Oxygen plants China: prospects? 

When you hear “oxygen installations from China”, the first thought for many is “cheap and cheerful”, and the quality... is up to the supplier. This is the main trap into which we have been driving ourselves for years. Working with various projects, from medical oxygen on the periphery to large ASUs for metallurgy, I saw both outright rubbish and solutions that forced me to reconsider my approaches. The question is not the country of origin, but who exactly you are dealing with on the other end. And here the picture has changed dramatically over the past 5-7 years.

From ?iron? to systems: how the landscape has changed

Previously, about ten years ago, Chinese suppliers often worked on the principle “give us your drawings - we will do it?”. The focus was on metal structures, tanks, compressors as individual units. The quality of welding, the thickness of the sheet - that's what was discussed. Now, especially with the advent of strong design institutes, they sell not equipment, but a technological scheme. This is another level.

Let's take for exampleadsorption plantsshort-cycle non-heating (SCBA). Previously, the main headache was the valves - their service life rarely exceeded 1.5-2 years with round-the-clock operation. Now some manufacturers, the same ones associated with Chengdu Huaxi Chemical Technology, offer solutions with a guarantee for pneumatics for up to 5 years. But it’s important to understand: it’s not just “put better valves?” This is a recalculation of the entire control logic, purge pressure, and adsorber geometry. They learned to optimize the process as a whole, and not just assemble an installation from catalog components.

Or using membrane technologies. Previously, membranes were purchased from American or German concerns, and the frame was assembled locally. Now I see a trend towards a full cycle: from the polymer mixture to the finished fiber. At the same design instituteChengdu Yizhi Technology Co.(this, by the way, is exactly the same “Yizhi”, a subsidiary of Huaxi Technology, their website is yzkjhx.ru - it’s useful to look through to understand the scale) in the portfolio there are projects where they not only installed an installation, but also monitor the efficiency of membranes of their own production in real time, adjusting the modes remotely. This is a service, not just a sale.

Where are the pitfalls? Experience from practice

The biggest misconception is to think that you can buy a setup like everyone else’s. and it will fit perfectly into your technical process. Chinese engineers are now very flexible in customization, but they need accurate input data. I had a case at one of the cement factories in Kazakhstan: they orderedoxygen plantto enrich the blast. The technical specifications indicated a standard purity of 93%. The equipment arrived, was installed, and the efficiency of the furnace increased slightly.

It turned out that for this particular furnace, with its specific charge and height, a purity of at least 95.5% and a different pressure were needed. It was not possible to simply increase the compressor power on the existing installation - such a possibility was not included. We had to negotiate a deep modernization of the cleaning unit. We lost six months. Conclusion: their engineering is strong when the dialogue occurs from the very beginning at the level of a deep technical specification. If you yourself do not fully understand your process, they will sell you a standard project. And then problems.

Another point is “saving on controllers”. Often in proposals you see a beautiful picture of Siemens or Schneider Electric, and in the final commercial offer - “or a locally produced analogue?” This analogue may not be bad, but the software, its resistance to voltage surges in the workshop, the possibility of customization - all this is critical. Insist on what was written in the specification from the beginning. It’s better to pay 5-7% more, but get full transparency about the process control system.

Case: a non-standard solution for small businesses

I would like to give an example of a project that was successful, in my opinion. Not a giant installation, but just right for a small fish processing factory in the Far East. They needed food-grade oxygen for packaging products (MGA technology), but the volumes were not constant, and the space in the workshop was limited. Standard modules were not suitable.

Contacted through representativesChengdu Yizhi Technology(their website, I repeat, is yzkjhx.ru, there are many cases on food there). Instead of offering a ready-made “box”, they sent an engineer (yes, he came and looked at the workshop). As a result, a hybrid version was born: a compactadsorption plantwith a buffer tank, but with a “smart stand-by” system. The installation does not shut down completely when consumption drops, but switches to minimum performance mode, maintaining the adsorbents in working condition. This increased the service life of the zeolites and saved on energy costs during start-up and shutdown.

The key was that they reassembled the standard control panel, taking out only the necessary elements for the operator, and all the “stuffing”? placed in a separate closet in the utility room. For the client - simplicity, for them - the use of their standard modules. Everyone won. This kind of flexibility is what is attractive now. They are not afraid of non-standard tasks if they see this as potential for developing technology.

What about spare parts and service? Reality vs myths

The most common fear: it will break and that’s it, wait three months for spare parts. The situation is changing. Major players such as Huaxi and their Yizhi Institute already have warehouse logistics in key regions. In Almaty or Novosibirsk, the main consumables - filters, seals, pressure sensors - are available. For critical components, for example, the rotor of the compression unit, the story is more complicated.

Here it is important to specify the terms and conditions at the contract stage. Successful experience: in one of the contracts we stipulated not just a “24 month guarantee”, but the supplier’s obligation to place a set of critical spare parts in our warehouse under the customer’s responsibility (the so-called “safety stock”). They supplied it at cost and we only paid for the items actually used after the warranty expired. This removed the main risks.

Service engineers. Previously, “general” people came. specialists. Nowadays, narrow-profile specialists come more often: one is responsible for adsorption, the other is responsible for the cryogenic part, if there is one. This indicates the depth of specialization within the companies themselves. There is also progress in video support: not just Zoom, but access to the SCADA system in “view only” mode. for remote diagnostics. But here, again, there is the issue of cybersecurity - it needs to be worked out separately.

Outlook: Which way is the wind blowing?

If we talk about the future, Chinese manufacturers are no longer catching up, but in some niches they are setting the trend. I see this in patents and publications in industry journals. Their strength now is integrationoxygen plantsinto the overall energy balance of the enterprise. For example, heat recovery from a compressor to heat the regeneration of adsorbents or for the needs of a boiler room. This brings real savings.

Another trend is modularity and scalability. There is no need to lay down a huge installation for “growth”. You can install a basic module, and then, as your needs grow, you can purchase and connect additional cleaning or compression units. This is highly sought after in fast-growing industries such as aquaculture or waste management.

Finally, ecology and “green” technologies. The demand for oxygen for wastewater treatment (oxygenation) or waste gasification is growing. Here, Chinese companies offer very competitive solutions, since they have a huge domestic market for developing these technologies. Design Institute Chengdu Yizhi Technology Co., Ltd., established with a registered capital of 120 million yuan, is one of those structures that works at the intersection of traditional chemical technology and new environmental challenges.

So, returning to the main question: prospects? More than that. But the approach must be professional. Don't look for the "cheapest option from China", but look for a technology partner who is ready to dive into your task. There are quite a lot of them, and the competition between them is our benefit, the buyers. The main thing is not to be fooled by glossy brochures, but to demand detailed calculations, links to working objects and an open dialogue on the terms of reference. Then the risks are minimized, and the result may be pleasantly surprising.