Recently, the highly selective YS-9010K silver catalyst independently developed by Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry was successfully started up in Zhongke Refinery's EO/EG (EO/EG) unit, breaking the first domestic introduction of EO/EG unit. It is customary that imported silver catalysts must be used for production.
As the domestic unit with the largest single ethylene oxide production capacity and the longest process, the 250,000 tons/year ethylene oxide 400,000 tons/year ethylene glycol unit adopts the imported process and is one of the core equipment of Zhongke Refinery. In order to ensure the smooth start-up of the device, the research team of Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Industry tailored a new generation of highly selective YS-9010K silver catalyst according to the process characteristics of the device to further improve the overall performance of the catalyst and its compatibility with the device. After many laboratory verifications, the initial selective pull-up period of the catalyst has been significantly shortened. Based on the production scale of the EO/EG plant in Zhongke Refining & Chemical Co., Ltd., each increase in catalyst selectivity by one percentage point can save 4,500 tons of ethylene per year and reduce the production of carbon dioxide by 14,000 tons per year. The use of domestic silver catalysts significantly increases the efficiency.
