Automated Surfacing Wedding Technology Empowers Coke Drum Upgrading
In 2025, the coke drum replacement project for the 1.4-million-tonne delayed coking unit at Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical was successfully completed, marking the launch of China’s first fully surfaced coke drum. This breakthrough signals that China’slarge scale petrochemical key equipment manufacturing has entered a new era of independent control, intelligence and high efficiency.
As the core technology provider, AMET Intelligent Manufacturing (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd. supported the project with its advanced automatic surfacing technology for longitudinal, circumferential welds and transition sections, delivering superior quality, efficient delivery and professional engineering capability.
The original coke drum had been in service for over 16 years, facing serious aging, corrosion and fatigue risks. The new coke drum is 38.8 m high, 8.8 m in diameter and weighs 313 tonnes. It adopts a full surfacing composite cylinder structure and integral forged transition section, greatly enhancing high temperature strength, sulfur corrosion resistance and thermal fatigue resistance. This is the first full scale application of integral surfacing technology on a large coke drum in China.
The project adopted an innovative sectional transportation plus on site assembly and welding scheme. The drum was divided into 13 sections for prefabrication, transportation and hoisting, overcoming site constraints, cross pipe rack operation and oversize transportation challenges. The project achieved mechanical completion and successful start up on the first try, providing a replicable model for similar large petrochemical equipment revamps nationwide.
As a leading high tech enterprise with full surfacing capability for large petrochemical vessels, Aimante has developed an independent intellectual property automated surfacing system. Its advantages include:
· Ultimate quality: Uniform, defect free surfacing layers with high temperature wear resistance, corrosion resistance and thermal fatigue resistance.
· Higher efficiency: Automatic surfacing shortens construction period compared with traditional methods.
· Proven expertise: Mature solutions for high temperature, corrosive and alternating load conditions in petrochemical heavy equipment.
The full surfacing structure significantly improves safety, extends service life, reduces maintenance costs.
The successful application of China’s first fully surfaced coke drum is a landmark for Sinopec’s equipment upgrading and a demonstration of Aimante’s advanced surfacing technology. The company will continue to innovate in high end welding materials, intelligent equipment and integrated processes, supporting the green, low carbon, safe and high quality development of China’s petrochemical industry.
