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Indigenous Technologies

Compendium of Indigenously Developed Technologies

As a follow up of decision of meeting on the Commercialisation of Indigenously Developed Technologies chaired by Director (R) - IOCL, a two-Day work shop was conducted on 20-21st June 2016 at CHT, Noida. The objective of the workshop was to highlight the indigenously developed technologies available with respective Oil industry & R&D institutes and sharing of commercial and technical information of these technologies.

The senior officials from Refineries and R&D institutions of IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, EIL, CSIR-IIP, CPCL, NRL, MRPL, BORL and GAIL participated in the workshop.

The different technologies developed by various organisations and presented / shared during the meet is summarised below;

IOCL

IOCL shared the information for the following Technologies;

Hydroprocessing Technologies

"indeDiesel" - DHDT Hydrotreatment for Euro-IV & V diesel (S < 50 & 10 ppm, CN > 51)

Commercialization

Grass root unit of 1.2 MMTPA DHDT commissioned at IOCL Bongaigaon Refinery in August 2011 for producing the diesel meeting BS-IV norms (Sulfur < 50 ppm and Cetane number of more than 51).

Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility.

Advantages

  • Indigenous development & use of indigenous know-how in process design & Engineering, hence, Technology cost is lower than competitors.
  • Capable of producing ultra-low Sulfur meeting EURO-V diesel specifications.
  • Efficient Reactor internals.

"indeHex"- Food Grade Hexane Hydrotreatment of hexane for benzene removal (< 100 ppm)

Commercialization

  • 28000 TPA FGH unit is running successfully at IOCL Gujarat Refinery since its commissioning in 2001 for production of hexane meeting
  • FGH / PGH specifications (benzene < 100 ppm).
  • Another, FGH unit of 20000 TPA capacity is running successfully at HMEL, Bhatinda Refinery since its commissioning in 2012 for production of hexane meeting FGH/PGH specifications (benzene < 100 ppm).

Advantages

  • Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility. Catalyst is commercially available
  • Competitive with foreign licensors.
  • Simple process configuration.
  • Proprietary Reactor internals.

Design and Engineering experiences of EIL.

"indJet" - ATF Hydrotreating - Selective Removal of Mercaptan Sulfur in ATF/desulphurisation of kerosene Proposal for setting up a 400 kTA grass-root Unit in one of the Indian Refinery is under progress. The technology can also be used for desuplurisation of Kerosene. Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility. Catalyst is available with IOCL.

"indSelectG" - Desulphurization of FCC and cracked Gasoline streams < 10 ppm Sulfur and minimum RON loss Proposal for setting up a grass-root Unit in one of the Indian Refinery is under progress. Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility. Tie up for catalyst for commercial availability is also there.

Coprocessing of veg oil

Utilizes existing DHDT unit for coprocessing pretreated vegetable oils for producing better quality product in terms of cetane, density, oxidation stability, NOx emission etc. There are several advantages of this process over conventional biodiesel production as the product is similar to petroleum diesel unlike biodiesel which cannot be transported in petroleum pipelines unlike biodiesel. The production cost is significantly lower by about 50% in comparison to Biodiesel plant. IOC(R&D) has also patented process for Degumming and demetallation of vegetable oil to make it suitable for processing in DHDT. The process for coprocessing has been demonstrated at CPCL.

Delayed Coking

The technology allows refiners to process heavier, cheaper crudes to increase refinery margin with moderate capital investment by processing of wide range feedstock with lower coke make than competing technologies. Unit can be designed for Fuel as well as Anode grade coke depending of feed quality based on the State of the pilot plant facility for generation of basic design data with any new combination of feedstocks.

Major Revamp of coker at one of the IOC refinery has been carried out.
Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility.

INDMAX Technologies

  • A novel technology developed by IndianOil R&D to produce high yield of light olefins/LPG and high octane gasoline from various petroleum fractions in line with Govt. initiative to promote LPG to entire country.
  • The technology was successfully demonstrated by setting up a unit of 100 TMTPA capacity at Guwahati Refinery of IndianOil in 2003.
  • A mega plant of 4.17 MMTPA capacity based on R&D’s flagship technology has been commissioned on 3rd December, 2015 at Paradip, Odisha. This plant as well as the refinery was dedicated to Nation by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 7th Feb’16.
  • This technology has been widely recognized in the field of Science & Technology and has been conferred with several prestigious awards such as National Petroleum Management Programme (NPMP), Department of Science & Industrial Research (DSIR), Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Chemtech CEW award. The technology was also shortlisted for Platts award (USA) and Energy Institute Award (UK).
  • The investment proposal for setting up the 3rd INDMAX plant of capacity 0.74 MMTPA at Bongaigaon Refinery has been approved. Unlike The Paradip unit where feed is hydrotreated VGO, this unit will process heavy atmospheric residue along with other low value streams available in the Refinery.
  • Deployment of INDMAX technology is also under active consideration at by an Asian refinery for maximizing the yield of light olefins using heavy feed with high Ni content (>80 ppm).
  • There is immense potential in building petrochemical industry based on light olefins such as propylene, butylenes, ethylene from residue based feedstocks employing INDMAX technology.
  • The technology is being globally licensed by M/s Lummus Technology Inc., USA (a CB&I Company).

