development.
Technology, equipment and products , industry
.
Among them, there are 17 categories encouraged by the petrochemical industry, including special polyolefins, modified rubber, thermoplastic elastomers, new fine chemicals, and biopolymer materials
.
China's chemical industry is transforming from the production of bulk chemicals to the production of special, fine and environmentally friendly chemicals, and is looking for a broader space for value reconstruction and reconstruction
.

3.
Process energy consumption continues to develop towards low-carbon electrification

In the refining and chemical production process, the emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels account for more than half of the total emissions.
In order to reduce the carbon emissions of process energy, it is an inevitable trend to replace high-carbon fuels with low-carbon or non-carbon fuels and electrify heating and energy supply
.
According to the forecast of Tsinghua University, China Petroleum Institute of Economics and Technology, the Global Energy Internet Development Cooperation Organization and other institutions, by 2050, non-fossil energy will account for more than 66% of primary energy consumption, and the proportion of coal, oil and natural gas will decrease significantly.
Electricity accounts for more than 55% of final energy consumption
.
On the basis of the continuous transformation of the national energy structure to non-fossil energy and the substantial increase in the proportion of clean energy installed capacity, energy consumption in the future refining and chemical production process will continue to develop in the direction of low-carbon and electrification
.

The electrification of process energy use not only requires a major transformation in the field of energy supply, but also requires changes in the corresponding infrastructure, process technology, and engineering equipment
.
Taking steam cracking units as an example, major domestic and foreign patenters of cracking technology such as Linde and many users of cracking furnaces such as Shell and Dow Chemical are accelerating the development of new electrification technologies for steam cracking units
.
The Dow Chemical Company and Shell announced a joint development agreement in June 2020.
The two parties have made progress in electrical design, metallurgy and computational fluid dynamics, verifying the low carbon emission advantages and durability of electric heating elements, and cooperated with Dutch applications.
The Scientific Research Organization (TNO) and the Institute of Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) are working together to accelerate the development of electrolysis technology
.
The two parties are currently evaluating the construction of a pilot plant for electrolysis, which is expected to start in 2025
.
BASF, SABIC and Linde are also jointly developing electric heating solutions for steam crackers, with the pilot plant to start as early as 2023
.
In addition to seeking technological breakthroughs in the research and development of long-life and high-power electric heating furnaces, in-depth research is also required on new high-efficiency electric heating body materials and advanced control systems
.

4.
The production process is developing towards intensification and efficiency

Under the "two-carbon" goal, refining and chemical enterprises will work hard to reduce energy consumption, reduce emissions, and improve crude oil conversion, and ensure that energy and raw material consumption are minimized through process enhancement, process improvement, technology combination, process optimization, and molecular management.
, The operation efficiency of the device and the production flexibility are maximized, the restrictions of other factors are reduced, and the changing development environment can be efficiently responded to
.

Optimizing device design and process flow, developing and applying energy management systems, etc.
, are one of the important ways to save energy and reduce carbon
.
ExxonMobil's Global Energy Management System, launched in 2000, is used at its Singapore plant to bypass the optimum amount of process condensate and send it to the treatment unit, maximizing heat recovery, reducing steam make-up and cooling load on the water system
.
Refinery energy efficiency increased by 17%, and chemical plant ethylene cracker energy efficiency increased by 21%
.
In addition, ExxonMobil combined a series of conventional distillation columns into one through the design and development of the dividing wall column, and applied it to the Fawley refinery in the United Kingdom to recover xylene in reformed gasoline, saving about 50% energy compared with the conventional process
.

Chemical process intensification technology is an effective technical means to solve the problems of "high energy consumption, high pollution and high material consumption" in the chemical industry
.
Its essence is to control and change the spatiotemporal distribution and energy distribution of matter at different spatial scales through certain technical means, so as to realize the optimal matching of matter, equipment and process in space, time and energy
.
Focus on basic research on reaction intensification technologies such as microreactors, hypergravity, microwaves, and process coupling, to achieve multi-scale flexible and coordinated control of molecular transfer and reaction processes, and to rapidly improve heat transfer, mass transfer, mixing, and macroscopic reaction rates.
Effectively promote green, low-carbon and sustainable development in the chemical industry
.

Recognizing and using petroleum at the molecular level, and realizing the directional transformation of petroleum hydrocarbon molecules, can essentially realize the efficient transformation of crude oil to produce chemicals
.
The quantitative characterization of the molecular composition of complex petroleum systems is a major problem in the field of chemistry.
A complete theoretical system has not yet been formed based on the property prediction of molecular composition, and the simulation of separation and reaction processes has not yet reached the molecular level
.
Establish a platform for understanding petroleum and its conversion rate from the molecular level, form a systematic theory of the structural characteristics and core chemical reaction laws of hydrocarbons in petroleum, and develop highly targeted and efficient catalysts and production processes, which can realize the orientation of petroleum hydrocarbon molecules Efficient conversion
.

5.
Operation management develops towards digital intelligence

Intelligent operation management is one of the important measures for refining and chemical enterprises to reduce costs and increase efficiency, enhance core competitiveness, and achieve high-quality development
.
The new generation of information technology represented by the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence integrates innovation with the traditional refining and chemical industry to support the high-quality development of the refining and chemical industry
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Digitization and intelligence run through the whole process of design, construction, production operation and maintenance, operation management, new product development, product marketing, technical support and service, from process optimization, production control, supply chain management, equipment management, energy management, HSE management and other aspects, enhance the ability of enterprises to dynamically perceive, optimize coordination, forecast and early warning, scientific decision-making, and achieve the goal of excellent operation of enterprises
.

The construction of an intelligent factory is a systematic project.
The premise of intelligence is digitalization, and the premise of digitalization is automation
.
At present, the information systems of refining and chemical enterprises generate massive amounts of data every day.
However, due to physical equipment and initial planning, these data do not adopt a unified protocol in the process of collection and storage, which makes it impossible to carry out big data analysis smoothly.
It restricts the implementation of intelligent transformation
.
The sensors and other electronic devices in the old and new devices should be unified, so that the collected data has a considerable level in terms of accuracy and real-time performance, and a unified data collection and storage protocol should be established to make it the infrastructure for the intelligent transformation of petrochemical enterprises
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For active installations, in the process of upgrading automation to digitization and intelligence, the two major elements of cost saving and benefit improvement should be considered as much as possible
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At the same time, it is necessary to promote the research and development of technologies related to refining and chemical intelligence, including key technologies such as ultra-precision measurement technology of process parameters in refining and chemical processes, Internet of Things technology for the entire refining and chemical process equipment, and multi-level modeling and simulation technology, so as to provide intelligent refining and chemical enterprises.
The transformation provides technical support in hardware and software
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