Precision Manufacturing Creates Heavy-Duty Gear for Hazardous Waste Treatment — Custom Evaporator Package for Tongliao Nuclear Residue Project Dispatched Smoothly
Recently, colorful flags lined the factory premises of our production base, hoisting operations proceeded in an orderly manner, and delivery vehicles stood ready for shipment. The complete set of high-corrosion-resistant MVR forced circulation evaporators custom-developed for the key nuclear residue disposal project in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, has finished all factory acceptance inspections, modular packaging and fastening reinforcement works, and officially departed for the construction site of the Tongliao project. As the core process equipment for nuclear residue waste liquid concentration and radioactive residue volume reduction treatment, this evaporator has undergone full-process high-standard manufacturing procedures including special drawing optimization, rigorous raw material flaw detection, precision forming welding, high-pressure air tightness testing, and overall unit linkage commissioning. All performance indicators covering pressure bearing & sealing performance, corrosion resistance, heat exchange efficiency and anti-scaling property passed acceptance at one go. The smooth delivery of this complete equipment set marks another landmark project delivery of our company in the customized manufacturing of high-end equipment for radioactive hazardous waste and high-corrosion special waste liquid evaporation treatment. With robust manufacturing capacity, we undertake the construction of national-level hazardous waste treatment projects, delivering pivotal equipment support for the resource utilization of nuclear residues, volume reduction management of solid and hazardous waste, and infrastructure development for ecological environmental protection in Tongliao.
As a vital industrial agglomeration in eastern Inner Mongolia, Tongliao boasts a layout of energy, mineral resources and supporting industrial chains, which has long generated high-risk wastes such as nuclear residue waste liquid containing radioactive components and high-salinity radioactive mother liquor. Such materials feature strong corrosivity, high tendency of crystallization and scaling, enrichment of radioactive components and drastic working condition fluctuations. Conventional industrial evaporators are prone to failures including tube bundle corrosion perforation, flow channel blockage, sealing failure and rapid attenuation of heat exchange efficiency, failing to satisfy the rigid requirements for long-term continuous and stable operation. The Tongliao Nuclear Residue Disposal Project is a key local ecological and environmental protection guarantee project. Its core objective is to realize drastic volume reduction of nuclear residue waste liquid via evaporation and crystallization processes, enrich and solidify radioactive substances through crystallization, complete waste liquid volume reduction and stable disposal of solid residues, and recycle condensed water that meets discharge standards for reuse. It cuts the costs of storage, transportation and disposal of radioactive hazardous waste from the source, and firmly safeguards the bottom line of regional ecological security. After multiple rounds of technical scheme comparison, on-site equipment working condition investigation, manufacturer qualification verification and performance inspection of similar hazardous waste projects, the project owner finally selected our company as the exclusive supplier of core evaporation equipment. Drawing on our years of technical accumulation in R&D of special hazardous waste evaporation equipment, manufacturing of nuclear power supporting heat exchange equipment and customization of evaporators for high-corrosion working conditions, we tailor-made an evaporation system matching the complex medium characteristics of nuclear residue waste liquid to guarantee long-term safe, stable and energy-saving operation of the whole disposal system.
To successfully fulfill this highly difficult customized manufacturing task for special evaporators, at the early stage of project initiation, four core departments including R&D, process design, production and manufacturing, as well as quality inspection and control set up a special technical research team. The team conducted in-depth communication on core parameters such as material composition at the project site, water quality test reports, operating load, site layout and safety control level, broke the design framework of standardized equipment, and carried out targeted structural and process optimization design. For the overall process route, the MVR (Mechanical Vapor Recompression) forced circulation evaporation process was adopted to replace the traditional multi-effect evaporation system. Based on the principle of secondary vapor compression circulating heat exchange, the equipment barely needs external steam heat source during normal operation. Its comprehensive energy consumption is reduced by more than 65% compared with traditional evaporators. This not only adapts to the objective condition of limited heat source supporting facilities at the project plant, but also greatly cuts long-term power consumption for project operation, aligning with the project positioning of green and low-carbon construction. Meanwhile, considering the high solid content and easy deposition & crystallization characteristics of nuclear residue waste liquid, we expanded the internal fluid flow channels of the equipment to raise the material flow velocity inside the tubes above 2.2 m/s. High-speed material scouring inhibits crystal adhesion on tube walls.
Equipped with external online cleaning interfaces, the system can realize circulating flushing without shutdown, thoroughly solving the industry-wide pain points of frequent blockage and repeated shutdown cleaning caused by high-radioactivity residue materials, and ensuring 24/7 uninterrupted continuous operation of the system.
In terms of equipment material selection and core component manufacturing, the main cylinder, heat exchange tube bundles, circulating pipelines, flange sealing surfaces and liquid-contact chambers of the entire evaporator are all customized and processed with 316L austenitic stainless steel compounded with special anti-corrosion lining layers. Material performance is upgraded to cope with composite acid-base-salt corrosion and aging caused by trace radioactive irradiation in radioactive media. All incoming raw materials undergo spectral composition testing and metallographic flaw inspection to prevent defective materials from entering production procedures. The core heat exchange tube bundles are processed via CNC precision rolling and integral tube expansion forming technology. Full automatic deep-groove argon arc full penetration welding is adopted for all weld joints connecting tube bundles and tube sheets. After welding completion, every weld is subject to dual inspection via Ultrasonic Testing (UT) non-destructive testing and Penetrant Testing (PT) to achieve a 100% welding qualification rate, eliminating potential safety hazards caused by medium leakage in later operation. The overall equipment adopts modular split structural design, dividing the evaporator main tank, steam compressor, preheater, condenser, crystallization separator and PLC intelligent control cabinet into independent modular units. This facilitates loading and unloading during long-distance oversized transportation, and brings great convenience for modular assembly on site as well as maintenance and replacement of core components in later periods, shortening on-site construction cycle by over 30%.