Catalysts/additives

  • IOC R&D has large portfolio of proven catalysts which are available commercially, like FCC catalyst, FCC Additive formulations such as i-MAX Premium, i-MAX Supreme and i-MAX Ultra to increases LPG, gasoline octane and C3/C4 olefins yields, which can be chosen depending on refinery-specific operational requirements.
  • For upgrading bottom of the barrel, Indian Oil R&D has developed a novel metal passivation additive named ‘IndVi’ which is capable for handling heavier hydrocarbon feedstocks (high CCR, Ni &V) to upgrades bottom of the feed and increase LCO yield in RFCC unit. In addition to above, a number of Hydroprocessing catalysts have been developed to support various hydroprocessing technologies.

BPCL

  1. Development & commercialization of Bharat Ecochem - corrosion inhibitor for ethanol blended gasoline
  2. Indigenous Development and Commercialization of Cost effective Gasoline Sulphur Reduction Catalyst
  3. Innovative methodology for prediction of Refining Characteristics of Oil (BPMARRK)

HPCL

  • HPCL have developed several processes and products which primarily have been demonstrated at their refineries.
  • HP-HiGAS
    Revolutionary technology for Gas separation with significant size reduction. Process has been demonstrated by setting up a Demo Plant at HPCL Visakh Refinery for removal of H2S from Refinery Fuel gases.
  • H2 PSA
    Indigenous technology for hydrogen purification with enhanced regeneration capability. Process has been demonstrated by setting up a Demo Plant for purification of Hydrogen generated from CCR Unit of HPCL Visakh Refinery.
  • Cat-Vis-Breaking
    Distillate yield improvement in Vis-Breaking process using novel catalyst. Process along with Catalyst has been implemented at HPCL Visakh Refinery.
  • HP-COSOL
    Process for improving Lube Raffinate Yields. Processes involve improved extraction using In-House developed Co Solvent formulations and have been implemented at HPCL Mumbai Refinery.

Products commercialised:

  • HP-FurnOcare
    A Furnace Tube cleaning chemical for performance enhancement. Product has been demonstrated in both Refineries of HPCL by taking up on line cleaning of 8 Furnaces.
  • HP-Ducer
    A dispersant chemical for pressure drop reduction in fixed bed reactors. Product has been demonstrated in DHDS Unit of HPCL Visakh Refinery.
  • HP-Bio Activa
    A microbial additive for improvement of refinery effluent characteristics. Product has been successfully demonstrated in the Effluent treatment plant of HPCL Visakh Refinery.

CSIR-IIP

Technologies Licensed in Public Sector Units

Sr.No. Technology Unit Licensed Capacity, TPA
1 Aromatic extraction for production of benzene(b) & toluene(t) (IIP-EIL) BPCL, MUMBAI
KRL, KOCHI
NOCIL, MUMBAI		 97,000 (B)
17,000 (T)
87,000 (B)
20,000 (T)
90,000 (B)
110,000(T)
2 Food grade hexane (IIP-EIL) BPCL, MUMBAI
CPCL, CHENNAI
HPCL, MUMBAI		 25,000
25,000
50,000
3 Bimetallic reforming catalyst (IIP-IPCL) CPCL, CHENNAI
IPCL,VADODARA		 90,000
6.2 (Cat.)
110,000
6.8 (Cat.)
4 Conversion of light naphtha to LPG and high octane gasoline GAIL, VAGHODIA 8,000
5 Lobs through NMP
EXTN. (IIP-EIL)		 IOC, BARAUNI
IOC, HALDIA		 400,000
350,000
6 Delayed coking (IIP-EIL) BRPL,BONGAIGAON NRL,
NUMALIGARH		 500,000
306,000
7 Visbreaking of petroleum residual
fractions soaker mode (IIP-EIL)		 IOC, GUJARAT*
IOC, MATHURA*
IOC, HALDIA*
CPCL, CHENNAI*
KRL, KOCHI*
IOC, PANIPAT
HPCL, VIZAG		 1,600,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
550,000
1,000,000
450,000
1,000,000
8 Soaker with internals visbreaking HPCL, VIZAG
IOCL, MATHURA		 1,000,000
1,000,000
9 Production of paraffin & microcrystalline waxes NRL, NUMALIGARH 50,000
10 Dewaxing / deoiling (IIP-EIL) IOC, HALDIA* 27,000
11 Deoiling / dewaxing additive
for lubricating oil		 DORF KETAL CHEMICALS INDIA LTD 30 - 40
12 Propane deasphalting(IIP-EIL) HPCL, MUMBAI CPCL, CHENNAI 50,000#
50,000#
13 Sweetening catalyst LONA INDUSTRIES, MUMBAI -
14 Upgradation of fcc recycle oil HPCL, MUMBAI 240,000

Technologies Licensed in Private Sector Units

Sr.No. Technology Unit Licensed capacity,
tpa
1 Deoiling / Dewaxing Additive for lubricating oil DORF KETAL Chemicals India Ltd. 30 - 40
2 Improved Jaggery MakingPlant Uttarakhand State (3 No)
Uttar Pradesh (19 Nos.)		 6 - 8 Qtl.
Per day/unit
3 Sweetening Catalyst Lona Industries, Mumbai
600 kg to Sohar Refinery, Oman		 -
4 Benzene Recovery from FCC Gasoline Reliance Industries Ltd. 560000

EIL

EIL shared information for the following Technologies during the meeting;

  1. Sulphur Recovery technologies offered by EIL
  2. Gas Processing Technologies
  3. End to End Indigenous Technology Solutions

Sulphur Recovery technologies

EIL shared information for the following Technologies during the meeting;

