Honeywell UOP Ecofining™ process produces bio-naphtha with reduced CO2 footprint compared to products using petroleum-based feedstocks for use as petrochemical feedstock.

Honeywell (Charlotte, NC, USA) recently announced that it has introduced a new solution for producing renewable naphtha for petrochemical production using the commercially proven Honeywell UOP Ecofining™ technology. The new pathway can produce high yield of naphtha from sustainable feedstocks. The technology was initially developed together with Eni SpA (Rome, Italy) to convert non-edible vegetable oils and animal fats to Honeywell Green Diesel and Honeywell Green Jet fuel, with small only amounts of bio-naphtha being produced as a secondary product. The same Ecofining technology can now be adapted to produce high yields of renewable naphtha as its predominant product.

Naphtha is a valuable petrochemical feedstock used in the production of plastics, specifically olefins that are building blocks for other chemicals and aromatics that are used to produce polyester and other packaging materials. Naphtha is traditionally derived from crude oil and natural gas condensates but can now be produced from renewable feedstocks. Renewable naphtha from sustainable feeds such as used cooking oil has a 50–80 % lower greenhouse gas footprint compared to petroleum feeds, depending on the feedstock.

"We are actively engaged with customers to drive new technology adoption, as renewable petrochemical feedstocks have grown in interest as consumers prefer more biobased products," said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. "We see renewable naphtha produced from the UOP Ecofining process as a proven solution available today to help petrochemical producers reduce the carbon footprint of their products compared to using petroleum-based feeds."

For additional methods of defossilisation, the UOP Ecofining process for renewable naphtha can be combined with renewable hydrogen supply and CO2 capture and sequestration through the Honeywell H2 Solutions portfolio. For example, for an Ecofining unit with renewable hydrogen and CO2 capture processing 10,000 barrels per day of sustainable oil feedstock such as used cooking oil, renewable naphtha can deliver more than 1 million tonnes of CO2 emission reductions annually compared to petroleum naphtha.

The UOP Ecofining process is used in most 100 %-biofeed units producing renewable diesel – and all of the licensed renewable jet fuel production – in the world today. UOP currently has licensed 23 Ecofining units in eleven countries around the world, processing 12 different types of renewable feedstocks. AT

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