Kuwait Refinery selects DuPont’s technology to reduce sulphur emissions

DuPont Clean Technologies (DuPont) signed contracts with Honeywell UOP to provide STRATCO alkylation and MECS Advanced sulphuric acid regeneration (SAR) technologies for the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC). The 9,100 bpsd STRATCO alkylation unit and 70 mtpd MECS Advanced SAR unit were secured for the Petrochemical Refinery Integration Al-Zour (PRIZe) project in Al-Zour, Kuwait.

PRIZe is the largest greenfield refinery ever built and is currently under construction in southern Kuwait. This 615,000 bpsd mega refinery is part of Kuwait’s strategy to reduce sulphur emissions from vehicles and power plants. Start-up is targeted for the second quarter of 2022. With the PRIZe project, Kuwait aims to become a major player in the ultra-low sulphur fuel market and plans to increase KNPC’s domestic refining capacity from 0.94 million bpd to 1.42 million bpd.

“With highly innovative technology enhancements, the new STRATCO alkylation and MECS Advanced SAR units will help KIPIC to fulfill its ambitious target for desulfurisation,” said Eli Ben-Shoshan, global business director, DuPont Clean Technologies. “This is the first DuPont MECS Advanced SAR license, a technology that delivers low CAPEX, improved OPEX, and best in class emissions to sulphuric acid producers around the world. We are delighted to be supporting KIPIC in making a project that is of such vital importance to Kuwait’s national refining capacity sustainable with our clean air and clean fuel technologies.”

The STRATCO alkylation unit will feature the Contactor XP2 technology in the STRATCO Contactor reactors. This innovative, patented reactor enhancement makes extremely effective use of the tube bundle heat transfer area, ensuring the highest quality alkylate product from the MTBE raffinate feedstock.

Licensed and designed by DuPont, the STRATCO alkylation technology is the established global leader in the industry with over 90 units licensed worldwide and more than 850,000 bpsd (33,300 kmta) of installed capacity. For over 80 years, the STRATCO alkylation technology has helped refiners safely produce cleaner-burning fuel with high octane, low Rvp, low sulphur and zero olefins.

The MECS Advanced SAR technology, also licensed and designed by DuPont, is the leading technology for sulphuric acid regeneration in the market and is part of the DuPont suite of MECS MAX3 technologies. This reliable, dry gas technology produces the desired 99.2 wt percent sulfuric acid strength for optimum alkylation unit performance. Reliability and on-stream time are the most important considerations when selecting an SAR technology. The MECS Advanced SAR units are designed for a high on-stream time to avoid disrupting the alkylation unit’s operation and production schedule.