From our correspondent — From August 11 to 17, the national final of the 2026 “Tengzhou Engineering Cup” 20th National College Student Chemical Engineering Design Competition was held at Ningxia University. Teams from China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing delivered outstanding performances. The Benstar Team won the Special Prize of the North China Division and the First Prize in the National Final, while the Qingsheng Hexi Team claimed the First Prize of the North China Division and the Second Prize in the National Final.

Hosted by the Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China and the China Chemical Education Association, and guided by the Teaching Steering Committee for Chemical Engineering Majors of Higher Education Institutions under the Ministry of Education, the National College Student Chemical Engineering Design Competition ranks among China’s most influential discipline competitions for undergraduates majoring in chemical engineering. The theme of this year’s competition was “Design a branch plant for clean production of styrene for a large chemical enterprise”, requiring entries to meet green and low-carbon development requirements. Since the competition kicked off in March, 4,690 teams from 503 universities with a total of 23,000 participants registered for the contest. After fierce competition across seven domestic divisions, 72 domestic teams and 2 international teams advanced to the national final. A total of 20 Special Prizes and 54 First Prizes were awarded.

The Benstar Team submitted the entry “600,000 Tons per Annum Clean Styrene Production Project in Tianjin Nangang Industrial Park”. The process adopts liquid-phase molecular sieve alkylation for ethylbenzene synthesis and ethylbenzene catalytic dehydrogenation for styrene production. Centered on the concepts of “green chemical industry, low-carbon intelligent manufacturing and resource recycling”, the team completed systematic design for process flow, energy utilization, equipment selection and safety control. Measures including heat integration, heat pump distillation, cascade steam utilization and material recycling were adopted to improve resource and energy efficiency. Combined with customized equipment design, HAZOP analysis, accident simulation and intelligent control, the safety and reliability of the plant were enhanced. The purity of styrene product in this project reaches 99.99%.

The University attaches great importance to competition organization and the cultivation of students’ engineering practical capabilities. This competition was overall coordinated by Cao Junya, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department, who served as the chief coach. The team adopted the mechanism combining the responsibility of the primary supervisor with collective tutoring. This achievement demonstrates the engineering competence of chemical engineering students, as well as the fruitful results of the University in chemical engineering practical teaching, innovation and entrepreneurship education, and high-caliber talent cultivation.