Tüpraş adding alkylation capacity to Turkish refineries

Türkiye Petrol Rafinerileri AŞ (Tüpraş) has let a contract to Honeywell UOP LLC to deliver alkylation technology for new units to be installed at its four Turkish refineries as part of the operator’s plan to boost production of cleaner gasoline in tow with its broader energy transition goals.

As part of the Feb. 9 contract, Honeywell UOP will license the Chevron USA Inc.-developed ISOALKY alkylation technology that uses a nonaqueous liquid salt, or ionic liquid, instead of hydrofluoric acid (HF) or sulfuric acids as a liquid alkylation catalyst to produce a high-octane alkylate blending component for production of clean-burning fuels, the service provider said.

Alongside enabling safety and performance advantages over other alkylation processes—including simpler handling procedures and on-site regeneration of ionic liquids— ISOALKY technology will allow Tüpraş refineries to produce low-sulfur, zero-aromatics, high-octane alkylate to help lower emissions and tailpipe pollution from light-duty, gasoline-powered vehicles in Turkey, Honeywell UOP said.

“[Selection of the ISOALKY process for our refineries] is part of our Sustainable Refining initiative in line with our goal of providing clean energy solutions on our path to become carbon neutral by 2050 as we focus on new sustainable, core business areas,” said Serdar Kemaloğlu, assistant general manager at Tüpraş.

Neither Tüpraş nor Honeywell UOP revealed additional details of the newly awarded contract, including information regarding the number or capacities of ISOALKY units to be installed, or a general timeframe for implementation of the proposed units.

Tüpraş’s selection of the technology follows FJ Management Inc. subsidiary Big West Oil LLC’s late-2021 contract award to Honeywell UOP for licensing of the process as part of the conversion of an existing HF alkylation unit at Big West’s 33,000-b/d refinery in North Salt Lake City, Utah, into an ISOALKY alkylation unit (OGJ Online, Nov. 11, 2021).

Tüpraş’s refining system

Tüpraş owns and operates four Turkish refineries, including the:

• 11.3-million tonnes/year (tpy) Izmit refinery in District Körfez of Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli.
• 11.9-million tpy Aliaga refinery in Izmir Province.
• 5.4-million tpy refinery in Kırıkkale Province, about 80 km southeast of Ankara and 15 km south of Kırıkkale City.
• 1.4-million tpy Batman refinery in southeastern Turkey’s province of Batman.

According to the latest operating data available from the companies, none of the refineries currently include alkylation capacity.