A First for China! Kunlun Lubricant's Low-Viscosity PAO Unit Based on Complete Continuous Clean Production Technology Succeeds in Trial Production

On January 9, 2022, the industrial demonstration unit for low-viscosity PAO using Kunlun Lubricant's complete continuous clean production technology succeeded in trial production, achieving the first industrial application of low-viscosity PAO lubricant production technology in China, breaking the foreign technology monopoly in one stroke and of great significance for accelerating the upgrading and replacement of China's lubricant base oils. After a 72-hour performance assessment and calibration, all systems ran stably and all control parameters were steady.
Breaking the technology blockade to create independent high-end lubricant products
Lubricating oil is the blood of an engine, and high-quality base oil is the key to blending and producing high-quality lubricants.
Poly-alpha-olefin synthetic oil (PAO) is internationally recognised as the ideal base oil for blending high-grade, special-purpose lubricants because of its good viscosity-temperature performance and low-temperature fluidity. Among these, low-viscosity PAO products, with their good viscosity-temperature performance, suitable high-temperature viscosity, excellent low-temperature fluidity and thermal-oxidative stability, have become the best-performing synthetic lubricant base oil available today.
In recent years, China's demand for high-performance PAO has increased substantially, with low-viscosity products accounting for more than 80% of total PAO demand, making them the largest-volume variety in use today. Because PAO involves military, aerospace, cutting-edge manufacturing and other important fields bearing on national strategic development, foreign companies have imposed a tight technology blockade, making it urgent to tackle core technologies.
The complete technology for continuous clean production of low-viscosity PAO lubricant base oil was jointly developed by the Petrochemical Research Institute of PetroChina Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as the Petrochemical Research Institute) and Kunlun Lubricant, and is an important result of the national key R&D programme project "Tackling and Applying Key Technologies for High-Performance Lubricant Production".
In 2020, Kunlun Lubricant and the Petrochemical Research Institute worked closely together to build China's first 10,000-tonne-class low-viscosity PAO base oil industrial unit - Kunlun Lubricant's 10,000 tonnes/year low-viscosity PAO industrial demonstration unit - jointly overcoming technical difficulties such as non-steady-state complexation of the polymerisation catalyst and strong heat release, and independently designing and completing the construction and commissioning of a tonne-scale PAO catalyst scale-up production unit, guaranteeing the smooth conduct of industrial testing.
Filling a technology gap and providing technical support for high-end manufacturing
After four years of technological effort, relying on China's first 10,000-tonne-class low-viscosity PAO base oil industrial test unit and through repeated testing and continuous process optimisation by the team, the project achieved remarkable results. By the end of 2021 the project had completed all industrial testing work and received high praise from industry experts.
Testing by authoritative institutions shows that the performance of the low-viscosity PAO products produced on the Kunlun Lubricant platform all reaches the technical level of comparable foreign products, with a number of core performance indicators such as viscosity index, pour point, flash point and low-temperature dynamic viscosity surpassing comparable foreign products.
The successful commissioning of Kunlun Lubricant's continuous clean production unit for synthetic base oils fills a gap in the relevant field in China and marks China's PAO lubricant base oil production technology entering the international advanced ranks. The success of this industrial demonstration unit's trial production will also strongly promote the progress of PetroChina's synthetic lubricant technology, accelerate the upgrading and replacement of China's lubricant base oils, drive the development of the domestic high-end lubricant industry and provide solid technical guarantees for the progress of China's lubricant industry and for supporting the development of national defence, the military industry and high-end manufacturing.
Scientific and technological self-reliance brightening the brand's base colour of "military-grade quality, a pillar of the great nation"
The success of this low-viscosity PAO lubricant base oil trial production is an important achievement of Kunlun Lubricant's insistence on scientific and technological self-reliance and independent R&D. As a representative of a national brand, for more than 70 years Kunlun Lubricant has always insisted on innovating through openness and developing through innovation and, with its resource advantages and strong R&D strength, keeps achieving breakthroughs in new fields, new technologies, new channels and new applications, breaking many international monopolies and guarding the pillars of the nation - aircraft carriers, aerospace, nuclear power, wind power, UHV and robotics - with military-grade quality, continuing to provide professional lubrication services for Chinese manufacturing, high-end equipment and key core technologies and driving the high-quality development of China's lubricant industry.
A time will come to ride the wind and cleave the waves, and set a cloud-white sail to cross the sea. Kunlun Lubricant will uphold the brand philosophy of "military-grade quality, a pillar of the great nation", insist on independent R&D, continuously optimise product quality and service quality, remain committed to high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and strive to build a world-class digital and intelligent high-tech enterprise with the best returns and the best brand.