11 July 2018
DETAILS
Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that
Cepsa will convert an alkylation unit using hydrofluoric acid
to Honeywell UOP’s solid bed Detal-Plus™ technology
at its refinery in San Roque, Spain.
The unit produces linear alkylbenzene (LAB),
which is used to make
a variety of different detergent formulations,
including biodegradable household detergents.
Honeywell will provide
catalysts and adsorbents,
basic engineering design and
other associated services for the complex.
When completed in 2020, this project will mark
the world’s first conversion
of an HF alkylation unit to solid bed technology.
With the conversion to Detal-Plus technology,
the plant’s capacity will increase
by 50,000 metric tons to 250,000 metric tons of LAB per year.
The Detal-Plus technology,
which was co-developed with Cepsa,
is the first solid bed technology with the flexibility
to produce LAB for a variety of different detergent formulations.
The heart of the process is Honeywell UOP’s new
ZDA-30 series catalyst
which features higher activity and selectivity,
making it more energy efficient.
The Detal-Plus technology, combined with
Honeywell UOP’s Molex™, Pacol™, DeFine™
and PEP™ processes,
forms an integrated and energy-efficient LAB complex.
The Molex process provides
one of the most economical routes
to produce normal paraffins from kerosene.
Pacol technology
performs dehydrogenation of normal paraffins to olefins, and
Minimal loss of feedstock to byproducts
make the UOP Pacol™ process
the most economical paraffin dehydrogenation technology available.
During this process, normal paraffins are dehydrogenated
to their corresponding mono-olefins using UOP’s highly active
and selective DeH series of catalysts.
The dehydrogenation is achieved under mild operating conditions.
The Pacol process was first commercialized in the 1960’s
and more than 40 units have been licensed
PEP technology
handles the selective removal of aromatics.
The UOP PEP™ process enables the selective removal of aromatics
in the olefin/paraffin feed to the Detal unit.
Removal of the aromatics results in a 3-5 % increase in LAB yield
and improved stability of the Detal alkylation catalyst.
The PEP process was first commercialized in 1995
and more than 10 units have been licensed.
Honeywell pioneered the manufacture of LAB in the 1960s,
helping address the negative environmental impact
of conventional detergents.
Today, LAB from Honeywell UOP processes
is the most widely used component
in the production of biodegradable detergents,
emulsifiers, dispersants, wetting and foaming agents.
Miguel Ángel Calderón,
Vice President, Technology at Cepsa
“In addition to pioneering development of this technology with UOP,
Cepsa is the world leader in the manufacture of LAB,”
“This project allows us
to revamp the Puente Mayorga plant at San Roque,
so we can enhance its competitiveness,
and apply this experience
to our other installations around the world.”
John Gugel,
president of Honeywell UOP
“The Detal-Plus technology is a highly efficient solid bed process
for making detergent alkylate,”
“It also has the added benefit of being far simpler to operate.”
Contact:
John Simley |
847-391-2278 |
John.Simley@honeywell.com |
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI