DES PLAINES, Ill. -- Honeywell announced that Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) will use technologies from Honeywell UOP and Honeywell Process Solutions to upgrade its Mid-Country Refinery near Multan, Pakistan, enabling it to meet growing domestic demand for cleaner-burning fuels.
The project's Honeywell solutions will include licensing, basic engineering design and other associated services for a modular Penex isomerization unit, and a modular Polybed PSA system. In addition, the project will include automation and controls from Honeywell Process Solutions.
"These Honeywell technologies will address the increasingly urgent need for low-emission transportation fuels under the Pakistani government's tightening environmental regulations," said Mike Millard, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP's Process Technology and Equipment business. "PARCO chose to have these technologies delivered as modular equipment rather than in-field construction for faster startup, higher quality and better unit performance."
The Penex process upgrades light naphtha to produce isomerate, a gasoline blend-stock that contains no benzene, aromatics or olefins. The process uses Honeywell UOP's portfolio of isomerization and benzene saturation catalysts.
The Polybed PSA process uses proprietary Honeywell UOP adsorbents to remove impurities at high pressure from hydrogen-containing process streams, allowing hydrogen to be recovered and upgraded to more than 99.9% purity to meet refining needs. In addition to recovering and purifying hydrogen from steam reformers and refinery off-gases, the Polybed PSA system can be used to produce hydrogen from other sources such as ethylene off-gas, methanol off-gas and partial-oxidation synthesis gas.
The facility also will use Honeywell's Experion Process Knowledge System (PKS), which uses a unified automation system and advanced software applications to increase operator productivity and profitability.