ExxonMobil methanol to jet technology to provide new route for SAF production

MRC) -- ExxonMobil announced a unique process technology to enable the manufacture of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from renewable methanol, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

ExxonMobil is focused on growing its lower-emission fuels business by leveraging technology and infrastructure. ExxonMobil is engineering proprietary methanol to jet technology that will produce SAF when renewable methanol is used as feedstock. This expands upon ExxonMobil’s suite of technology solutions that are engineered to manufacture SAF from other biofeeds.

"SAF produced from renewable methanol can play an important role in helping the aviation industry achieve the transition to a net-zero future. Reaching that goal by 2050 will require a multi-faceted approach, including advancements in aircraft-related technology, changes to infrastructure and operations, and a dramatic increase in SAF supply. Our process technology can be an important step in this direction,” said Russ Green, ExxonMobil’s lower-emission fuels venture executive.

Proprietary Methanol to Jet Technology ExxonMobil has a long history of developing advantaged proprietary process technologies and catalysts to make energy products that society needs. ExxonMobil is leveraging its core capabilities to develop a solution that converts methanol to SAF. Methanol derived from the gasification of biomass and waste, as well as from lower-carbon hydrogen and captured carbon dioxide (CO?), can be converted into SAF using ExxonMobil’s methanol to jet proprietary process technology and catalysts.

Preliminary estimates by ExxonMobil suggest that this solution has a higher yield of jet fuel than other options. The ExxonMobil solution also provides the flexibility to use a mix of alcohols as feedstock and produce renewable diesel and lower-carbon chemical feedstocks.

"Methanol to jet technology is scalable and suitable for the conversion of methanol produced from today's world-scale plants. The work necessary to qualify the resulting renewable jet fuel pathway has already started,” said James Ritchie, president of ExxonMobil Catalysts and Licensing LLC. Additionally, ExxonMobil has process technology and catalysts that are available to customers today which convert other renewable biofeeds, such as used cooking oils, animal fats, and vegetable oil, into renewable jet fuel.

Analysis shows that our BIDWTM isomerization catalyst provides a jet fuel yield advantage versus alternatives currently available. Decarbonization and Hydrogen Solutions ExxonMobil is evaluating opportunities to deploy these process technology solutions within a portfolio of options to help the aviation industry to decarbonize.

“ExxonMobil is advancing integrated solutions to extend our Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and Hydrogen capabilities to support the decarbonization objectives of our biofuels customers and partners,” said Siva Ariyapadi, bioenergy global business manager.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil, Grieg Edge, North Ammonia, and GreenH have signed a memorandum of understanding to study potential production and distribution of green hydrogen and ammonia for lower-emission marine fuels at ExxonMobil’s Slagen terminal in Norway.

As per MRC, ExxonMobil expects to add approximately 20,000 bpd of light, heavy and extra-heavy lubricant base stocks when upgrades at its Singapore integrated refining and petrochemical complex are complete in 2025.
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AGC has completed the consolidation of its chlor-alkali operations in Thailand and Vietnam under a new company called AGC Vinythai Public Co, the Japanese glass, said the company.

Placed under AGC Vinythai are two subsidiaries in Thailand, namely, a 58.78%-owned Vinythai Public Co (VNT) and a fully-owned AGC Chemicals (Thailand) Co; and a 78.11%-owned Vietnamese subsidiary AGC Chemicals Vietnam Co (ACVN).

AGC has a 70.22% stake in the newly formed company, with Thailand's PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) holding a 27.32% stake.

AGC and PTTGC are now "in the consideration process" to increase the Thai producer's ownership in AGC Vinythai to as much as 35%, while the Japanese group's stake in the new company will not fall below 65%.

As per MRC, AGC will invest over 100 billion yen (USD770 million) to boost production of caustic soda and other chemicals in Thailand. The manufacturer looks to expand capacity at its two factories in Thailand by early 2025, with plans to produce 1.64 million tons of caustic soda annually, a 20% increase from current output. AGC, formerly known as Asahi Glass Co., is making its largest-ever investment as economic growth in Southeast Asia lifts demand for chemicals tied to industrial use and electric vehicle production.

As per MRC, AGC has begun evaluating an expansion of production capacity at its chlor-alkali subsidiary, Vinythai, as part of its initiative to expand its chlor-alkali business in Thailand. The project would involve increasing the production capacity of polyvinyl chloride to 860,000 t/y from 300,000 t/y, vinyl chloride monomer to 830,000 t/y from 400,000 t/y and caustic soda to 590,000 t/y from 370,000 t/y. A final decision will be made based on the findings of the environmental and health impact assessments.
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Wood has secured a new multi-million-dollar front-end engineering design (FEED) contract by Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) for its planned Refinery Expansion and Upgrade Project (REUP) in Karachi, said Indianchemicalnews.

PRL’s refinery, situated on the coastal belt of Karachi, is designed to process various imported and local crude oil. It is one of the principal manufacturers and suppliers of petroleum products to domestic markets.

As part of the REUP project, PRL aims to increase its crude processing capacity to 100,000 bpd by adding an additional 50,000 bpd crude unit and associated processing facility to its existing refinery. The project seeks to upgrade the hydroskimming refinery to a deep conversion facility which will significantly reduce the production of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) and produce environmentally friendly Euro-V compliant premium products such as High-Speed Diesel (HSD) and Motor Spirit (MS/Petrol). The upgraded complex will also produce propylene, a valuable feedstock for petrochemicals.