Whole-process quality control serves as the core bottom line for manufacturing special hazardous waste equipment. The company’s quality inspection department implements a full-process quality control mode of "inspection for each working procedure and complete file record for every component". Twelve rigid quality inspection nodes are set from plate blanking, component machining, assembly welding, heat treatment and anti-corrosion spraying to overall hydraulic pressure test, air tightness test and vacuum simulated operation commissioning. Unqualified products from the previous procedure are prohibited from flowing into the next working procedure. After the whole machine is completed, a hydraulic pressure resistance test at 1.5 times the design pressure, negative pressure vacuum tightness test and full-load simulated working condition test of the heat exchange system are carried out in accordance with standards stricter than national pressure vessel inspection specifications, to accurately verify key parameters including equipment pressure bearing limit, sealing reliability, evaporation treatment capacity and stability of outlet water quality. Linkage commissioning of the intelligent control system is completed simultaneously. The equipment is equipped with an integrated PLC intelligent touch control operating system, which can monitor dozens of operating parameters such as liquid level inside the tank, evaporation temperature, system pressure, compressor load and solid content of discharged materials in real time online. It is provided with automatic interlock protection against overpressure, overtemperature, low liquid level and overload, as well as audible and visual fault alarm functions, supporting remote data transmission and operation monitoring. It greatly reduces on-site manual duty intensity and meets the intelligent, low-manpower operation and maintenance management needs of hazardous waste disposal projects. For external protection treatment, the whole machine undergoes three-layer spraying protection including sand blasting for rust removal, epoxy zinc-rich primer and heavy-duty anti-corrosion topcoat, adapting to the outdoor plant storage environment in Tongliao featuring low winter temperature, large temperature difference between day and night, wind sand and humidity, so as to avoid rust damage of equipment during outdoor storage.
For decades, the company has adhered to the core development philosophy of Exquisite Manufacturing, Quality Priority and Special Customization for Severe Working Conditions. We have delved into the R&D and manufacturing of complete sets of industrial evaporation, heat exchange drying and zero-liquid-discharge hazardous waste equipment for more than 30 years. We hold Class A pressure vessel manufacturing qualification, ASME Stamp Certification, special equipment welding qualification and special design qualification for environmental protection projects. We continuously upgrade precision processing tooling, renovate CNC machining centers and build a full-process digital quality control system. We focus on the R&D and application of special evaporators for harsh working conditions such as nuclear power supporting equipment, radioactive hazardous waste disposal, high-salinity chemical waste liquid, lithium battery solid waste and industrial sludge, developing a batch of high-reliability, strong corrosion-resistant and long-service-life special core industrial equipment. Up to now, our special evaporation equipment has been stably put into operation at multiple domestic radioactive waste liquid disposal sites, nuclear facility maintenance waste liquid treatment stations and large-scale hazardous waste disposal bases, accumulating abundant practical experience in design, manufacturing, delivery and technical service of equipment for special working conditions. The successful completion and delivery of the complete evaporator set for the Tongliao Nuclear Residue Project is high recognition from the client for our manufacturing capacity of high-end special equipment, rigorous quality control system and strength of customized technical solutions. It further consolidates the company’s project performance and brand reputation in the northern hazardous waste treatment equipment market, laying a solid foundation for subsequent market expansion of nuclear power supporting projects, hazardous waste volume reduction projects and industrial wastewater zero-discharge projects in Inner Mongolia and Northeast China.
After equipment shipment, the company will dispatch senior process engineers and installation technical teams to the Tongliao project site simultaneously, providing full-chain on-site services covering equipment positioning & assembly, pipeline connection, system commissioning, practical operation training for operators and trial run escort. We will establish exclusive project operation and maintenance files and offer 24/7 technical response support to ensure successful one-time feeding trial run of the entire evaporator system and rapid stable commissioning of the nuclear residue waste liquid volume reduction disposal system. For long-term strategic development, the company will closely follow the market trends of upgrading domestic hazardous waste disposal, construction of nuclear environmental protection infrastructure and green low-carbon transformation of the industry. We will continuously refine precision processing techniques for special anti-corrosion evaporation equipment, iteratively optimize the structural design and intelligent control performance of the core MVR evaporation system, and strengthen the core competitive advantages of the equipment in resisting special medium corrosion, adapting to fluctuating working conditions and long-term stable operation. Adhering to high-standard pressure vessel manufacturing technology, military-grade reliable product quality and full-cycle one-stop delivery & operation services, we deliver complete evaporation and crystallization solutions for clients engaged in ecological environmental protection, nuclear power supporting facilities, new chemical materials and solid waste resource utilization nationwide. We help hazardous waste disposal projects across the country achieve multiple values including waste volume reduction & cost cutting, safety management and resource recycling, empowering high-quality and sustainable development of ecological environmental protection undertakings via high-end equipment manufacturing.