energy and chemical industry

When they talk aboutenergy and chemical industry, often represent something monumental - giant refineries, pipelines, cracking plants. But in practice, especially in the heavy equipment segment for these industries, it all comes down to the little things. In details that cannot be described in textbooks. Many, by the way, forget that without the mining and processing stage - that same raw material base - there can be no talk of any energy or chemistry. This is where the real work begins.

Raw materials are not just “mined and transported?”

Let's take magnetic separators, for example. It would seem like a highly specialized thing. But in the chain of preparing coal for coke chemistry or ore dressing for metallurgy (and this is the basis for many chemical processes), this is a critically important link. Everything depends on the purity of raw materials: the efficiency of catalysts at a chemical plant, the ash content of coal at thermal power plants, and ultimately the cost of a kilowatt or ton of ammonia. A common mistake is to save money at this stage and install outdated equipment. Then the entire economics of the project goes downhill due to increased consumption of reagents or low efficiency.

We had experience at one of the Siberian coal mines. The customer wanted to modernize the enrichment section, but with minimal downtime. They installed separators just from productionLONGI Corporation— by the way, they have been in this segment since 1993, and their site in Fushun is a serious production facility covering 140 thousand square meters. So, the key was not the unit itself, but adaptation to a specific, already existing pulp supply scheme. I had to recalculate the angles and rotation speed of the drum on the spot, literally with the plant engineers. Is this the same “invisible” one? work that you won’t see in the catalogue.

It is precisely these nuances that determine whether the equipment will work “as it does on paper?” or it will become a headache. Benergy industryReliability requirements are prohibitive - a breakdown in the fuel supply chain paralyzes the entire station. Therefore, in the specifications for thermal power plants, we always include a margin for productivity and, what is important, for maintainability. The magnetic system of the same separator must be accessible for maintenance without completely disassembling the entire line - this is a lesson learned after one unpleasant incident in the Far East, where the failure of one coil shut down an entire enrichment section for a week.

Chemistry: where precision is more important than power

The chemical sector has a different philosophy. Here they often work with thinner materials, such as catalysts or mineral fillers. Their purity is sacred. Magnetic separation here acts as a final, fine cleaning. And if for coal the content of magnetic impurities in fractions of a percent is acceptable, then for some chemical precursors this is already a defect.

We worked with the production of barite concentrate, which is used for drilling fluids for oil and gas (again in connection withenergy). The goal is to remove even traces of magnetite. The standard drum separator did not give the desired result; it only captured large particles. The solution was found in a combination: first a high-gradient magnetic separator for fine fractions, and then a classic one. This increased capital costs, but sharply reduced losses of the main product. The client was skeptical at first, but when he calculated the annual effect of reducing the excess consumption of barite in wells, his opinion changed.

Here's what's important: in the chemical industry, equipment rarely operates in a "sterile" environment. factory conditions. Often this is high humidity, aggressive environment, dust. The design must take this into account. For example, the degree of protection of engines, the material of the drum (stainless steel or special coating). ULONGIthe range includes models just for such conditions - this is evident from their technical solutions, which are clearly born from field problems, and not from desk calculations. By the way, more than 60% of their staff are people with higher education, which is critically important for an equipment manufacturer: the theory is supported by practice in its own production, where about 4,000 units of equipment are produced per year.

Integration into existing processes is the main challenge

The most difficult part is not selling the equipment, but fitting it into an already operating pipeline. Especially at old enterprises, where foundation drawings could be lost, and the technological scheme changed ten times. What is needed here is not so much sales as engineering.

There was a project at a coke plant. It was necessary to increase the extraction of coke from fine coal. There is zero space, there is no space for installing a new separator. We had to propose a non-standard solution - a vertical layout of the device, with top feed and bottom unloading. This required the manufacturer, from the sameLONGI Corporation, individual design and bench testing. But it worked. The customer received an increase in product yield without stopping the main line and without expanding the area.

Such cases show thatenergy and chemical industry- this is not about gigantomania. This is about the ability to solve local but painful problems. About the efficiency of each node. Sometimes one correctly selected and installed magnetic separator on the fuel preparation line for a thermal power plant provides greater savings than an expensive boiler upgrade. Simply because it improves the quality of incoming raw materials.

Reliability versus ?novelty?

In our industries, conservatism is often justified. The introduction of any new technology carries the risk of stopping production. Therefore, many people prefer to work with trusted suppliers, even if their equipment is not “innovative”. terms. Reliability and availability of service are valued higher.

This is where history and production volume play a role. When the manufacturer, howLONGI, has been operating since 1993 and has produced thousands of pieces of equipment; it has accumulated a huge database of failures, weak points, and modifications. This is an invaluable experience. His next car will be more reliable than the previous one, not because there is some kind of super magnet (although this is important), but because the designers took into account how the shaft seal wears out in conditions of constant vibration, or how best to organize access to electrical wiring for electricians on duty.

We see this in spare parts. For equipment that has been in use for 10-15 years, it is still possible to obtain the original bearings or coils. This speaks of a systematic approach, and not of momentary sales. For energy engineers and chemists who expect a plant life cycle of 30-50 years, this is a key selection factor.

What's the result? Link

So what's all this for?Energy and chemical industryare supported by equipment that ensures continuity and cleanliness of processes. And often these are not the most noticeable, but absolutely necessary units - like magnetic separators. Their efficiency determines the economics of the entire downstream.

The choice here is always a compromise between price, reliability and fine-tuning for a specific task. There are no universal solutions. You need to deeply understand the customer’s technological chain: what happened before, what will happen after. Sometimes it is more correct to recommend not one powerful machine, but a cascade of several less productive ones, but giving a better result on a specific material.

That is why dialogue with the manufacturer, which itself is a serious industrial enterprise with its own engineering school (as in the case ofLONGGI), goes beyond simple purchasing. This is a joint effort to optimize the process. And this, in fact, is the essence of our work - not just supplying iron, but making sure that it brings real, measurable benefits in the value chain in energy and chemistry. Without this, all talk about modernization remains just talk.