PKN Orlen lets contract for new units at Plock integrated complex

Polski Koncern Naftowy SA (PKN Orlen) has let a contract to Honeywell UOP LLC to provide technology licensing for new units to be installed as part of a project to expand petrochemicals production at its 327,300-b/d integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Plock, Poland (OGJ Online, Dec. 2, 2019).

As part of the contract, UOP will deliver licensing for its proprietary Q-Max and Phenol 3G technologies to enable production of 200,000 tonnes/year of phenol at the Plock site, the service provider said.

Alongside technology licensing, UOP said it also will provide both a cumene unit and phenol unit with alpha methyl styrene hydrogenation, as well as basic engineering design services, key equipment, catalysts, adsorbents, and technical services for the new units.

Specifically, UOP’s Q-Max process will convert benzene and propylene into high-quality cumene—the primary building block for production of phenol and its derivatives—at low benzene-to-propylene ratios using regenerable catalysts that reduce byproduct transalkylation catalyst requirements, lowering utility consumption and capital requirements for the complex’s downstream fractionation equipment.

The UOP 3G Phenol unit will convert cumene into high-yield, high-quality phenol, which will then be converted into plastics and other related materials, including bisphenol-A—a building block for polycarbonate plastics—and phenolic resins used to make durable laminated boards and industrial adhesives, according to UOP.

The integrated units and technologies also will increase operating flexibility, on-stream time, reliability, and safety at the proposed Plock phenol complex.

Once completed, the new units will enable PKN Orlen to extend its benzene production into phenol and acetone derivatives, positioning the operator to meet growing demand for phenol and other petrochemicals in Poland and even become a net exporter of those products, said Bryan Glover, vice-president and general manager of Honeywell UOP’s petrochemicals and refining technologies business.

Honeywell UOP disclosed neither a value of the contract nor a timeframe for the project’s implementation.

PKN Orlen previously let a contract to Honeywell UOP to license its proprietary MaxEne process technology to increase production of ethylene and aromatics, as well as improve flexibility of gasoline production, at the Plock integrated complex (OGJ Online, Sept. 13, 2019).