ABB upgrades Repsol butane plants without any downtime in operations

Repsol Butano entered into an agreement with ABB to upgrade its Distributed Control Systems at 12 of the energy company’s butane factories across Spain, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The 18 month-long migration project was executed in a systematic manner, with one plant being updated every month, ensuring that there was no operational downtime or loss of productivity.

The latest 800xA 6.1.1 platform aids in the optimization of services and database connections across Repsol’s twelve butane factories. Completely based on virtual machines, the new system also enables standardization of control libraries for all the updated facilities. Additionally, virtualization helps to improve server reliability and availability, while lowering operational costs for the customer.

“This upgrade will allow Repsol to modernize and streamline its day-to-day operations across all butane plants,” said Roberto Rivero, Project Manager at ABB Energy Industries Spain. “It will also increase quality, productivity and security, while improving energy and cost efficiency. Repsol has also signed up for ABB Care service program to maintain and further optimize their systems operation over the years to come”.

Despite a very tight schedule, ABB completed the migration project on time. The complete commissioning of each factory took four days, which involved close collaboration between Repsol and ABB project engineer team in Spain.

The upgraded system has been in operation for more than six months. During this period the system has improved the visualization and control management of process enabling continuous improvement of operational efficiency.

We remind, Repsol and Signode have developed a ready-to-use strap for high tenacity applications made of a polypropylene (PP) compound with 30% recycled content. The Spanish petrochemical and the U.S.-based transit-packaging provider claim the solution is a market first.

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Smurfit Kappa, global leader in sustainable packaging, fully supports the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation’s (PPWR) as part of Europe’s Green Deal objectives, said Polymerupdate.

The European Parliament’s vote on the PPWR legislation yesterday is a significant step towards a circular economy, following the EU Commission’s proposal last year. Back in 2020, the EU Council already welcomed the intention for all packaging to be reusable or recyclable by 2030.

The European cardboard industry has already had, for decades, the best recycling system of all packaging materials. Total cardboard production in the EU is 32 million tonnes per year out of which 90% is recycled . A box can be recycled up to 25 times making it the most recycled packaging material in Europe.

The European cardboard industry is a frontrunner in delivering Europe’s green transition with a product that is 100% recyclable, renewable and biodegradable.

Saverio Mayer, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Europe, said: “The EU Parliament has made a historical decision on a landmark legislation leading Europe towards a truly circular economy. It took a pragmatic approach on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation eyeing a significant reduction of nonrecycled packaging waste.

“The Parliament has recognised that reuse and recycling of packaging are complementary and the robust recycling systems that have existed for decades are cornerstones of EU policies for environmental sustainability.

We remind, the total volume of packaging waste in the EU increased from 66 million metric tons (MMt) in 2009 to 84 MMt in 2021, according to the parliament. Each EU citizen generated 188.7 kilograms of packaging waste in 2021, a figure that is expected to increase to 209 kilograms in 2030 without additional measures.

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Recycling works: plastic packaging specialist ALPLA operates state-of-the-art plants worldwide under the brand ALPLArecycling for the production of rPET (recycled PET) and rHDPE (recycled HDPE), said the company.

Calculation of the product carbon footprint by the independent consultancy c7-consult now provides new data for a total of four plants in Mexico and Germany. Carbon reductions of up to 87 per cent compared to virgin materials confirm the climate protection effect of recycled plastics and the ecological importance of regional bottle-to-bottle loops.

ALPLA processes used plastic packaging into recyclate. The recycled material produced in Mexico and Germany causes up to 87 percent less CO2 emissions than virgin material.

ALPLA is focusing on the circular economy: the global packaging specialist invests more than 50 million euros annually in recycling and uses state-of-the-art technologies to produce recycled material. With an installed and projected output capacity of 350,000 tonnes per year, the company is one of the world’s leading plastics recyclers. Analyses performed by the life cycle assessment specialist c7-consult now confirm efficient production at a total of four additional sites in Mexico and Germany. There, ALPLArecycling produces rPET and rHDPE, which produces up to 87 per cent fewer carbon emissions than virgin materials.

