American multinational conglomerate Honeywell has been selected by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) for the modernization of Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery (HAOR) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Image:: A refinery. Photo courtesy of James Knight/Freeimages.com
As part of the modernization, Honeywell’s Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology will be used for supplying high-quality hydrogen to help SOCAR meet growing demand for transportation fuels that comply with Euro V standards.
Pure hydrogen is essentially used in refining process to decontaminate oil and making catalytic processes easy for producing clean-burning fuels.
Honeywell UOP Europe, Africa and Central Asia regional vice president Nigel Orchard said: “Honeywell UOP’s hydrogen technology is an important element of SOCAR’s modernization program for the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery.
“The modernization program will help SOCAR to remain among the most advanced refiners in the region, further improving environmental protection along with the quality of life in Azerbaijan.”
Honeywell is expected to provide two PSA units to the refinery. The units will be controlled by Honeywell Process Solutions C300 distributed control systems.
The modernization would allow the refinery to process 7.5 million metric tons per annum of crude oil blended from local sources and efficiently produce gasoline and diesel, jet fuel and asphalt in compliance with Euro V.
Orchard added: “Hydrogen is an important element in the refining process, being produced as a byproduct of refining, and on-purpose from a steam methane reformer.
“UOP’s PSA technology purifies this hydrogen so it essentially can be recycled into the refinery to remove impurities and to perform catalytic processes that transform crude oil into clean fuels and other products.”
The HAOR was initially established in 1953 by the Ministry of the Oil Industry of the former Soviet Union. In 1980, UOP installed the first CCR Platforming and naphtha hydrotreating units in the refinery. This marked a major step towards shifting to high-octane gasoline production throughout the Soviet Union.