A significant investment is being made at the Pernis-Moerdijk complex in The Netherlands to enable the site's cracker to utilise refinery hydrowax as feedstock. It is part of a strategy to strengthen the oil-chemical integration at the site and so maximise its long-term competitiveness.
The project involves using hydrowax produced at the Pernis refinery, and potentially other refineries in Europe, to replace naphtha that currently has to be imported into Moerdijk.
“Hydrowax is a by-product of the refinery’s hydrocracker but can offer significant advantages compared to conventional ethylene feedstocks,” explains Alex Farina, Strategy Manager for Base Chemicals.
“Its high hydrogen content produces a similar yield to naphtha but at lower cost. Redirecting the hydrowax from Pernis is an example of how we can leverage the close integration with oil refining activities.”
Other recent investments in The Netherlands include:
- expansion of the Pernis Isopropyl Alcohol plant
- increase in flexible polyol capacity at Pernis
The investment will focus on some alterations to the cracker furnaces and developing the logistics to transfer the feedstock.
“We have used hydrowax before as a feedstock but never on this scale or in such a systematic fashion,” explains Philippe Voyer, Lower Olefins Asset Coordinator.“Hydrowax is a little like candle wax and solidifies if allowed to cool, which means it has to be heated to maintain its liquid form,” he explains. “Part of the project will involve using heated storage tanks and shuttle barges to move the feedstock the short distance from Pernis to Moerdijk.”
The project is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2009. Graham van’t Hoff, Vice President Base Chemicals Europe, said: “This investment is key to ensuring Pernis-Moerdijk remains one of the most competitive petrochemical complexes in Europe.”
This feature was added to the Innovations section in December 2007
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