Fuji Oil has selected the Honeywell UOP’s new R-364 Platforming catalyst to increase production of aromatics for chemical production at its Sodegaura Refinery on Tokyo Bay in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Image: A refinery. Photo: courtesy of Julie Elliott-Abshire/Freeimages.com.
The R-364 catalyst, which is being used at the refinery, is designed to convert naphtha feedstock into aromatics, which are used to make petrochemical compounds, or blended into gasoline to improve its octane rating.
Fuji Oil operation management department general manager Daiki Imai said: “We count on UOP to develop new catalysts that improve our economics.
“The R-364 catalyst is a drop-in replacement catalyst that effectively increases our capacity and flexibility.”
Additionally, the catalyst’s innovative design allows it to increase production of a CCR Platforming unit by up to 10%.
The CCR Platforming process is a continuous catalytic reforming process. It converts low-quality naphtha into blending stocks for gasoline, aromatics for plastics production and high-purity hydrogen.
Honeywell UOP’s refining catalysts product line senior business director Mike Cleveland said: “Fuji Oil selected the R-364 catalyst because it can increase the refinery’s production of aromatics by boosting throughput of the existing CCR Platforming unit.
“The catalyst meets Fuji Oil’s requirements for performance, product quality and economics without modifications or investment in new equipment.”
Introduced in 2017, the Honeywell UOP’s R-364 catalyst provides better activity and lower coke production, while retaining all the properties of the previous R-264 catalyst.
Fuji Oil imports crude oil and is involved in refining, production, processing, storage, export and sale of petroleum products and petrochemical feedstocks.
The firm also distributes petroleum products by sea, rail, road, and pipeline to customers in Japan.
Honeywell UOP, a part of Honeywell’s Performance Materials and Technologies strategic business group, is a supplier and licensor of process technology, catalysts, adsorbents, equipment, and consulting services to the petroleum refining, petrochemical, and gas processing industries.