Honeywell International Inc. (Charlotte, N.C.) announced that bp plc (London) and Honeywell have signed a licensing agreement for Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining technology. bp is undergoing pre-feed engineering for its proposed diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) project in Western Australia. bp plans to convert hydroprocessing equipment at its former refinery site in Kwinana, Australia, to produce approximately 10kbd diesel and SAF from renewable feeds, integrating with its existing terminal operations.
Revamping to Honeywell UOP’s Ecofining process is expected to provide a fast-to-market, capital efficient solution, ideal for repurposing underutilized hydroprocessing units to produce diesel and SAF from renewable feeds, which have substantially similar molecules to petroleum-based diesel and jet fuel and can be used as a drop-in replacement without engine modifications, in the case of SAF in blends of up to 50 percent with the remainder as conventional jet fuel.
Justin Nash, Senior Manager Corporate & Cities Integrated Solutions said “bp is excited to be progressing this project as part of its ambition to develop an integrated energy hub at the Kwinana site. bp has strong track record as an energy provider to Western Australia, and this renewable diesel and SAF project will leverage existing infrastructure, including former refining assets, storage and distribution facilities and a team with extensive operational capabilities and experience.”
“We are proud bp selected Honeywell’s UOP Ecofining technology and look forward to the progression of bp’s project in Australia”, said Ben Owens, vice president and general manager, Honeywell Sustainable Technology Solutions. “The UOP Ecofining process enables flexibility for processing many types of waste and crop oil feedstocks. We look forward to working with bp on their diesel and SAF project using renewable feedstock in Australia.”
The UOP Ecofining process, developed in conjunction with Eni SpA, converts non-edible natural oils, animal fats and other waste feedstocks to diesel and SAF. Both products offer improved performance over commercial petroleum-based diesel and jet fuels.