  1. EngSulf technology
  2. EngSulfTGTM technology
  3. OXYENRICH technology
  4. EngTreatG Technology
  5. CATSOL Technology
  6. EngSulfDegas Technology

Developmental activities related to Sulphur technologies

  • Development of above ground sulphur seal.
  • Development of medium level Oxygen enrichment process up to a capacity enhancement of 45%.
  • Development of H2S cracking technology to produce and recycle hydrogen

Gas Processing Technologies

  • Refinery Fuel Gas Treating
  • Hot well Off gases Desulfurization-EngHOGTM
  • Gas Sweetening & Gas Dehydration Technologies

Gas Sweetening Technology

Glycol Dehydration Technology

  • C2/C3 Recovery form Natural gas
  • LPG Recovery form Natural gas
  • C2/C3 Recovery from LNG

Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from IOC R&D

"indeDiesel" - DHDT Hydrotreatment for Euro-IV & V diesel (S < 50 & 10 ppm, CN > 51) and "indeHex" - Food Grade Hexane Hydrotreatment of hexane for benzene removal (< 100 ppm)

The process is marketed under brand name "indeDiesel" for DHDT is operational at Bongaigaon Refinery of IOCL (1.2 MMTPA capacity). Two commercial units “indeHex” for Food Grade Hexane are operational at IOC-Gujarat & HMEL.

ATF hydrotreatment

This technology is a low pressure and low temperature hydrotreatment process for selective removal of mercaptans from ATF with minimal removal of other sulphur compounds. The process is environmental friendly and clean as it does not involve commonly used hazardous caustic for similar application.

Process Description

  • Feed mixed with Hydrogen is passed over a catalyst bed at a temperature of 240-300°C and pressure of 3-12 kg/cm2g.
  • Reactor effluent is then routed to Stripper where H2S along with other dissolved gases are removed. A part of Stripper bottom is recycled back to Reactor.
  • Product ATF passes through sand filter and salt dryer before sending to storage. Low severity operation.
  • Salient features of the Technology
  • Selectively removes mercaptan to <10 ppm
  • Removal of other sulfur compounds as per requirement.
  • The product meets all critical properties such as freezing point, Doctor Test, Cu & Ag strip corrosion, thermal stability, lubricity, acidity, color, etc.
  • Negligible Hydrogen consumption (300- 700 ppm), Make up Compressor (MUC) and Recycle Gas Compressor (RGC) not required.
  • The technology can also be employed for desulphurisation of SKO.
  • A unit for ATF production and SKO desulphurisation has been selected for implementation at Barauni Refinery of IOCL.
  • indSelectG Technology

Objective: Selective desulphurization of full range FCC & other cracked gasoline streams to meet BS-VI S spec with minimum loss of RON (~3 units)

INDSELECT-Naphtha SDS/HDS Catalyst is used for Removal of sulfur from cracked naphtha.

Process Scheme

  • Selective diolefin saturation & S shift (SDS), reduces Diolefins to < 0.2wt% and shifts light S to heavy.
  • Gasoline Splitter Column (GSC), splitting SDS product into 3 cuts (IBP-70, 70-90 & 90+°C)
  • Selective Hydrodeslfurization (HDS), reduces sulfur < 20ppm with min olefin saturation

Salient features of the Technology

  • Lower octane loss (2-3 units)
  • Suitable for upgradation of even low value Coker Gasoline to MS
  • In-house developed catalyst
  • The technology is under consideration for implementation at several refineries of IOCL or desulphrisation of Coker gasoline as well as FCC Gasoline.

Coprocessing of veg oil

Degummed/ de-metalled non-edible oil is mixed with diesel feed and fed into the DHDS/DHDT reactor along with recycle hydrogen. In the reactor, vegetable oil is converted to paraffins/isoparaffins, water, CO, CO2 and trace quantity of light gases. The build-up of CO & CO2 concentration is controlled within the limit to avoid adverse effect on the catalyst system. The diesel product with co-processing has advantages mainly in terms of higher cetane, good oxidation stability and lower density.

Salient Features

  • Utilizes existing refinery infrastructure with minor modifications.
  • Better quality product in terms of cetane, density, oxidation stability, NOx emission etc.
  • Can be transported in petroleum pipelines unlike biodiesel.
  • The production cost is significantly lower by about 50% in comparison to Biodiesel plant.
  • Fuel consumption is reduced compared to normal feed.

IOC(R&D) has also patented process for Degumming and demetallation of vegetable oil to make it suitable for processing in DHDT. The process for coprocessing has been demonstrated at CPCL.

Coker Technology

Major Benefits

  • Refiners can process heavier, cheaper crudes to increase refinery margin with moderate capital investment.
  • Processing of wide range feedstock with lower coke make than competing technologies.
  • Safe, reliable and well-proven technology, meeting all regulatory requirements
  • Design of Fuel as well as Anode grade cokers depending of feed quality

Expertise

  • Proven expertise in design of Fuel as well as Anode grade Cokers
  • Wide experience with commercial Delayed Coker units processing various feedstocks
  • Excellent technical support and troubleshooting expertise
  • Commercial/Pilot plant data bank
  • State of the pilot plant facility for generation of basic design data with any new combination of feedstocks.