‘The figures confirm our path. We produce climate-friendly recycling solutions with a regional focus and convert the material into new packaging, thereby promoting the bottle-to-bottle loop. In this way, we ensure there are safe, affordable and sustainable packaging solutions all over the world,’ emphasises Georg Lasser, Director of Business Development, Procurement and Sales, Recycling, at ALPLA.

We remind, Alpla, together with its partners Ecohelp SRL (Romania) and United Polymer Trading AG (Switzerland), have started production at their joint recycling plant in Targu Mures, Romania. The plant, located adjacent to the existing Ecohelp site in Targu Mures, has an annual capacity of around 18,000 tonnes of post-consumer-recycled PET (rPET) per year and aims to supply the southeast European market with food-grade rPET. The project has led to the creation of around 20 new jobs. The joint venture partners will host the official opening ceremony on 4 May 2023.

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ADNOC, announced that it has opened “H2GO”, the region’s first high-speed green hydrogen pilot refueling station, to test a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen-powered vehicles, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

The station, which is located on land provided by Masdar City and operated by ADNOC Distribution, will create green hydrogen from water using an electrolyser powered by clean grid electricity.

Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Executive Director, Low Carbon Solutions and International Growth, said: “We are pleased to launch this unique high-speed green hydrogen refueling station which supports the UAE’s National Hydrogen Strategy. ADNOC continues to collaborate with local and international companies on innovative technologies and low-carbon solutions that can accelerate decarbonization and support a responsible energy transition.”

The hydrogen supplied at the pilot station will be certified as “green” from solar sources by the International REC Standard, an internationally recognized certification organization. The pilot will be used to gather data to understand the long-term viability of hydrogen vehicles in the UAE.

The pilot is supported by the Integrated Transport Center in Abu Dhabi, and the high-speed refueler was provided by Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company. Throughout the pilot, the fleet of hydrogen vehicles are being provided by Toyota, Al Futtaim Motors and BMW, and will be tested by taxi companies, including Tawasul.

ADNOC has allocated an initial $15 billion (AED55 billion) to advance lower-carbon solutions and develop decarbonization technologies to reduce its carbon intensity by 25% by 2030 and enable its Net Zero by 2045 ambition.

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Neste has signed a purchase agreement for solar power supply to its Porvoo refinery in Finland with the renewable energy company CPC Finland Oy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.

Solar power supply from the Lakari solar plant in Rauma, Finland is expected to start in spring 2024. Once ready, the plant will be the largest operating solar plant in Finland. The total annual volume of the agreement is approximately 24 GWh, which represents 75% of the annual capacity of the Lakari solar plant in Rauma.

“Neste’s agreement on solar power is a valuable addition to our existing wind power and hydropower agreements. The agreed annual volume corresponds to some 2% of the annual electricity consumption at our Porvoo refinery,” summarizes Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President for Oil Products business unit at Neste.

Porvoo refinery has used 100% renewable electricity since the beginning of 2022. Due to the planned development at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, the use of electricity is expected to increase over the coming years. With the new agreement on the supply of solar power, Neste aims to ensure that its electricity will continue to be derived from renewable resources.

Neste is committed to combating climate change and reducing climate emissions both globally and locally. To support these aims, the company has set ambitious climate targets: The signed solar power agreement supports Neste’s commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of its production, helping the company work towards reaching carbon neutral production by 2035. Neste is additionally committed to reducing customers' greenhouse gas emissions with its renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons CO2eq annually by 2030 and the use phase emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040, as well as working with our suppliers and partners to reduce emissions across the entire value chain (scope 3).

We remind, Neste is partnering with two new distributors in France to make Neste MY Renewable Diesel™ available for the first time in the market and to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emission in the transport sector. Neste MY Renewable Diesel will be available in France from the beginning of January, 2024.

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