Recently, the 300,000-tonne-per-year Sinopec CHP-based propylene oxide (S-APO) complete technology, led and developed by Shanghai Research Institute, has achieved a successful one-time start-up at the industrial unit of Zhenhai Refining & Chemical. The plant has produced propylene oxide with a purity higher than 99.995% and realized stable full-load operation.

This marks the third industrial unit applying the technology following continuous iteration and upgrading since its first successful industrial application at Tianjin Petrochemical in 2023, representing another important breakthrough in the industrial application of Sinopec′s S-APO complete technology.

The 300,000-tonne-per-year CHP-based propylene oxide unit at Zhenhai Refining & Chemical can be efficiently integrated with phenol acetone, acrylonitrile and other units, featuring low material and energy consumption as well as excellent product quality. Shanghai Research Institute established a technical team to provide full-process technical support for unit inspection, catalyst loading, start-up preparation, commissioning and operation optimization. Through close cooperation between the technical team from Shanghai Research Institute and technicians from Zhenhai Refining & Chemical, key procedures were closely monitored during the trial run, and complex operating condition changes during start-up were precisely handled, ensuring the safe, stable, efficient and orderly commissioning of the unit.