Salient Features

  • Salient Features
  • "Pit & Pad" combination for coke handling minimizing drum structure height.
  • Automatic top and bottom un-heading Delta valve or Han & Clay for operator safety.
  • Closed blow-down to minimize air pollution, water re-use (Maze system) and H/C recovery during drum cooling
  • Online spalling giving two-year run length. Offline decoking by mechanical pigging, which is more efficient for non-organic fouling, e.g. iron sulphide and hard, coke.
  • Interlocks for safe operation of chamber switch over valves.
  • Double fired heater configuration ensuring:
  • Ratio of peak flux to average flux in radiant section reduction by ~30%
  • Uniform heat distribution
  • Lower heat transfer area
  • Shorter residence time (reduced travel length) and lower pressure drop
  • Design of coke drum cycle from 16 to 24 hours.
  • Refinery waste sludge disposal in drum quenching step.
  • Major Revamp of coker at one of the IOC refinery has been carried out.
  • Technology jointly licensed along with EIL, who is the lead licensor with single point responsibility.

Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from IOCL R&D

Indmax Technology

A novel technology developed by IndianOil R&D to produce high yield of light olefins/LPG and high octane gasoline from various petroleum fractions in line with Govt. initiative to promote LPG to entire country. It is forecasted that propylene market share will grow even faster than ethylene market. In view of the recent trend of significant capacity build-up of gas based thermal crackers, need for propylene production from alternative sources is likely to gain momentum.

The technology has been demonstrated by setting up a unit of 100,000 MTPA capacity at Guwahati Refinery of Indian Oil in 2003. Since then, the unit is being operated in different modes with heavy feed CCR up to 4 wt% depending on the market demand.

Production of LPG is about 2-3 times as compared to conventional process. The technology has capabilities to process heavy feed having feed CCR about 6wt%. This process has also been optimized to enhance propylene yield (>26%) from paraffinic VGO feedstock. There is immense potential in building petrochemical industry based on light olefins such as propylene, butylenes, ethylene from residue based feedstocks employing INDMAX technology.

Commercialisation

The technology is being globally licensed by M/s Lummus Technology Inc., USA (a CB&I Company). INDMAX unit is designed by Lummus employing proprietary efficient hardware components with basic process design from Indian Oil.

A mega plant of 4.17 MMTPA capacity based on R&D’s flagship technology has been commissioned on 3rd December, 2015 at Paradip, Odisha. This plant as well as the refinery was dedicated to Nation by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 7th Feb’16.

The investment proposal for setting up the 3rd INDMAX plant of capacity 0.74 MMTPA at Bongaigaon Refinery has been approved. Unlike The Paradip unit where feed is hydrotreated VGO, this unit will process heavy atmospheric residue along with other low value streams available in the Refinery.

Deployment of INDMAX technology is also under active consideration at by an Asian refinery for maximizing the yield of light olefins using heavy feed with high Ni content (>80 ppm).

Awards

This technology has been widely recognized in the field of Science & Technology and has been conferred with several prestigious awards such as National Petroleum Management Programme (NPMP), Department of Science & Industrial Research (DSIR), Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Chemtech CEW award. The technology was also shortlisted for Platts award (USA) and Energy Institute Award (UK).

Process description

INDMAX employs circulating fluidized bed Riser-Reactor-Stripper configuration similar to conventional FCC technology along with single stage full combustion Regenerator system. The catalyst system and operating conditions employed in INDMAX process are tailor-made and different from the conventional FCC technology. The specially designed catalyst of the INDMAX process consists of various synergistic components for upgradation of heavy molecules maximising conversion with higher light olefins selectivity.

Salient Features

  • Employs high riser outlet temp (ROT) of more than 540o C and high catalyst to oil ratio (C/O) of more than 12.
  • Employs proprietary catalyst system with low coke and dry gas make, higher metal tolerance and selectivity towards light olefins.
  • Excellent heat integration-Single stage full burn Regenerator; use of catalyst cooler for feed with higher CCR (>6 wt%).
  • Highly efficient hardware components
  • MicroJetTM Feed injector
  • Proprietary SCT riser reactor design
  • High efficiency Modular Grid stripper design
  • Direct-coupled cyclone separator
  • Efficient catalyst regeneration system (multi zone pipe grid distributor with MSO nozzle)
  • Advanced catalyst cooler design

Typical product yields, wt% of feed

Product yields, wt% of feed Sr.No
LPG 30 - 55
Gasoline 20 - 40
Propylene 12 - 27
Butylenes 10 - 20
Ethylene 3 - 14

Catalysts

i-MAX (FCC Catalyst Additive)

i-MAX formulation were developed with judicious combination of acidic and basic phosphates, “Zeolite stabilization technology” and silica-alumina matrix leading to new products named as

  • i-MAX Premium (A)
  • i-MAX Supreme (B)
  • i-MAX Ultra (C)

These products have superior performance characteristics and can be chosen depending on refinery specific operational requirements.

Salient Features

  • Highest LPG yield per unit zeolite content
  • Lower undesired heavy end hydrocarbon yield
  • Enhanced gasoline octane number
  • Incremental LPG yield by 2.5, 3.38 and 6.2 wt % with reduction in Bottom yields by 0.5, 0.7 and 0.2 wt% respectively for additive A, B & C
  • Enhanced propylene yield by about 3-4 wt%
  • Superior attrition index and excellent other physical properties

Commercial performance

  • Superior performance than commercially available products.
  • Prestigious NPMP award for commercialization of indigenous ZSM-5 additive technology.

