Chinese refiner to use Honeywell UOP technology to meet growing fuel demand
China’s Dongying Qirun Chemical Co. will license Honeywell UOP’s Unicracking technology for the production of diesel and naphtha at its refinery in China’s Shandong Province to meet growing domestic demand for transportation fuels. Honeywell UOP also will provide engineering, start-up services, equipment and catalysts.
“The growth in demand for transportation fuel in China now outpaces the U.S. and EU combined,” said Mike Millard, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Process Technology & Equipment business. “The Unicracking technology provides the flexibility to upgrade a variety of feedstocks to high-quality naphtha, kerosene and diesel, and will enable Qirun to produce a broad slate of products at a reduced cost and with lower consumption of hydrogen and natural gas.”
Since Honeywell UOP’s Unicracking process was introduced in 1964, the technology has advanced thanks to the development of more effective catalysts, unit design and reactor internals. It is available in multiple flow schemes, including single- and two-stage processes, and is designed to produce higher yields of transportation fuels that adhere to tighter regulations using a wider range of feedstocks. Honeywell UOP has licensed more than 200 Unicracking units in more than 40 countries.
The stand-alone Unicracking unit will process straight run vacuum gas oil, coker gas oil and light cycle oil. The unit’s fractionation section includes Heavy Polynuclear Aromatics (HPNA) management, allowing the unit to achieve near 100% conversion throughout the entire cycle length.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, China’s oil consumption is expected to grow to approximately 11.3 MMbpd this year, and maintain an annual growth rate of about 2.6% annually through 2040. Diesel fuel accounted for about one-third of total oil products demand in China in 2014. Gasoline has a quarter of the consumed petroleum share, with robust demand due to high sales of light-duty cars.
Qirun Chemical Co. is located Dongying City in the Yellow River delta of Shandong Province. The company’s main products are gasoline, diesel oil, light hydrocarbons, mixed aromatics, heavy oil, catalytic raw materials, residual oil, coking raw materials, wax oil, fuel oil, asphalt and naphtha.
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