Hengyi lets contract for aromatics expansion at Brunei complex

Zhejiang Hengyi Group Co. Ltd. subsidiary Hengyi Industries Sdn. Bhd. has let a contract to Honeywell International Inc. subsidiary UOP LLC to deliver a suite of technologies to expand aromatics production at Hengyi Industries’ 8-million tonnes/year integrated refining and petrochemical complex on Pulau Muara Besar island in Brunei (OGJ Online, Aug. 25, 2020).

Alongside licensing for a range of its proprietary technologies, UOP also will provide engineering design, key equipment, catalysts, adsorbents, operating training, and technical services for startup and continuing operations of the aromatics plant that will enable Hengyi Industries to help meet the Asia Pacific’s increased demand for paraxylene, the primary component of many plastic resins, films, and fibers, UOP said on Feb. 25.

Specifically, UOP’s scope of delivery for the aromatics block includes its proprietary CCR Platforming process technology to convert naphtha into aromatics, as well as its Light Desorbent Parex (LD Parex) process for recovery of 2.3 million tpy of high-purity paraxylene from mixed xylenes using a more energy-efficient process, according to the service provider.

The LD Parex complex will include UOP’s Sulfolane technology for aromatics extraction, Isomar technology to convert xylene isomers into more valuable paraxylene, and Tatoray technology to convert toluene and heavier aromatics into mixed xylenes and high-purity benzene to more than double the yield of paraxylene from naphtha feedstock.

In addition to its proprietary naphtha hydrotreating and Olefin Removal Process (ORP) units, UOP said it will provide the following UOP-licensed new units to the complex:

• A second Sulfolane unit for the extraction of pygas.
• A vacuum gas oil (VGO) Unicracking unit.
• A diesel Unicracking unit targeting maximum naphtha production.

Once completed, the project will equip Hengyi Industries with an overall paraxylene production capacity of more than 3.8 million tpy, according to UOP.

Hengyi Industries’ selection of UOP technologies for the Pulau Muara Besar aromatics block comes amid growing investments by operators in technologies aimed at expanding capabilities for converting crude oil into petrochemicals to address the Asia Pacific’s growing demand for chemicals such as paraxylene, according to Bryan Glover, vice-president and general manager of the UOP Process Technologies division.

Neither the value nor duration of the contract was revealed.

The recently awarded contract comes as part of Hengyi Industries’ Phase 2 development of the Pulau Muara Besar site, which includes expansion of the site’s aromatics and cracker plant as well as increasing the refinery’s crude processing capacity by 14 million b/d to 22 million b/d (OGJ Online, Oct. 22, 2020). The Phase 2 expansion is scheduled for commissioning in 2022, according to the operator.

The Pulau Muara Besar complex is jointly owned by Hengyi (70%) and the government of Brunei (30%).