Indvi (FCC Additive – Metal Trap)

Salient Features

  • Reduces dense bed temperature due to lower coke make & increases catalyst circulation rate
  • Reduces CLO / DCO yield with the increase in TCO yield
  • Enhances unit throughput

Commercial performance

  • The additive has been successfully scaled up and commercially proven with following benefits:
  • Ability to process additional heavy feedstock thereby increasing unit thr’put.
  • Increase in TCO yield with corresponding decrease in gasoline yield as per the refinery objective.
  • In spite of higher VR addition rate and higher through put, similar CLO yield could be maintained with lower Regenerator dense bed temperature (by 7oC).

The latest product for up-gradation of bottoms in FCC/RFCC process named ‘RUA’ (Residue Up-gradation Additive) is currently under plant trials. FCC catalysts are being used today in the refining industry are most sophisticated and manufactured with high active crystalline material with selectivity for gasoline range products. Indian Oil has developed a process for the manufacture of FCC catalyst, named Lotus-24, which exhibits superior performance and Used as a main Catalyst for cracking of FCC feed to produce LCO and gasoline range products

FCC Catalyst (Lotus 24)

Diesel Hydrodesulfurisation/Hydrotreating Catalyst, INDICAT-DH-IV Hydrotreating technologies employ robust high-performance catalysts, which can produce ultra-low-sulphur diesel (ULSD) meeting the required cetane and other quality criteria. Indian Oil R&D’s Diesel Hydrodesulfurisation/Hydrotreating Catalyst, INDICAT-DH-IV, is suitable for production of diesel with sulphur content of 10-50 ppm. The catalyst has seen nearly three years of commercial operation at CPCL’s Manali Refinery enabling production of BS-IV compliant diesel fuel.

The various capabilities of IOCL R&D are also presented in the table given below

FCC Catalyst Applications
FCC Catalyst Ø Lotus 24 Main Catalyst used for cracking of FCC feed to produce LCO & gasoline range products
FCC Additives -
i-MAX series ZSM-5 additive
Ø i-MAX Premium, i-MAX Supreme, i-MAX Value,
i-MAX Value Plus, i-MAX Ultra, i-MAX ACE 		Increases LPG, gasoline octane & C3/C4 olefins yields
RUA additive for bottom cracking Upgrades bottom of the feed, Increases the LCO yield
Eco MAX: CO promoter Ø Eco MAX 500, Eco MAX 800 Enhances CO burning in regenerator dense bed
IndVi: Metal passivator Reduces detrimental effects of metals on product yields
& catalyst health i- MAX series ZSM-5 additive
i-CRA for coke reduction For reduction of coke in FCCU & RFCCU All the FCC
Hydro-treating catalyst Applications
DHDS/DHDT Catalyst
Ø INDICAT-DH-IV, INDICATLite,
INDICAT Optima		 Catalyst for production of ULSD meeting Euro IV & V specification
INDadeptG - Adsorbent Proprietary adsorbent for capturing sulfur
INDSELECT - Naphtha SDS/HDS Catalys Removal of sulfur from cracked naptha
LCO to Petrochemical Feedstock Catalyst for conversion of LCO to petrochemical feed stock

Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from BPCL R&D

Development & commercialization of Bharat Ecochem - corrosion inhibitor for ethanol blended gasoline

Bharat Ecochem is geared up to compete with existing imported corrosion inhibitors in Indian and global market. BPCL holds Indian and foreign patents to its credit. The patents have been filed in India and other regions such as US, Europe, Brazil, Thailand and Canada and got granted in US, Canada and Europe. The innovation of Bharat Ecochem formulation bagged “Petrofed - Innovator of the Year: Team Special Commendation Award” 2011-12.

Cost effective Gasoline Sulphur Reduction Catalyst additive for FCC

Objective

  • Reduction of sulphur in Gasoline ( Euro–IV and Euro V)
  • Improving the Activity and Reducing the price of imported GSR additive
  • Flexibility in usage.
  • Develop in house expertise.

Salient Feature of Gasoline Sulfur reduction Catalyst

  • Better Particle size distribution, Apparent Bulk Density and Attrition Strength
  • Hydrothermal stability @ 816oC/13 Hrs. Better than Commercial GSR Catalysts
  • the trial run started on 11.9.2014 at MR
  • 10% BPCL GSR additive performance is more than 20% commercial additive
  • Lower cost: Rs 250/Kg, compared to Imported commercial GSR additive cost: Rs.756/Kg

Way Forward

  • EOI for the manufacturing of 120 tons of GSR catalyst for continuous use at BPCL refinery is in progress.
  • Technology transfer to third party and selling it to other refineries.

Innovative methodology for prediction of Refining Characteristics of Oil (BPMARRK)

Salient Features

  • BPMARRK is a method and a system for prediction of refining characteristics of crude oil.
  • Refining characteristics of crude oil consist of key information such as TBP distillation yields, distillate quality, hydrogen consumption in hydroprocessing, residue-potential and crude oil/blends selection for diverse business within short time.
  • Useful for regular monitoring, planning, controlling and decision making related to crude oils processing
  • Laboratory detailed crude oil characterisation shifts from about 30 days to 5 minutes
  • Pricing and commercial aspects are being worked out by BPCL for commercial exploitation

Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from CSIR-IIP

  • Simultaneous Production of US Grade Gasoline

Need for this Technology

  • MSAT – II regulations in U.S. which restricts the annual average benzene level in Gasoline sold in U.S, to 0.62 % vol.
  • Conversion of Naphtha crackers to Gas Crackers.- Shortage of Benzene (Py. Gas)

Salient Features

  • First time in the world and first indigenous technology Implemented in RIL, Jamnagar
  • Designed with an out-of-the box process configuration which minimizes solvent loss, utility requirements, and maximizes yield & purity of products.
  • Technology does not require any energy intensive and high expenditure feed pre-processing steps like selective hydrogenation or hydro-desulfurisation.
  • It is also producing extract containing more than 96% aromatics.
  • The difficult stream can be used to produce not only low benzene gasoline but also rich aromatics.

