MAN Turbo going big

From Zhejiang Yisheng Petrochemical Co. LTD., China, MAN Turbo received the order for the delivery of two complete machine trains for production of terephthalic acid (PTA). The unit is located in Ningbo which is approx. 200 km south of Shanghai and is designed for a production rate of 2 x 1,000,000 t/y PTA. MAN Turbo has already supplied two machine trains with an annual capacity of 500,000 PTA each to this location.

Together with a machine train that had been commissioned in 2007 for a production capacity of 900,000 t/y, the biggest machine trains worldwide for the production of terephthalic acid now bear the company name plate of MAN.

Both machine trains comprise four core components: one air compressor, one steam turbine, one expander as well as one motor/generator each.

The steam turbine will be operated using the saturated steam produced in the process. One special feature of this steam turbine is the axial steam outlet. This makes it possible to minimize the height of the machinery house. The expander utilizes the tail gas occurring in the process. The surplus power from the expander and steam turbine is used in the generator to generate electricity.

Terephthalic acid (PTA) is the principal raw material for one of the main polymers in the plastics industry and thus a basic material in the manufacture of plastic products and modern synthetic fibres.

Both trains will be delivered to China early in 2011.