A dimethyl oxalate reactor is used for production of ethylene glycol. This example was manufactured by Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group. [Photo/Shanxi Economic Daily] 

A total of six dimethyl oxalate reactors – or industrial vats used in chemical reactions – were recently shipped from Binhai Port of Tianjin, in a watershed development that is expected to lead to a breakthrough in international markets for home-produced vessel pressure equipment. 

They reactors were manufactured by Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group – headquartered in Taiyuan in Shanxi province. One of the biggest makers of heavy machinery in China, it broke China's record for manufacturing the biggest high-end pressure vessel equipment with the reactors, company officials said, 

The six 266-ton stainless steel reactors, core equipment in the production of ethylene glycol, were made for Hubei Sanning Chemical Industry Co's ethylene glycol project which has installed capacity of 600,000 tons per year. 

Ethylene glycol is a chemical that is commonly used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications – among them are antifreeze and coolants. It helps keep car engines from freezing in the winter and acts as a coolant to reduce overheating in the summer.  

The reactors demanded extremely high technical specifications in their welding, as well as in general quality control. After thousands times of trials, Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group designed the final product which achieved the highest test results in the quality of its welding, company executives said. 

They added that the delivery of the six industrial vats also broke a bottleneck that Shanxi province once could not transport oversized components, laying a solid foundation for the group to expand into the pressure vessel equipment market. 

Founded in 1950, Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Co was the first State-owned heavy machinery company since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. 

The group boasts a wide range of products and offers a variety of services in fields such as metallurgy, mining, energy, transportation, chemical industry, defense and aerospace.