Plant highlights

  • Produces
  • Gasoline having: (i) Sulphur < 10ppm (ii) Benzene < 0.3%
  • High purity benzene
  • Capacity: ~0.7 MMTPA
  • Capex: ~300 Crores INR
  • Payback Period: Max 2.5 Years

NMP Extraction Technology for Production of Food Grade Hexane (FGH)

Uses Sulpholane, as extraction solvent, possesses a favourable combination of solvent power and selectivity. Globally hydrogenation route is preferred for removal of benzene and olefins from naphtha fractions. However, Hydrogenation route is unattractive for feeds with high aromatic content, as it requires higher capital investment. Sulpholane extraction technology developed at IIP can accept feed with any benzene content and is economical as compared with hydrogenation

Sulpholane Extraction Technology for Production of Pure Benzene and Toluene (BT)

This technology is used for production of benzene, toluene, xylene from aromatic rich feedstocks such as catalytic reformate and hydrogenated pyrolysis gasoline:

  • Production of special boiling point solvents.
  • Production of low aromatic feedstocks for fertilizer and petrochemical plants.

Salient Features:

  • Use of Sulpholane, as extraction solvent, possesses a favourable combination of solvent power and selectivity resulting in the production of aromatic hydrocarbons in high purity (99.9% +) and yields( Aliphatic impurities < 300 ppm)
  • Flexible in handling wide boiling range feedstock. Heart cut feed preparation is not required.
  • Low utilities requirement as compared to extractive distillation process.
  • Low solvent loss

NMP Lube Extraction Technology IIP-EIL-CPCL

Produce Group-I Lube Base Oils

The process uses N-Methyl Pyrrolidone (NMP) solvent to selectively remove low Viscosity Index (VI) aromatic hydrocarbons from Vacuum distillates/De-asphalted Oils (DAO) and produces paraffinic rich raffinate

Products:

  • Raffinate with improved VI is the feed for Solvent De-Oiling oil in lube base oil plant, while Aromatic
  • Aromatic extract can be utilized as feed stock for carbon Black, rubber extender oil, petroleum pitches and premium quality petroleum coke.
  • Process Benefits:
  • Solvent composition can be tailor made for processing of wide range of lubes (spindle, LN, IN, HN, BS) and other applications,
  • Low solvent-to-feed ratio, Better heat integration in the solvent recovery sections, better products quality etc
  • Global Status of Technology: India is the second country to develop this technology followed by USA
  • This process after fine tuning can also be utilized to upgrade paraffinic FCC Clarified Oil to generate additional feed for FCC unit
  • Commercialization: A grass root NMP Lube Extraction Unit of combined throughput 350,000 TPA has been commercialized at IOCL Haldia Refinery in 1996.

Upgradation of FCC Recycle Oil at HPCL

Process Benefits:

  • FCC feed stock improvement
  • Higher FCC product yield
  • Co-production of premium quality CBFS
  • Propane Deasphalting Technology

Solvent Deasphalting is being widely used for recovering extra heavy viscosity lube oil and additional feedstocks for secondary conversion units like FCC or Hydrocracking from vaccum residues

Salient Features:

  • Know how for supercritical solvent recovery.
  • The developed know how is used to revamp the existing PDA Plants
  • Advanced Soaker Technology Benefits
  • More distillates
  • Improved fuel oil stability
  • Better temperature profile
  • Enhanced run length

NTGG Technology

Converts Light Naphtha to LPG and High Octane Gasoline

Overview

  • Process to convert light naphtha/NGL to LPG and high octane low sulphur gasoline blend stock
  • Novel zeolite based catalyst and
  • Evaluated on pure model compounds and commercial light naphtha/NGL stocks
  • LPG through Primary Cracking. Aromatics through secondary reactions like Oligomerisation, Cyclization and Aromatization
  • Products: Fuel Gas, LPG, C5+ Liquid with BTX Aromatics
  • Technology jointly developed with GAIL, India Limited

LPG Sweetening Catalyst, THOXCAT® ES

THOXCAT®ES (Cobalt phthalocyanine sulphonamide) catalyst for sweetening of LPG and lighter petroleum fractions was synthesized by chlorosulphonation of cobalt phthalocyanine with chlorosulfonic acid followed by amidation with ammonia. The performance of the catalyst with respect to activity and stability was found to be better than the commercial catalyst being used currently in the refineries.

Salient Features:

  • THOXCAT®ES catalyst is globally competitive
  • Economical due to its low cost
  • Consumption is less for similar conversion
  • No investment will be needed for any plant modification
  • Applicable in conventional as well as fibre-film sweetening processes.
  • Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from EIL

Indigenous Refining Technologies commercially available from EIL

EngSulf technology

The technology for Sulphur recovery unit is designed for treating acid gas from ARU and sour gases (including NH3 rich gases) from SWS unit. The unit has feed handling section, thermal section, catalytic section, sulphur handling section and incineration section. Activated Alumina catalyst is used in converters. Additional facilities like liquid sulphur storage in tanks, liquid sulphur loading arms and sulphur pelletizer can be provided.

