Recently, the globally renowned polyurethane production enterprise Wanhua Chemical Group announced in Yantai that the second phase of its annual production of 1 million tons of high-end nylon 12 and supporting raw materials project has officially started construction. The total investment of this project is about 8.5 billion yuan, and it is regarded as one of the important industrial projects in Shandong Province to promote the transformation of old and new driving forces. As the project enters the equipment procurement and installation preparation stage, a demand for high-performance fluorine lined valves for extreme corrosion conditions is rapidly released, which has attracted widespread attention in the chemical equipment and fluid control industry.
Nylon 12, as an important representative of high-end engineering plastics, is widely used in the automotive, electronic, electrical, and high-end manufacturing fields. The second phase expansion of this project will not only further expand the domestic nylon 12 production capacity, but also strengthen China's voice in the high-end engineering plastics industry chain. However, with the increase in production capacity comes higher requirements for the safety and reliability of production equipment.
According to the head of the project equipment department, in the production process of nylon 12, it is necessary to handle various highly corrosive chemical media, including fuming sulfuric acid and chlorosulfonic acid. This type of medium places extremely high demands on equipment materials, and traditional metal valves are prone to corrosion, leakage, and other problems during long-term operation, making it difficult to meet the safety standards of modern large-scale chemical plants. Therefore, the project clearly proposes to prioritize the use of the new generation PTFE/PFA lined fluorine lined valves to ensure stable operation of the equipment under extreme working conditions.
Compared with traditional lining structures, the valve products used in this project generally apply compression molding lining technology, which enables a tighter bond between the fluoroplastic lining layer and the metal valve body. This process forms an integral lining structure through high-pressure molding, which can effectively avoid the gap between the lining and the valve body, thus reducing the risk of lining falling off due to temperature changes or Pressure fluctuations, and greatly improving the corrosion resistance and service life of the valve.
It is worth noting that in terms of automation and safety management, the project has also introduced for the first time a corrosion-resistant regulating valve with wireless data transmission function on a large scale. This kind of intelligent valve can collect and transmit the flow, Pressure, temperature and other key parameters in the pipeline in real time, and realize remote monitoring and early warning through the data platform, so as to build a more perfect safety monitoring system for the chemical industry park and lay a foundation for the future construction of smart chemical plants.
Industry insiders believe that this engineering trend reflects a significant change in the demand structure for valve equipment in China's high-end chemical industry. The past cost oriented procurement model is gradually shifting towards a comprehensive evaluation system that places more emphasis on material performance, process reliability, and digital capabilities. As the scale of chemical plants continues to expand, the stability and predictability of equipment in extreme environments are becoming key indicators.
Under this trend, a group of domestic "specialized, refined, and innovative" enterprises focused on the field of anti-corrosion valves have begun to enter the supply chain of large-scale chemical projects. With continuous breakthroughs in the modification of fluoroplastic materials, compression molding processes, and structural design, these enterprises have gradually narrowed the technological gap with international brands and achieved alternative applications in some segmented fields.
With the continuous progress of project construction, the equipment operation data of nylon 12 device will also provide valuable practical experience for the long-term application of domestic special valves in extreme chemical conditions. It is widely expected in the industry that after the project is completed and put into operation, it will not only further enhance China's competitiveness in the global high-end engineering plastics market, but also bring new technological verification and industrial opportunities for the development of domestic high-end chemical equipment.
