According to the official Weibo account of Shanghai Fire Protection, at about 4:00 on June 18, a deflagration occurred in the ethylene glycol unit of the Chemical Department of Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd., triggering multiple fires in the surrounding area. The command center quickly dispatched fire fighters to the scene for disposal. Currently, the fire has been brought under control.
As of 15:00 on the 18th, according to CCTV News, cooling and protection work on surrounding tanks was underway at the site.
After preliminary verification, the current accident caused a slight scratch on the arm of an employee of Shanghai Petrochemical. The injured person is a male and is being treated at Jinshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University. He is currently in stable condition. A driver of a third-party transport vehicle died. The specific cause is under further investigation.
What impact will the Shanghai Petrochemical ethylene glycol plant accident have on the market?
According to the 21st Century Business Herald, the device that caused the accident was an ethylene glycol device. According to data provided by Jin Lianchuang, a commodity information agency, the production capacities of Shanghai Petrochemical’s ethylene glycol units No. 1 and 2 are 225,000 tons/year and 380,000 tons/year respectively. The unit that caught fire this time was Unit 2.
Jin Lianchuang’s analysis pointed out that due to the large fire intensity, it is expected that Shanghai Petrochemical’s large ethylene unit, its ethylene cracking unit, supporting ethylene oxide, butadiene units, etc. will be affected.
Shanghai Petrochemical’s official Weibo report stated that after the fire, the company simultaneously launched an environmental early warning plan. The detection of volatile organic compounds at the company’s factory boundaries and external areas was normal, and no impact on the surrounding water environment has been found so far.
Shanghai Petrochemical belongs to Sinopec and is located in Jinshan District, Shanghai. It is a large-scale comprehensive refining and chemical integration enterprise in the Yangtze River Delta region. It is also an important domestic production base for refined oil, intermediate petrochemical products, synthetic resins and synthetic fibers, with a capacity of 16 million tons/ It has annual comprehensive crude oil processing, 700,000 tons/year ethylene, and 4.28 million tons/year organic chemical raw materials processing capabilities.
Ethylene glycol is a colorless, odorless, sweet liquid with low toxicity to animals and is miscible with water and acetone. It is an important basic organic raw material in the petrochemical industry. It has a wide range of downstream products and is mainly used for Polyester fiber (polyester), polyester film, packaging resin, etc. are also used in antifreeze, lubricants, plasticizers, explosives, coatings and inks, etc. End products include clothing, carpets, and various types of containers, etc., which are closely related to people’s Life is closely related.
Data provided by the commodity information agency Longzhong Information shows that polyester products including polyester, packaging resin, polyester film, etc. account for more than 87% of the current global consumption of ethylene glycol products, and more than 90% of domestic consumption Ethylene glycol is used in the production of polyester.
In the past ten years, domestic ethylene glycol production capacity has been further expanded and production capacity has also grown rapidly. According to Longzhong Information statistics, China’s total ethylene glycol production capacity will reach 20.811 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 32.71%.
Judging from the ranking of enterprises, Sinopec Group is the largest ethylene glycol producer in China, followed by Hengli Group and Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical; the top ten companies have a total production capacity of 13.231 million tons, accounting for 63.58% of the country’s total production capacity.
Macroeconomic policies, crude oil and coal price trends, the load of downstream polyester and terminal textile enterprises, and textile and clothing exports will all have an impact on the price of ethylene glycol.
What impact will this accident have on the overall ethylene glycol and related markets?
The Shanghai Petrochemical No. 2 ethylene glycol unit that was shut down due to the accident has a production capacity of 380,000 tons/year, accounting for 1.67% of the country’s total production capacity.
Jin Lianchuang pointed out that previously, due to low profits, the load of the unit has remained at around 50%. In the future, there will still be multiple ethylene glycol units in the country such as Yangzi Petrochemical, Shanxi Woneng, and Shanxi Yangmei Shouyang facing maintenance.
Jin Lianchuang’s analysis pointed out that Shanghai Petrochemical’s monthly output in May was 12,000 tons. This accident will lead to a reduction in June’s output, but it is still in the middle of the month and is expected to have little impact on this month’s output.
Affected by the expected reduction in domestic supply, ethylene glycol prices have now risen by more than 5,000 yuan/ton, and the shock in crude oil prices has had a certain impact on ethylene glycol production profits. However, port inventories continue to be high, and downstream demand has not yet improved.
Jin Lianchuang said that on the whole, domestic ethylene glycol production is expected to decrease by around 90,000-100,000 tons throughout June, and the market is expected to destock, which will support the short-term price of ethylene glycol; and the peak season of gold, silver and ten for downstream polyester is about to begin. Upon arrival, downstream stocks will be stocked in advance, and demand is expected to pick up slightly.
The Shanghai Petrochemical Fire held its 50th anniversary conference just the day before! The overhaul and renovation started last month
In the early morning of June 18, a fire broke out in the ethylene glycol unit area of Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Department. Nandu reporters noticed that in May, the company carried out Shanghai Petrochemical overhaul and renovation projects, and set up four temporary overhaul contractor stations in the polyester east area, polyester west area, the west area of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Affairs, and the ethylene glycol area of the Ministry of Chemical Industry. Just the day before the fire, Shanghai Petrochemical held a commemoration meeting for its 50th anniversary.
Nandu reporters learned from the official WeChat public account of Shanghai Petrochemical that in May, the company carried out Shanghai Petrochemical’s overhaul and renovation project. The company set up four overhaul projects in the polyester east area, polyester west area, the west area of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Water Affairs, and the ethylene glycol area of the Ministry of Chemical Industry. Contractor’s temporary station. It is reported that the company’s overall network for overhaul, renovation and shutdown in 2022 is mainly divided into two phases. The first phase is from April 1 to early July, mainly 21 sets of units including the Refining Department, Chemical Industry Department, and Carbon Fiber Business Department. The second phase mainly involves shutting down equipment for maintenance in the second half of the year, with a total of 21 sets of equipment.
According to the Xinjinshan Newspaper hosted by Shanghai Petrochemical, on June 17, 2022, Shanghai Petrochemical just held the 50th anniversary commemoration meeting.
Nandu reporters noticed that at this conference, Shanghai Petrochemical Chairman Wu Haijun also mentioned the need to “calculate safety and environmental protection accounts, calculate accurately long-term development accounts, maintain strategic confidence and patience, strengthen system thinking and leadership, and insist on complying with the law. We must strictly govern the enterprise and operate in compliance with regulations, firmly guard the bottom line of risks, and solidly promote the company to leap towards intrinsic safety.”
Shanghai Petrochemical has launched an environmental emergency plan! Experts say combustion produces large amounts of carbon dioxide
Sinopec Shanghai Company announced in the morning that after the fire, Shanghai Petrochemical simultaneously launched an environmental emergency plan and continued environmental monitoring of the company’s factory boundaries and external areas. The monitoring of volatile organic compounds was normal, and no impact of the fire on the surrounding water environment was found. cause impact.
Nandu reporters also interviewed Professor Yang from the School of Chemical Engineering and Environment of China University of Petroleum on related issues. He said, “Ethylene glycol has a low molecular structure and no impurities. When burned, it will produce a large amount of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which will not cause any harmful effects. There is a disproportionate impact on the environment.”
Regarding the concept of “implementing protective combustion”, Professor Yang from the School of Chemical Engineering and Environment of China University of Petroleum said, “Chemical fuels are highly flammable and are difficult to completely extinguish in a short period of time when fully burned. Therefore, it can Use the method of cutting off continuous burning to extinguish the fire within a controllable range.”
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