MOSCOW (MRC) -- KBR has been awarded technology licensing contracts by PKN Orlen for KBR's leading Solvent Deasphalting (SDA) and Residue Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) technologies as part of PKN's Bottom-of-the-Barrel project for its Plock Refinery in Poland, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Under the terms of the contracts, KBR will provide technology licensing and basic engineering design for the SDA and RFCC units. Following a PKN Orlen final investment decision, the SDA unit will be based on KBR's market-leading supercritical solvent recovery ROSE technology and will help PKN Orlen achieve its operating objectives, producing cleaner upgraded feedstock for the new RFCC unit. For the RFCC unit, KBR will provide its innovative, dual-riser MAXOFIN technology, which uses conventional FCC operating conditions, KBR's proprietary catalyst additives and state-of-the-art equipment to help PKN Orlen maximize propylene production from traditional FCC feedstocks and naphtha streams.
The combination of both proprietary technologies would allow PKN Orlen to upgrade crude residue and naphtha streams to petrochemical feedstocks and clean transportation fuels to address market demands.
"Selection of KBR's energy-efficient and sustainable technologies by PKN represents continued trust in our industry-leading refinery technologies," said Doug Kelly, KBR President, Technology. "Our ROSE technology delivers 50% energy saving over conventional solvent deasphalting technologies and MAXOFIN technology helps refiners maximize feedstock flexibility to produce higher value petrochemical products."
As MRC reported before, earlier this month, PKN Orlen signed a final contract with Hyundai Engineering and Tecnicas Reunidas for the engineering and construction of the main units for PKN Orlen's previously announced Olefins Complex III project at Plock, Poland.
Ethylene and propylene are the main feedstocks for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), respectively.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 953,400 tonnes in the first five months of 2021, which virtually corresponded to the same figure a year earlier. High denisty polyethylene (HDPE) shipments decreased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 607,8900 tonnes in January-May 2021, up by 33% year on year. Shipments of homopolymer PP and PP block copolymers increased, whereas deliveries of PP random copolymers decreased.
PKN Orlen is a leading player on the fuels and energy markets, and the largest company in Central and Eastern Europe, listed in prestigious global rankings such as Fortune Global 500, Platts TOP250 and Thompson Reuters TOP100. The ORLEN Group operates in 6 home markets – Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Slovakia and Canada.
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