Salient features:

  • Design is compatible with 2 Claus or 3 Claus reactors.
  • Overall recovery for 2 reactor configuration and 3 reactor configuration is 96% and 97%, respectively.
  • Overall pressure drop is less than 0.8 kg/cm2 including TGTU.
  • NH3 burning configuration
  • HP/MP and LP steam can be produced in Thermal section/Incinerator WHB and catalytic sections, respectively.
  • Steam super heating provision can be given in incinerator WHB.
  • LP steam jacketing is done for liquid sulphur lines and LP jacketing for tail gas lines.
  • Optimum design ensures minimum CAPEX and OPEX.
  • Steam heaters or electric heaters can be used depending on OPEX.

Client (under operation):

  • IOCL-AOD, IOCL-GR, IOCL-BGR, NRL, BORL, MRPL

Client (under design):

  • BPCL-KR, NRL

EngSulfTGTM technology

Tail gas treating unit (TGTU) based on this technology is designed to treat tail gas coming from Claus section of SRU. It consists of hydrogenation section, quench section and amine section. Existing ARU can be used as TGTU regenerator, if sufficient margin is available. Co-Mo catalyst is used in Hydrogenation reactor.

Salient features:

  • BPCL-KR, NRLCan be implemented in any kind of upstream SRU configuration like 2 Claus or 3 Claus or CBA or MCRC etc.
  • Stacking of quench column and absorber can be done to save space for revamp cases.
  • Existing equipments like reactors, condensers can be used in TGTU for new service.
  • Overall recovery is >99.9%.
  • Overall pressure drop is less than 0.25 kg/cm2 in TGTU.
  • Steam heaters or electric heaters can be used depending on OPEX.
  • Carbon steel MOC is used.
  • Operating conditions are fine tuned to minimize corrosion.
  • Optimum design ensures minimum CAPEX and OPEX.
  • Design ensures easy startups and shut downs.
  • Ejector is used for startup circulation.

Client (under operation):

  • IOCL-BGR, HPCL-VR

Client (under design):

  • BPCL-MR, NRL

OXYENRICH technology

With this technology, in existing SRUs capacity enhancement or reduction in back pressure and destruction of impurities like NH3 in feed gases is possible and in new SRUs the sizes of the equipment can be reduced.

Salient features:

  • Process ensures enhancement of the capacity of SRU by 15% - 35% by using oxygen-enriched air.
  • Process gives better conversion of H2S to sulphur in main combustion chamber.
  • Oxygen enrichment process improves overall sulphur recovery by 0.5%.
  • Process uses liquid oxygen after vaporization or VPSA or waste nitrogen for enrichment of combustion air.
  • High temperature (1350-1500 o C) at the main combustion chamber ensures complete destruction of ammonia.
  • Process ensures stable flame in main burner even at low H2S concentration (<50%v) in feed gas.
  • Process does not call for any major modification of sulphur recovery unit for implementation.
  • Implementation of process in a running plant needs minimum investment and minimum shutdown period (15 days).
  • Client (under operation): CPCL and NRL
  • Client (under design): BORL, BPCL-MR, NRL, HPCL-MR

EngTreatG Technology

It is a flue gas treating technology, in which, SO2 from flue gases of incinerator or any burner is captured and recycled/routed back to front end of Claus section.

Salient features:

  • Can be used for flue gas desulphurization and augmented with existing or new SRU.
  • Improvement in sulfur recovery to 99.9%.
  • Production of steam from flue gas
  • Use of highly selective amine for SO2 removal.
  • Low solvent degradation rates under the normal operating conditions.
  • Installation on new stack may be avoided for new SRU
  • Enhancement of the plant capacity by 25%.
  • Reduction of back pressure of Claus unit due to reduction in requirement of air
  • Treated gas contains < 10 ppmv SO2.

Jointly developed with IIP-Dehradun

CATSOL Technology

This technology is used to design SRU to recover sulphur from gases in which H2S concentration is very less (<5%v). Unit consists of feed handling section, reactor section, filtration section and catalyst and chemical storage section.

Salient features:

  • Is applicable in Natural gas sweetening (direct), removal of H2S from ARU off gas, removal of H2S from Claus Tail Gas (TGTU).
  • Treats acid gas which can’t be treated by Claus Process for very low H2S Concentration (less than 5%V)
  • Overall Sulphur recovery > 99.9%, treated gas H2S < 10ppmv.
  • Liquid Catalyst is used in which H2S is directly converted to Sulphur.
  • Air is used for regeneration of catalyst.
  • Incinerator not required
  • Applicable for low capacity grass-root and revamp SRUs.
  • Use eco-friendly catalyst.

Limitations:

  • High catalyst cost.
  • Off colour sulphur is produced.

Client:

  • GSPC-Kakinada and ONGC-Hazira.

EngSulfDegas Technology

Using this technology, H2S in liquid sulphur can be degassed by liquid catalyst. It is a simple process in which liquid catalyst is to be dosed into pit. Ejector is used to sweep the air on the vapor space above liquid sulphur.