Having completed the early study and Pre-FEED work in 2021, this new award extends Wood’s involvement in PRL’s REUP project. ”We are delighted to have secured this new contract with PRL which demonstrates the strength of our decades long relationship with the client and their confidence in our extensive refining expertise” said Giuseppe Zuccaro, President of Process & Chemicals at Wood.

“The REUP project plays an important role in Pakistan’s energy landscape and is a significant addition to Wood’s Process & Chemicals portfolio. We are committed to delivering a world-class FEED, and ready to support PRL in the subsequent phases of this strategic investment."

The strategic project, with a total installed cost of over USD1 billion dollars, serves a critical role in meeting the increasing energy needs of Pakistan's domestic market. The FEED component of the project, which is expected to be completed in August 2023, is being led by Wood’s Reading office in the UK with specialist support from its Salt Lake City office in the US.

As per MRC, Wood, the global consulting and engineering company, has entered into a 10-year global master services agreement for engineering and project related services with Chevron. The agreement can be used by all of Chevron’s business units and covers both offshore and onshore assets within the upstream, midstream and downstream markets.

As per MRC, Wood has secured a new multi-million-dollar contract to deliver engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCm) for Solvay new polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) site to be built in Tavaux, France.
PVDF is a high-performance polymer and is produced to meet the growing demand of lithium-ion batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles, creating safer and longer-range performance. The site will increase Solvay France’s PVDF capacity to 35,000 tons per year – making it the largest PVDF production site in Europe.
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Technip Energies has been awarded a large(1) Engineering, Procurement, Construction (EPC) contract by Hafslund Oslo Celsio, the largest supplier of district heating in Norway, for a world-first carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at waste to energy plant located in Oslo, Norway, said the company.

The project will be the first full-scale waste-to-energy plant in the world with CO2 capture. 400,000 tons per year of CO2 will be captured, which is the equivalent of the emissions from around 200,000 cars and will reduce Oslo’s emissions by 17%. As part of the Longship project, the CO2 will then be liquified and exported to Northern Lights which is the first cross-border, open-source CO2 transport and storage infrastructure network.

The Carbon Capture plant will use the Shell CANSOLV CO2 Capture System, a state-of-the-art amine based technology for the capture of CO2 from the flue gas.

This EPC contract award follows several years of a joint journey with the completion of the design competition, the successful delivery and test of a pilot unit and continuous collaboration between Technip Energies and Hafslund Oslo Celsio to optimize project economics. Developing, testing and proving this cost-effective solution is the result of a close partnership and co-development with the owner, T.EN and the technology provider.

Technip Energies considers a “large” contract award to be worth between EUR250 million and EUR500 million (between USD25 million and USD50 million).

As per MRC, Technip Energies and Alterra Energy have now entered into a global joint development and collaboration agreement to integrate Technip Energies’ pyrolysis oil purification technology with Alterra’s commercially available liquefaction process technology. By integrating both their proprietary processes, the two companies aim to accelerate the adoption of recycled feedstock, thus improving circular economy solutions for the global petrochemical industry. The combination of advanced recycling and purification technologies will enable more efficient processing and reuse of hard-to-recycle plastic.

As per MRC, TechnipFMC announced the launch of the placement of 16 million Technip Energies shares, representing ca. 9% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital, through a private placement by way of an accelerated bookbuild offering. Upon completion of the Placement, TechnipFMC would retain a direct stake of ca. 22% of Technip Energies’ issued and outstanding share capital.
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Belgian plastics firm Ravago has acquired UK recyclers Venture Polymers and Aurora Manufacturing for an undisclosed sum, said the company.

Cheshire-based Venture and Lancashire-based Aurora produce reprocessed PP and HDPE, with a joint 20,000 tonne capacity. Ravago said it intends to grow its operations further in the UK.

Manuel Gayo, Ravago Manufacturing Europe business director, said: “This is a key step in Ravago’s growth strategy in post-consumer recycling based compounds as we continue to support our customers with solutions to meet the ever-increasing demand for post-consumer recycled plastics."

Alex Cook, Aurora Manufacturing managing director, said: “Following two decades of work within the UK plastics recycling industry we are pleased to announce the acquisition of our businesses into the Ravago group.

As per MRC, Neste and Ravago aim to establish a joint venture to build an industrial facility for chemical recycling in North Sea Port in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. The facility is intended to be the starting point of joint global chemical recycling (often also called “advanced recycling”) activities, built upon the advancement of the thermochemical liquefaction technology of US-based Alterra Energy, an innovative chemical recycling technology company.

As MRC reported earlier, Ravago Group has carried out routine maintenance at its expandable polystyrene (EPS) plant in Schkopau, Germany. Thus, the turnaround at this plant with a capacity of 70,000/tonnes of EPS per year began on April 20, 2021, and was completed on April 28. Thus, the maintenance works at this plant lasted for one week.

Ravago represents more than 6.6 million metric tons of annual polymer sales, serving more than 50,000 active customers through more than 325 locations across more than 55 countries worldwide. Ravago's production capability consists of more than 45 manufacturing facilities, 19 of which are recycling and compounding plants in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa with a combined annual capacity of more than 775,000 metric tons; 13 of which are production plants in Europe that offer finished product solutions for the building sector; and seven of which are chemicals plants and 6 are application laboratories for its chemicals business.
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