UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, has been selected by the Abu Dhabi Oil Refining Co. (Takreer) to provide key technology for a new petrochemical production unit in the UAE.
The new propane dehydrogenation (PDH) unit will use UOP's C3 Oleflex technology to convert propane to propylene, a material used in the production of materials such as films and packaging. The unit is expected to produce 500,000 metric tonnes of propylene per year.
UOP will provide engineering design, technology licensing, catalysts, adsorbents and equipment for the project, which is expected to start up by the end of 2013.
"This is the world's first PDH unit to be implemented within a refinery, a significant milestone that indicates refineries are moving toward production of higher-value petrochemical products to achieve the most value from their operations" said Pete Piotrowski, senior vice president and general manager for UOP's process technology and equipment business unit.
Jasem Al-Sayegh, general manager for Takreer, said, "We look forward to continued collaboration with UOP, which will help meet the world's growing demand for propylene and also help strengthen our business regionally."
The UOP Oleflex process uses catalytic dehydrogenation to convert propane to propylene. Compared to competing PDH processes, Oleflex provides the lowest cash cost of production and the highest return on investment, enabled by low operating and capital costs, high propylene yield and reliability, and maximum operating flexibility. Since the technology was commercialized in 1990, UOP has commissioned nine C3 Oleflex units for on-purpose propylene production.
Honeywell's UOP was recently selected by Takreer to provide process technology for its Ruwais facility, also located in the United Arab Emirates. The Carbon Black & Delayed Coker project will utilise the UOP Unionfining technology to upgrade distillate-range petroleum fractions to produce ultra-low-sulfur diesel.
Takreer's Ruwais and Abu Dhabi refineries produce more than 23 million tonnes of products for local and export markets per year.
