DuPont Clean Technologies is pleased to announce the successful performance test of a 3.4 million tons/year IsoTherming^® diesel hydrogenation (DHT) unit by CNOOC Huizhou Petrochemicals Co., Ltd. at its Huizhou refinery in Guangdong, China. CNOOC completed calibration of the IsoTherming^® DHT unit at 100% load in the third quarter of 2018, with the system meeting all design requirements and product quality targets. Earlier in 2018, the refinery also successfully started up a 2.6 million tons/year IsoTherming^® vacuum gas oil (VGO) hydrogenation unit.

 “The DuPont IsoTherming^® liquid phase hydrogenation technology is outstanding in terms of energy savings,” said Mr Chen Chun, Chief Engineer of the CNOOC Refining and Marketing Division. “Huizhou’s 3.4 million tons/year diesel liquid phase hydrogenation unit consumes only 4.33 kg of oil equivalent (EO) / t of raw materials, far lower than the traditional trickle bed unit energy consumption.”

The IsoTherming^® technology uses the reactor effluent as a liquid recycle stream rather than a recycle gas system to deliver the hydrogen required for chemical reactions.  This advanced technology eliminates the need for a costly recycle gas compressor, high pressure amine absorber and downstream high pressure separation equipment, thus significantly reducing the capital cost for the unit.  With the application of the recycle pump and the efficient use of the available heat from the reactor effluent, the unit operates with a significant reduction in operating costs as compared to conventional hydroprocessing technology. 

With a total installed capacity of 440,000 bpd (Phase I and Phase II), the CNOOC refinery, whose Phase II project went into operation in September 2017, has already previously invested in technology from DuPont Clean Technologies. This latest development follows the installation of emissions lowering technology provided by the BELCO^® wet scrubbing catalytic cracking flue gas desulfurization technology, licensed by DuPont Clean Technologies, for two sets of fluid catalytic cracking flue gas dedusting units (FCCUs). The first is a 1.2 million tons/year FCCU while the second has a capacity of 4.8 million tons/year FCCU. The CNOOC Huizhou refinery also contains a 160 kmta alkylation unit utilizing the STRATCO^® alkylation technology, also under license from DuPont Clean Technologies, to convert low value isobutane and olefins into high value alkylate, a key ingredient for the production of clean gasoline.

Mr. Eli Ben-Shoshan, Global Business Leader, DuPont Clean Technologies, commented, “We are delighted to support CNOOC with highly efficient and cost-effective technologies that allow the refinery to satisfy demand for cleaner transportation fuels in an economical way by reducing energy consumption and operating costs while meeting stringent quality and environmental standards.”

 The IsoTherming^® technology is commercially proven to process a wide range of feedstocks, from kerosene to gas oils, including 100 percent light cycle oil. The units are designed to provide refiners with a constant saving on utilities in the magnitude of 30-60 percent compared to trickle bed technologies and the potential of 30 percent capital cost savings or more. To date, DuPont has 26 IsoTherming^® hydroprocessing technology licenses globally. The IsoTherming^® hydroprocessing technology is commercially proven in 16 operational units with capacities ranging from 1,500 bpd to 80,000 bpd processing a diverse set of feedstocks.