News Post
Unipetrol resumes production at Litvinov steam cracker
Photo courtesy of Unipetrol,
Unipetrol has resumed production at its steam cracker damaged during the extraordinary event in August, 2015, at the Litvinov plant. Seven out of ten steam cracker heaters are in operation at the moment; the restoration to normal modes of operation is expected in October.
In recent days, the steam cracker underwent final pressure testing and gradual process of restarting the individual technologies. “Safety is naturally our highest priority, therefore we repeatedly conducted the necessary tests and trials to make sure that the steam cracker is ready to commence theproduction,” said Unipetrol Board member Krzysztof Zdziarski. “The steam cracker restart will allow us fully utilize the subsequent production capacities at propylene unit and two polyethylene units,” added Krzysztof Zdziarski.
Steam cracker restoration lasted more than 10 months and related costs amounted to $160MM. Theconstruction of four new heaters which replaced the damaged technology, repair of the damage chimney, flue, pipe racks, propylene column protection system, wiring, replacement of measurement and control elements, insulation and local repairs of damaged facilities were part of the ten-month steam cracker reconstruction.
Based on the results of internal investigation, the company took measures to minimize the risk of potential incidents in the future. Newly adopted technological measures affected among others also safety valve system on the propylene column where new valves were installed in accordance with good engineering practice. Safety valve system at the ethylene column and all technological facilities was also inspected so as to always meet the current needs according to the best available technical solutions. Revision of current emergency procedures was also a part of the measures, including the development of emergency plans related to cases of high risk.
Reconstruction in numbers:
- More than one million hours has been worked in the steam cracker reconstruction (Unipetrol, Linde and Technip employees)
- Approximately 900 to 1 000 employees of external companies participated daily in the reconstruction (roughly half of them were employed in local companies)
- The total costs for repairing the damaged facility amounted to $160MM
- Reconstruction took more than 10 months
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