Honeywell wins major contract for petrochemicals project

Honeywell UOP will supply a wide range of technologies in the form of license, design, key equipment, and state-of-the-art catalysts and adsorbents, while Honeywell Process Solutions will provide the process controls and automation systems.

The refining and petrochemical complex will be located in one of seven new large industrial sites that are part of China’s current national economic development plan.

When completed, it will be the largest crude-to-chemicals complex in China and one of the largest in the world. The complex will produce petrochemicals, including aromatics that are used to make plastic resins, films and fibres that are the basis for millions of products.

Mike Millard, Vice President and General Manager, Process Technology and Equipment at Honeywell UOP, said: “This is the first phase of a completely new site that will process 20 million tpy of crude oil and produce 5 million tpy of aromatics when completed […] It will help China meet its goal of self-sufficiency in paraxylene and serve as a major new source of propylene, jet fuel and other products.”

Chen Yan, Vice President and General Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions - Greater China, added: “The refining and petrochemical process units at this site will be controlled by the Experion^® Distributed Control System, which is designed and configured especially for Honeywell UOP processes […] This integrates all process control and safety systems and automation software under a single architecture, providing ZPC with pre-engineered solutions, faster project execution and an easy-to-use operator interface.”

The project includes a two-train LD Parex™ aromatics complex – including the UOP Sulfolane™, Isomar™ and Tatoray™ processes – for the production of 4 million tpy of paraxylene, a primary ingredient in plastics.

The new plant also will include an RFCC complex, using Honeywell UOP’s RCD Unionfining™ and RFCC™ processes to upgrade 5 million tpy of residual oil into fuels.

An Oleflex™ propane dehydrogenation unit will produce 600 000 tpy of polymer-grade propylene – another basic component in the production of plastics, in addition to synthetic rubber and gasoline additives.

The project also will include a Honeywell UOP Unicracking™ hydrocracker to convert vacuum gas oil into petrochemical feedstocks, two CCR PlatformingTM units to produce aromatics and blend stocks for making high-octane fuels, and a Unionfining naphtha hydrotreating unit to remove sulfur.