Neste Oil begins use of a new liquid catalyst technology at its Porvoo refinery

abarrelfull wrote on 19 Jan 2011 11:38
Tags: finland neste refinery

Latest News

• Want a weekly review of refining news?

• This Week in Refining
• RSS Feed

Neste Oil's Porvoo refinery has begun use of a new liquid catalyst technology developed by US-based Headwaters, Inc. Use of the new catalyst technology will improve the overall performance of the refinery's diesel production line 4. Neste Oil is the first refiner to utilize the new catalyst on a commercial basis, and its experience with it so far has been positive.

"The work that we've done on this new catalyst technology has been groundbreaking, and is yet another example of Neste Oil's commitment to staying at the front of the refining field," says Miika Eerola, Vice President, Refinery Manager of the Porvoo refinery. "We carried out thorough tests on the new catalyst and worked closely with the supplier; our own R&D organization also played a major role in helping us introduce it."

Fouling is a typical phenomenon in the heavy oil upgrading technology used in line 4, and the introduction of the new catalyst has decreased fouling and helped improve the line's overall performance. The new liquid catalyst, Headwaters' HCAT technology, will also improve the potential to increase conversion rates on the line.

Diesel production line 4 was commissioned in 2007 and runs on sulfur-rich vacuum residue oil, which is processed into sulfur-free diesel fuel using hydrogenation technology.

• Neste Oil begins use of a new liquid catalyst technology at its Porvoo refinery

---