Krystal @yuanzekai.com lucydang@yuanzekai.com
   +8613108290785 +8613772647058 
Position:Home > Application Area

Application Area

Petrochemical Industry


Titanium heat exchangers, condensers, and related auxiliary equipment have been successfully used in petrochemical enterprises for over 20 years. The most commonly used industrial pure titanium in titanium materials (with TA2 being the most widely used), Ti-6Al-4V (when certain strength is required), and Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo (when there are gaps or in non oxidizing media).


(1) Titanium equipment is ideal for refining crude oil with high sulfur and salt content. Titanium equipment has been successfully used in many processes abroad, such as atmospheric distillation units, sewage treatment equipment, condensers for desulfurization and separation towers, and radiators for stripping towers, for many years. China has also adopted cast titanium seawater pumps, titanium condensers in catalytic cracking fractionation, cryogenic separation titanium condensers, and porous titanium plates in this system, all of which have been operating normally for more than ten years.


(2) Chlorinated hydrocarbons are one of the largest varieties in the petrochemical industry. Due to the involvement of chlorination reactions, stainless steel equipment is no longer competent. Titanium materials have been used abroad to manufacture dichloromethane distillation towers, trichloroethane heat exchangers, condensing and fractionating towers, trichloroethylene condensing towers, perchloroethylene heat exchangers, and polychloride coil heaters. In the production of vinyl chloride in China, the support brackets, connecting pipes, and flange sealing surfaces of cooling towers, wastewater stripping towers, and wastewater storage tanks are lined with Ti-0.2Pd and have not been corroded for nearly ten years. And titanium pipes, joints, and gas distributors have all been made of titanium materials for many years.


(3) Phenol is an important raw material in petrochemical industry. It is a new process that uses propylene and benzene in refinery gas as raw materials to obtain phenol and acetone from isopropyl benzene and isopropyl peroxide. Titanium equipment was used in foreign countries more than a decade ago, while this technology is still under development in China. The old process used benzene sulfonated alkali solution to produce phenol. China has adopted titanium neutralization reaction kettle, titanium coil cooler, and agitator shaft sleeve of ion nitrided titanium, which have achieved good results.


(4) In the equipment for the oxidation of ethylene to acetaldehyde, acetaldehyde to acetic acid, and propylene to acetone, in addition to the corrosive nature of the raw materials and products, the main corrosive medium is the catalyst, in which stainless steel corrodes rapidly, except for titanium which has good corrosion resistance. As early as 1963, the United States successfully applied titanium in the production of acetaldehyde through ethylene oxidation. The first ethylene oxidation to acetaldehyde unit in China was put into use in 1976, and the titanium equipment has been operating well since then. The foreign titanium lined reactor is as high as 9.6m with a diameter of 3m, and there are also 11 titanium equipment such as heat exchangers, catalyst regeneration towers, and acetaldehyde solution coolers. After the 1980s, China introduced complete sets of equipment for ethylene oxidation to acetaldehyde from abroad in both Shanghai and Jilin. Many of the equipment and pump valves were made of titanium, which had obvious advantages over stainless steel and had very satisfactory results. The standardized design of propylene oxidation to acetone includes 12 titanium equipment, a factory with an annual output of 30000 tons of acetone, and a titanium equipment capacity of 40 tons.


(5) The oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid is a common process in China, and titanium materials have been used as high boiling point reboilers, first grade acetic acid tower reboilers, and condenser coolers, among other equipment. Titanium equipment has been used in distillation towers, fractionation towers, and distillation towers abroad. Especially in the oxidation of low-grade alkanes to produce acetic acid, there are many by-products with a formic acid content of 8%, which is highly corrosive. At this time, using titanium instead of stainless steel has an ideal effect.


(6) Terephthalic acid is a raw material for synthesizing polyester, which is industrially produced by the oxidation of xylene. Both high-temperature oxidation and low-temperature oxidation exhibit high-temperature corrosion by acetic acid and bromide. In media with temperatures above 135 ℃, 316L stainless steel undergoes pitting corrosion after several tens of hours. Therefore, the design specifications stipulate that titanium materials must be used above 135 ℃.


(7) Urea is a high-quality fertilizer and also a raw material for petrochemical industry. Since the first titanium lined urea synthesis tower was put into operation in 1963, nearly 10000 devices have been operating worldwide. Practice has shown that titanium lined synthesis towers have no significant corrosion. The converted corrosion rate of 316L stainless steel is 4.1-4.5mm/a. Therefore, titanium material has better economic benefits than stainless steel. In addition to titanium lined urea synthesis towers, since the 1970s, China has successively used CO2 stripping towers, heat exchangers, mixers, and pump valves.