Salient features:

  • Liquid Sulphur degassing chemical – CATDEGAS enhances H2S stripping from liquid Sulphur.
  • Degassing time: 6-8 hours
  • Chemical concentration in liquid sulphur: 5-15 ppmw
  • Desired H2S Content in Degassed Sulphur : <10 PPMW
  • Low capital investment for existing SR – plants
  • Low operating cost for degassing.
  • CATDEGAS operation is simple, easy and trouble free.
  • Product sulphur is bright yellow and easy to handle

Client (under operation):

  • BPCL-MR, MRPL, IOCL-BGR, BPCL-KR, BORL
  • Client (Under Design): NRL

Developmental activities related to Sulphur technologies

  • Development of above ground sulphur seal.
  • Design of prototype is done.
  • Fabrication of prototype is under progress.
  • Development of medium level Oxygen enrichment process up to a capacity enhancement of 45%.
  • Model development is done.
  • Development of H2S cracking technology to produce and recycle hydrogen
  • Model development is done
  • Gas Processing Technologies

Refinery Fuel Gas Treating

  • Salient Features
  • Optimized design minimizes the amine circulation flow
  • Optimized number of Trays and packing height in column
  • Ensuring that the H2S content in treated gas is well below the design limit
  • Hot well Off gases Desulfurization-EngHOGTM

Description

  • Off gases (HWOG) are released from Hotwell of VDU
  • Typical pressure of (HWOG) : 0.1 - 0.4 kg/cm2g
  • Typical components of HWOG :
  • C1-C6 hydrocarbons,
  • Impurities like H2S etc.
  • significantly high sulphur content (10-20 wt% H2S)
  • Potential use
  • Fuel gas due to high calorific value.
  • The best utilization of these off gases can be made after sulphur treatment by EngHOGTM process.

Salient Features

  • EIL’s patented MDEA based process,
  • Operation at very low pressure,
  • Low pressure drop internals
  • H2S removal to 500-1500 ppmw

Client

  • EngHOGTM technology being implemented in BORL and in HPCL Vizag.
  • Gas Sweetening & Gas Dehydration Technologies
  • Gas Sweetening Technology

Description :

  • EIL can offer process design technology for gas sweetening based on in-house capability or with tie-up with specialty solvent supplier depending on required treated gas specification. EIL can also offer process design for sweetening units using generic amines such as DEA and MDEA.
  • Main products and specifications
  • Feed Gas Composition
  • C1, C2, C3+
  • H2S, CO2, COS, Mercaptan, BTX
  • Gas Product Specification
  • CO2 in Pipe line/CNG : <3.5 mol % (includingN2)
  • CO2 in C2/C3 recovery : < 50 ppmv
  • H2S : 4 ppmv

Salient Features:

  • EIL has developed in-house model for process simulation of gas sweetening unit based on following;
  • Actual VLE data generation for predicting performance of unit
  • Technical output generated from in-house software is validated with plant data.
  • EIL has designed and implemented the gas sweetening technology in number of plants
  • In recent design, EIL successfully implemented GSU with a operating pressure of 105 kg/cm2g
  • EIL has designed the world largest gas sweetening plant in Vijaypur
  • Glycol Dehydration Technology

Description:

  • Glycol based dehydration unit (GDU) is to reduce and control the water content of the hydrocarbon gas stream to ensure it suitable for safe processing and transmission.
  • The water content of the treated hydrocarbon gas is usually about 5-7 lb/MMSCF.
  • The DEG, TEG, and TREG are commonly employed glycols by the Industry. The TEG is generally preferred due to its several advantages over DEG.

Main products and specifications

  • The dehydrated gas having moisture content in range of 5-7 lb/MMSCF of gas.
  • Clients: GSPC, ONGC
  • C2/C3 Recovery form Natural gas

Description:

  • C2 / C3 recovery unit is designed to extract ethane / propane and sometimes even heavies from the natural gas for preparing feed for gas cracker.
  • The product is C2 + from the demethaniser column which can be fractionated to produce C2 / C3 and LPG / NGL separately.
  • C2 / C3 or entire C + material is generally the feedstock for the downstream gas cracker.
  • EIL has designed and commissioned a number of C2/C3 recovery based on turbo-expander technology.

Main products and specifications

  • Typically ethane recoveries up to 90% of feed gas can be achieved and even higher if desired with almost 100% recovery of C3 and heavies.
  • The C1 content in C2/C3 product is generally limited to 1 wt%.
  • Clients: ONGC, GAIL, BCPL
  • LPG Recovery form Natural gas

Description:

  • LPG recovery units recover LPG components (propane and butane) and natural gas liquids (C5+ material) from natural gas.
  • The liquid recovered in the cryogenic section of the plant is fractionated to produce LPG and NGL (natural gas liquids) in a two column configuration.
  • If required to draw propane as a separate product, fractionation section will include one more column.
  • Lean gas is returned after recovery, normally at same pressure as feed gas pressure.
  • Clients: ONGC, GAIL, BCPL
  • C2/C3 Recovery from LNG

Description:

The advantage LNG feed offers over natural gas is that the cold or low temperatures required for the C1- C2 separation are already available in the feed. Hence, by optimum cold recovery from feed, the required C1 and C2 streams can also be retained in the liquefied form, thereby reducing the power required for gas compression to power for boosting liquid to dispatch pressures.

Main products and specifications

  • The recoveries of C2 achieved are 95% with C3 and C4 being more than 99%.
  • Features of EIL Process Scheme
  • Clients: Ready for commercialization
  • Minimum energy consumption
  • Utilization of cold in LNG
  • Capital cost for plant is low
  • No expander/compressor required
  • No sweetening plant is required.
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