Pressure vessels are closed systems that hold gases or liquids and withstand a certain pressure. To more effectively implement scientific management and safety supervision, my country's "Safety Supervision Regulations for Pressure Vessels" classifies pressure vessels into three categories based on working pressure, the hazard of the medium, and its role in production.
Different regulations are made for the design, manufacturing process, inspection items, contents, and methods for each category of pressure vessels. An import safety and quality licensing system is in place for pressure vessels; goods without an import safety and quality license are not allowed to be imported. The classification should follow the latest TSG21-2016 "Safety Technical Supervision Regulations for Fixed Pressure Vessels," first classifying them by medium into Group I and Group II, and then by pressure and volume into Class I, Class II, and Class III. The old Class I, Class II, and Class III classifications are no longer applicable.
The State Administration for Market Regulation is conducting pilot projects on the integrity management of pressure-bearing special equipment in 21 large-scale chemical enterprises with a certain management foundation in 13 provinces and municipalities, including Tianjin, Liaoning, Shanghai, and Jiangsu. Pressure-bearing special equipment mainly includes pressure vessels and pressure pipelines, which are widely used in chemical enterprises and serve as the "heart" and "blood vessels" of industrial production.
A pressure vessel is a sealed container capable of withstanding pressure. Pressure vessels have extremely wide applications, playing a vital role in many sectors of industry, civil use, military industry, and scientific research. They are most prevalent in the chemical and petrochemical industries, accounting for approximately 50% of all pressure vessels used in the petrochemical industry alone. In the chemical and petrochemical fields, pressure vessels are mainly used for heat transfer, mass transfer, and reaction processes, as well as for storing and transporting pressurized gases or liquefied gases. They also have wide applications in other industrial and civil fields, such as air compressors. Various special-purpose compressors and auxiliary equipment for refrigeration compressors (coolers, buffers, oil-water separators, gas storage tanks, evaporators, liquid coolant storage tanks, etc.) are all considered pressure vessels.
