On the 12th, Hyundai Engineering announced that it has successfully completed the installation of three reactors, the core equipment and the heaviest items of the polyethylene (PE) process, at the site of the SHAHEEN Project Package-2 being carried out in Ulsan.
The installed reactors are each placed in a total of three units (two LLDPE and one HDPE). They are also key equipment for the SHAHEEN Project Package-2 project, which produces 1.32 million tons of polyethylene annually.
The reactor is a major facility in the polymer process that produces polyethylene resin (in powder form) through a polymerization reaction by introducing refined ethylene and catalyst, which directly affects production efficiency and quality. It particularly incorporates complex reaction technologies that precisely control conditions such as pressure, temperature, and catalyst.
To install the reactor, which is 46 meters tall, 5.5 meters in diameter, and weighs 505 tons, an 1,800-ton crawler crane and a 600-ton tail crane were mobilized. The installation was carried out by lifting the reactor to about 80 meters high and settling it onto the steel structure foundation installed on-site. This process symbolizes the beginning of the heavy equipment installation schedule for the SHAHEEN Project Package-2.
On-site, thorough preparations were conducted from the beginning of the project for this installation. As a result of systematically conducting the entire process including investigating the transportation route for the reactor, establishing the transport plan, and site rework, the installation was completed on schedule.
In April, Hyundai Engineering applied the company's first pre-assembled unit (PAU) module to this project. The PAU module is a large structure with pre-assembled elements such as steel frame, machinery, piping, and electricity, manufactured at the module plant and then transported to the site via land and sea.
This is expected to significantly enhance construction efficiency and safety, as well as reduce the overall process duration. Hyundai Engineering has proven its PAU module technology by overseeing the entire process from design, procurement, module production, transportation, to on-site installation.
The SHAHEEN Project is a high-value petrochemical product production facility construction project that S-Oil is promoting with an investment of approximately 9.3 trillion won, the largest ever in Korea's petrochemical sector. Upon completion, it is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1.8 million tons of ethylene, 770,000 tons of propylene, 880,000 tons of LLDPE, and 440,000 tons of HDPE.
A representative from Hyundai Engineering said, "With the installation of this reactor, the pace of progress for the SHAHEEN Project will accelerate," and noted, "We will successfully carry out the project with safety and quality as our top priorities."