Honeywell (HON) UOP announced that Turkey’s largest oil refiner is using Honeywell technology to boost diesel fuel production at its facility in Izmit, Turkey.
Tüpra?, the country’s largest industrial company, is using Honeywell UOP’s Unicracking™ enhanced two-stage processing unit to produce 75,000 barrels per day (BPSD) of middle distillate products, including Jet A-1 aviation fuel and Euro V diesel fuel. The technology, which can increase diesel production by up to 7 percent, will help Tüpra? meet domestic demand for the transportation fuel.
“Honeywell has provided refining technology and process automation to Tüpra? refineries for several decades, helping to build Turkey’s domestic oil industry,” said Orhan Genis, president of Honeywell in Turkey and Central Asia. “This project is another significant milestone in this strategic relationship between our companies.”
The Izmit facility is the largest refinery in Turkey, producing 40 percent of Turkey’s domestic supply of petroleum products. In addition to Honeywell UOP’s technology, the facility also employs automation and control technology from Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS). HPS is upgrading controls at two other Tüpra? refineries as part of a five-year service, maintenance and support contract aimed at improving operations and reducing maintenance costs.
“Turkey currently imports diesel, and diesel consumption is growing by 2½ percent per year,” said Mike Millard, vice president and general manager, Process Technology and Equipment at Honeywell UOP. “This technology is proven to enable refiners such as Tüpra? to improve fuel production while reducing energy and hydrogen consumption and other costs compared with competing technologies.”
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. Including the Tüpra? unit at Izmit, Honeywell UOP has licensed 14 enhanced two-stage Unicracking process units. Since the start-up of the Tüpra? unit, Honeywell UOP has started up additional enhanced two-stage units in China and in South America.
The Unicracking™ unit is integrated with other Honeywell UOP process technologies, including coker naphtha and distillate Unionfining™ units. The system, whose feedstocks include straight run diesel, coker gas oil and vacuum gas oils, uses a common fractionation section to reduce capital costs and improve Tüpra?’ return on investment.
Tüpra? operates four oil refineries with a total of 28.1 million tons annual crude oil processing capacity. The company has additional synergies from its 80 percent stake in shipping company D?TA? and 40 percent share of the petrol retailer Opet.
