Pakistan Refinery Ltd. (PRL) has commissioned an isomerization plant at its 47,110-b/d hydroskimming refinery along the coastal belt of Karachi, Pakistan.
Equipped with Honeywell’s UOP LLC’s Penex process, the unit is now fully operational and has helped to double the refinery’s output of high-octane gasoline to 24,000 tonnes/month in an effort to help meet Pakistan’s growing demand for cleaner transportation fuels, Honeywell said.
Commissioning of the isomerization plant began in late-June 2015, according to a notice on PRL’s web site.
The unit startup follows PRL’s March 2014 contract award to UOP to provide its modular equipment and proprietary Penex process technology for the project (OGJ Online, Mar. 18, 2014).
In addition to technology licensing and modular equipment, UOP delivered catalyst, adsorbent, engineering, technical support, and a drier regeneration control system for extended catalyst life for the Penex unit, which processes 5,000 b/d of light naphtha PRL previously exported into isomerate used for gasoline blending.
Contact Robert Brelsford at [email protected].
